Final salute to Mmegi

Richard Moleofe | Friday April 28, 2017 14:58

This paper actually created me but the road to stardom was not easy. There were those who felt very uncomfortable in dealing with an ex-military man in the newsroom. Some reporter’s nervousness was even expressed in words. One senior reporter told me he would never allow my memory stick into his computer because I was sent by Isaac Kgosi to spy on the paper.

I understood his fears because there probably  has never been an ex-military person working for any paper. The way our national intelligence works has often made life difficult for those who once worked with any security organs. This is true everywhere. Someone I went to school with told me that they have an intelligence operative planted in their office at Ministry of Education. But the fellow had the right qualifications for the job.

It took a while before I earned the trust and confidence of Tshireletso Motlogelwa  who was the Editor at the time. For a while I was placed between a rock and a hard place as the element of trust within the publication was thin and at the same time  Botswana Defence Force (BDF)was incensed with what I was writing.

BDF has over the years been run like a religious cult and for one of their own to be in bed with the media has been the worst insult. There is this notion of securing military secrets by the military in our country, something I failed to understand as a commissioned officer for 20 years. BDF has been restless with the things I write about them because they have never been challenged in this manner in the past.

My work at BDF entailed providing for the welfare of the troops. I have somewhat extended that work through my column. The things discussed here have always reflected the views and opinions of the ordinary soldier. Taking into account the fact that soldiers are not allowed to be part of the labour movement, this column has sought to raise pertinent issues regarding their conditions of service.

BDF has not been open and transparent to account for the things they do within the organisation. The leadership has not liked this column because it brought out the very issues that matter into the public arena for discussion. Public discourse is not a thing for all our security organs in Botswana.

The media exist to bring to question the way in which our public institutions function and this includes all security organs. These institutions have this entitlement mentality that they should not be questioned. Imagine the police causing a 6km long traffic backup between Kanye and Jwaneng in a bush and they felt so offended when criticised for such actions.

In the past I have gone on full throttle to put to question the way DIS operated. The entire media fraternity has to earn the accolades for putting DIS on a leash. For a long time now this organisation has behaved like an intelligence outfit. Their behaviour is now more docile than when they started. One of the reasons why they have become more professional is the appointment of Moffat Keoagile as Deputy Director. It is no coincidence that the noise died down when he ascended to the position.

BDF HQ has in many occasions reacted to issues raised in this column and that was through rebuttals. I came to realise that the column kept them reading. The organisation needs to introspect because the ordinary soldier believes that the views of this column are representative of them. It was only once when BDF leadership called to share their misgivings on the debate over soldier’s salaries.  This was at the time when they were in discussion with Government over the issues of remuneration of soldiers. My wild extrapolations seemed to have been compromising the very issues they were to present to government.

Issues around the salaries of soldiers have not borne any fruit because the political leadership has been determined to frustrate all positive actions by the former commander. The relationship between the former commander and his principals was not the best of relationships and that has negatively affected the ordinary soldier.

The fact that I have written about BDF more than any other security organ is for the fact that this is an organization I understand more than any other. At 40, BDF should change the way it has been run over the years. They need to prioritise their needs.

The purchase of the state of the art weapons systems when our soldiers still live in tents is totally unacceptable. One can argue that tents are no longer in use at BDF but the truth is that the leadership abolished them because they have become an eyesore. The abolishment of tents was not a consequence of a natural improvement in the provision of accommodation.

The communities where military camps are built at should experience a trickledown effect on the spending of our military. Mogoditshane is not feeling the official effect of BDF’s spending in the area of accommodation. I see no sense in finding soldiers accommodation in Tlokweng while they work in Mogoditshane.

Mogoditshane is only left to glean from those individual private soldiers who rent one room houses for their girlfriends. The peri-urban village is only left to deal with negative aspects such as the growing rate of HIV. The drinking holes in the village get to benefit from the patronisation of their businesses but that is not enough.

BDF needs to bring on board all its retired soldiers. The occasion of 40th celebrations has shown that the organisation is living aloof. These old soldiers did everything in their careers to promote the huge establishment that is now BDF. That is my last statement on BDF as I submit my last peice of the column after four glorious years with Mmegi.