Solomon: the gem of Boteti teachers' union

GALE NGAKANE
Correspondent | Friday April 23, 2010 00:00

 

To date, Botswana is globally envied for its infrastructural development of roads, hospitals, schools, streetlights and all the trappings of prosperity and modernity. Add good education, health, socio-economic advancement and other positive attributes the country is renowned for around the world.

That is because of diamonds and they were first mined  in Boteti. The region has now spawned another gem. This is Rodger Mcedisi Solomon, a 30-year-old primary school teacher at Tsienyane Primary School, who is now the treasurer of the giant Botswana Trade Union (BTU). A dapper-looking fellow in a suave jacket and equally trendy slacks, the dark and smooth complexioned Solomon passes for a man about town, out to make females swoon as they espy him through office shutters when he swaggers by. Or an upstart in a government office with hopes of one day getting a promotion a notch higher than where he is currently vegetating. This is what you get from Solomon before you scratch the surface, and once you do, a gem will start radiating its unimaginable brilliance.

When he bounded into the offices of Mmegi for an interview on Monday, nothing gave away the fact that we were meeting a man prepared to move mountains, a mover and shaker to the hilt.

A man who, at 30 years, has made history as the youngest person ever elected into the committee of Botswana Teachers' Union (BTU) since its formation in 1937.

He greeted office staff good-naturedly, though hesitatingly before slumping onto the comfortable sofa in the newsroom. We had hardly started our interview when this writer realised that he was facing an unpretentiously brilliant man, and we opted to go behind closed doors into the photographer's office to continue where we had left off. The interview had started off with Solomon introducing himself; that originally he is from Masunga, but he is Francistown born and bred. 'I live in Monarch with both my parents and my siblings. I am the first born in my family,' he said.

A father of one who is still to tie the knot, he schooled entirely in Franicstown starting with his pre-school, up to tertiary level where he acquired a primary school teaching certificate.

The first time he ventured out of Francistown was in 2000 when he was in Letlhakane for the now defunct National Service (Tirelo Sechaba) where he was stationed at the Letlhakane Primary School as a teacher. At the school he stayed with the then headmaster, Herbert Balisi Kgwarae, a staunch adherent of teachers' rights who religiously attended Botswana Teachers' Union (BTU) meetings.

Whenever the retired headmaster, also a former Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) councillor for Mosetse, made the pilgrimages to the meetings, Solomon tagged along to attend as an observer.

'That was when I developed interest in BTU affairs,' he said. Regarding Kgwarae, Solomon said about his mentor in glowing terms: 'He was a critical thinker and analyst. He was confronted by different situations and challenges as a representative of teachers. As a result he was exposed to administrative issues with which he helped to improve the well-being of teachers'. Solomon said it was because of his zeal in the advancement of the teachers' cause that saw Kgwarae receiving a BTU presidential award last year. He was bestowed with the award together with 19 others.

After his national service, Solomon got a job as a temporary teacher in Mokobaxane, a few kilometers as you enter Mopipi from Orapa.

While at the remote village, he was still following the activities of the BTU as an observer and he said he was especially encouraged by people like Talks Maleka, the headmaster of Mmadikola Primary School and Ronald Phambuka, a teacher at Letlhakane Primary School, who is now on study leave at the University of Botswana (UB).

In actual fact, Maleka financed Solomon to a 2004 BTU congress held in Shoshong. As a student teacher, he was not making much and because of his passion for BTU, he nevertheless went along.

Solomon completed his teaching certificate at the Francistown College of Education (FCE) in 2006 and that same year, he was posted to Tsienyane Primary School as a qualified teacher.Actually, 2006 will mark a turning point in his BTU involvement, as it was the year the organisation unionised by law. That same year, the organisation held its first congress as a union at Moeding College in the panoramic village of Otse.

Among the delegates at the congress was the secretary general of the South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU), Thulas Nxesi, who greatly influenced Solomon.  From Botswana there were firebrands in former BTU, the likes of secretary general, Keorapetse Kgasa and president, Japhta Radibe. Radibe has retired to give the baton to new blood, while Keorapetse lost the secretary general position to Ibo Kenosi.

'At that conference, I got the picture of what trade unionism is all about. That year was actually my turning point in as far as trade unionism is concerned,' he said. At the congress, all the 16 regions were represented. Solomon was from BOWE (Boteti West). Other regions include FRABOTO (Francistown, Borolong and Tonota), LOBANGWE (Lobatse, Barolong and Ngwaketse) and BOTSWATUMO (Bobirwa and Tswapong area).

Perhaps the long acronym could explain a report in a previous edition of Mmegi where some had asked why Mahalapye, Serowe and Palapye could not be abbreviated to MASEPA, a derogatory term when pronounced.

At the congress, he was elected BOWE central branch vice-chairperson, but soon after the congress, he took over as vice-chairperson of the whole region. In 2007 he was co-opted as chairman of the region. When he took over as chairman, the structures of BTU were non-existent.

'The region had collapsed in terms of representation and organising. Teachers were not properly represented because the committee had become moribund. ''As a result people were doubtful that I would succeed when I took over, more so looking at my age, hence I told myself to be man enough and stand up to the challenges I was facing. The biggest challenge was to ensure BTU was up and running in Boteti. What I had realised was that contemporary issues did not accommodate all ranks. The school heads and community leaders were not actively involving themselves in union activities.

'This is the situation I inherited, but I was up to the task as I started off by organising my executive committee, made up of Nehemiah Ramogagabane, as chairperson, Masego Kgalalelo as vice chairperson, Nchadi Pelonomi as secretary, Kereemang Mosinki as vice secretary and Ntombi Mmokwa as treasurer. 'The first thing I did was to put before them the roadmap for the revival of the union in the region. To realise this objective, we had to build our confidence through knowledge acquisition. We also had to engage in capacity building. Having achieved that I knew we were going to be able to cascade information on BTU to the region,' said Solomon at length. He said the committee established relationships with organisations like Collegium Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, a civil servants' medical insurance group, BOPMAS who assisted the region with donations.

BTU headquarters also funded the region from time to time such that they started thriving in a satisfactory way.'Because we were also a principled lot, we emerged a recognised organisation within the Boteti region.

'The next step was to go on a recruitment drive within the region and our recruitment also targeted secondary school teachers as the Botswana Secondary School Teachers Union (BOSETU) was dormant in the region.

'Our membership really grew as teachers wanted to identify with BTU. Some detractors even thought we attracted people with loans and other niceties, but no. We also used the power that we had at our disposal,' said Solomon.

What he realised before he took active part in the revival of BTU in the region was that decisions which affected teachers were usually taken without the concern or input of the affected parties, the teachers.

'Through our lobbying, we have succeeded in making sure decisions taken at the council (Central District Council), are taken with our input. The BTU committee in the region sits on a number of committees including DAMSAC and council committees like those of housing, education and planning. 'I have managed to create a platform between the BTU and the Principal Education Officer II (PEO II) where we ponder and thrash out issues on teachers' welfare and their development. 'As a result, we ensure we do not come at loggerhead with the authorities as there is cordiality in the way we deal with issues,' he said.

His achievements as the BTU regional organiser included organising and hosting a regional BOWE conference.The theme of the workshop was 'Maintaining people-driven trade union'. Solomon said coming up with the theme, he was worried that the structures of BTU were strong at the top, but not at the bottom. 'I was challenging people that this is a union of the people for the people by the people. In a way, it was a democratic institution that needed strengthening at all levels,' said Solomon.

The Minister of Local Government, Lebonaamang Mokalake, officially opened the conference held in Letlhakane.The acting director of Teaching Service Management, Rapelang Bogatsu, gave the keynote speech.

Another achievement included delegating his committee members to other regional conferences. In December last year, two of BTU committee members in Boteti spent a week in Lusaka, Zambia where they benchmarked on best practices. So in the short four years he has been in Boteti, BTU has transformed into a force to reckon with.

However, his election to the position of national treasurer means he has got to move to the headquarters in Gaborone. Solomon was elected at the BTU congress held in Good Hope over the Easter holidays into the five-member core executive committee alongside the new president, Pule Ramabjwa, a teacher at Mophane Primary School in Gaborone. Ramabjwa, who was the deputy president, took over when Radibe retired.

Other positions are those of deputy president, secretary general, deputy secretary general and the treasurer.

The core committee sits above the national executive committee which comprises the 16 regions.

Solomon has taken to his role with gusto saying he would like to replicate what he did at regional level at national level. Asked if that would not mean stepping on the toes of other executive committee members, he said all he was going to do was to complement them, especially since they all hold the same goals and have the same principles and values.

'It may be too early to divine the future, but what I know is that we have the same mission, same slogan and principles. I am optimistic that we are going to be an inseparable team. 'As a trade union, we are going to be the best trade union that the government can be proud of. We are however, not going to allow any intimidation nor compromise our values.

'We are going to ensure that we comply with the governing act and statutes. BTU is a disciplined labour movement that plays a critical role in the development of Botswana. We realise that through consultations and benchmarking of international best practices as espoused in the ILO conventions that have been ratified and domesticated by the Botswana government.

'Being a unionist is not being radical, but being resolute and focused,' said Solomon.

By yesterday, he was already busy at work at the union headquarters in Mogoditshane.

He is a gem that was discovered in Boteti, now he has taken a national position with the aim of helping to bedeck a Botswana teacher and make him or her happy ever after