Are Politicians honourable?

EDWARD BULE
Correspondent | Friday January 29, 2010 00:00

The parties and their respective candidates put forward programmes, which they hope are comprehensive and representative enough of all the interest groups in the particular community.

At least five political parties - Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin (MELS), Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Botswana Peoples Party (BPP), Botswana National Front (BNF) and Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) - took part in the 2009 general elections, brandishing their respective manifestos.

The candidates, mindful of the peculiar circumstances of their constituencies or wards, made pledges as encapsulated in their party manifestos.

Not everyone thinks politicians are honourable, however. As a matter of fact, too many people think election candidates are, at best, too forgetful or at worst, the worst conmen and women, who see political office as a stepping-stone to self-enrichment.

In fact, there is a general feeling that failure to deliver on pre-election pledges contributes to voter apathy. A 50-year-old woman, who last voted in 1994, charges that politicians take advantage of the poor.

There are allegations that before the elections, some candidates went as far as catering for the personal needs of individuals, buying them groceries, food and even making their vehicles available to carry patients to and from the hospital. 

Others frequented bars where they bought alcohol or soft drinks for prospective voters. Sports people were also targeted because some politicians sponsored sports teams, promising to continue doing so even after the elections.

Others excited the youth by promising to find them sponsorship to institutions of higher learning even outside Botswana.

Yet others promised to find jobs for their unemployed and desperate voters while some promised to fight for the immediate re-instatement of a voter who had been 'unjustly dismissed' from work. The list is endless.

Botswana voters, most of whom live in abject poverty because of both unemployment and underemployment, vote with great expectations. They expect their political leaders to influence policy formulation so that the national cake is distributed equitably.

Their abiding hope is that, the representatives will advocate for the improvement of their living standards by championing the formulation of development policies that are unapologetically pro-poor. They look forward to leaders who will mobilise them around some income-generating community projects.

While most of the respondents think it is too early to judge the men and women they voted into office on October 16, 2009, they are hopeful that the pre-election promises have not suddenly been replaced by self-interest. The voters do not only expect their representatives to fulfil the promises, they also expect them to maintain regular interaction with them (the electors) to enable informed and effective representation.

Agnes Segaetsho, a hawker who sells fruits and vegetables behind the Galo Shopping Centre in Francistown, says that it is difficult to assess the performances of candidates voted into office three months ago.

Perhaps expressing the sentiments of many other hawkers who voted in the last elections, she says that council should build a market for them where, even if the hawkers paid rent, they would at least be assured of a decent environment as well as protection from pouring rain and the scorching sun. She feels let down by all government empowerment schemes that, according to her, are difficult to qualify for. 

Hlomani Nkhwa, another vegetable hawker, says he would do with a Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) loan to buy equipment, fertilisers, pesticides etc. for his horticulture garden.

His problem though is that CEDA requirements are too difficult but continues to hope that through representation by his councillor and Member of Parliament, CEDA and other government schemes would be reviewed to benefit the 'have-nots'.

Kays Phitshana, the councillor for Botsalano, says that he is still as committed to changing the image of his ward now as he was before the elections last October.

He says that he has even taken council staff, including engineers, to Botsalana to assess the problem of waterlogging in a bid to find a permanent solution.

His efforts have however been frustrated by a shortage of machinery at the council workshop. But he is encouraged by the positive and professional attitude displayed by the council officials he has so far approached for help.

Another councillor, Professor Tlou of Itekeng in Francistown, says that he is still very much in touch with the electorate.

He reveals that he will hold a Kgotla meeting before the next full council meeting to hear the views of the people on a range of issues affecting them.

Meshack Matseka, yet another councillor in Francistown, says that one of his campaign pledges was that he would attach youth in his ward to companies.

So far, he says, there is progress. He has even taken youth to a training centre called Construction Industry Trust Fund (CITF).  His only worry is divisions within the ward.

Some of those he defeated still do not accept him as their councillor despite his attempts to assure them that he is their representative too.

Michael Phambuka, a voter and Itekeng ward resident, says that if politicians want to be taken seriously, they should fulfil their pre-election promises.  In his view, they should aggressively address the issues of development in the community since their core business is to improve the economic and social welfare of the people.