Malefho eyes Mma V�s seat
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday April 28, 2017 15:11
The former Health permanent secretary is expected to leave the civil service in March 2018 and start campaigning. Malefho will contest for Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) primaries, which will be held next year October.
Initially, the Minister for International Affairs and Cooperation Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi had promised to retire from Parliamentary politics, but hit a u-turn on her decision not to contest.
Other names that cropped up are of former ambassador to United States of America Tebelelo Seretse, former Botswana National Youth Council chairperson Louis Sibanda and former radio personality, Sefane Phuthego.
“We have agreed with him to resign seven months before the primaries so that he could work the ground in time. His campaign team is already visible. We want someone who could speak for the constituency development. Our constituency is not developed at all,” a source said yesterday in an interview.
The source said already people who want to contest for primaries are talking to party members.
The source continued; “Serowe South is one of the constituencies which had believed in women empowerment. We had empowered the likes of Dr Gaositwe Chiepe, Seretse and Venson-Moitoi. We have to give men chances in order to see what they can offer. The constituency has a population of 35,000 but it does not have a senior school, even internal roads are bad.”
For his part, Malefho said he could not comment on the matter since he was still a civil servant.
“I will comment on political issues when the right time comes,” Malefho said.
However, another source said though Venson-Moitoi once made it public that she will not be contesting in 2019, some people had been pursuing her to contest.
“Some people want her to contest and she is softening up on the matter. This time around the competition will be stiff.
Already, people are spending money in the area,” a source said. When interviewed, Venson-Moitoi said she still maintains what she has told us before.
“Ha go na le mongwe yo o reng keya go ema leka botsa ene (if there is someone who says I am going to stand, you may ask that person),” Moitoi said. Sibanda said he would contest for the party primaries at Serowe South.
Efforts to get comments from Seretse and Phuthego became unsuccessful, as their phones were not going through.