Kapinga accuses BDP of buying votes
Boniface Keakabetse | Tuesday November 28, 2017 16:23
Speaking in a recent interview, Kapinga said BDP has historically stifled developments in Okavango because people in the area voted for the opposition. He however said voters in his constituency would not to be enticed by influx of developments taking place in Shakawe, arguing that the developments were long overdue. He said the bulk of the projects, such as the ongoing Mohembo Bridge were long advocated for by the late area legislator, Joseph Kavindama.
In June 2016, Okavango legislator, Bagalatia Arone dumped the BCP to join the ruling BDP saying he was defecting so developments could come to the Okavango sub-district, which is one of the poorest in the country.
The BCP on the other hand has since unveiled Kapinga, former Botswana ambassador to Zimbabwe as its aspirant come 2019. The two are likely to face off in a bare-knuckled political fight in 2019.
Kapinga told Mmegi that he is undertaking rigorous voter education to teach voters that the developments happening in Shakawe are not brought by Arone’s defection to BDP.
He said: “It’s worrying what BDP is trying to do because we are dealing with an unsophisticated voter who does not know that developments are funded from the State coffers, not BDP’s Tsholetsa House. The constituency’s underdevelopment and poverty should not be used to entice the people”.
Kapinga said his engagement with voters is paying dividends, saying he is confident he will retain the constituency for BCP at the appointed date.
He said his main aim is to help Okavango community move itself out of poverty by utilising abundant natural resources in the district.
The Councillor for Gumare/Tubu, Mpoke Karapo is another BCP official who also recently accused government of prioritising developments in Shakawe at the expense of other areas in Ngamiland. Karapo complained during North West District Council full council meeting that 70% of projects in the District Development Plan 8 would take place in Shakawe.
On June 24, 2017, President Ian Khama officiated at the ground-breaking of the historic multi-million pula Mohembo Bridge project in Okavango.
Khama apparently has interest in Shakawe, as he owns Diseta island residence in the village. Several high-ranking ministers are also known to own commercial plots in the area.
During the ceremony, Khama told Okavango residents that government heeded their long-time plea for the construction of the bridge, adding that whenever he visited the area, he was always asked when government would consider such a project.
Hardly two months after his visit to launch the billion pula bridge, Khama flew back to Shakawe to launch another mega project in the village in September, the P309 million Shakawe Primary Hospital.
Amid fanfare, Khama explained that the 70-bed hospital would offer services such as preventative and curative health, sexual reproductive health and diagnostic, pharmaceutical, mortuary and dentistry.
These are not the only mega project sin Shakawe. Government last year awarded a P45 million tender for the construction of revenue offices in Shakawe. The project was awarded in 2016 by the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board and the contractor was given P4.5 million mobilisation fee, but then reportedly abandoned the project.
A tender was recently awarded for gravelling of six kilometres of internal roads in Shakawe. There is also the anticipated construction of Shakawe Service Centre, which was put on hold, as certain procurement measures were not followed.