Politics is not a job but volunteerism - Phitshana

ISAAC PINIELO
Correspondent | Friday June 18, 2010 00:00

Alcohol abuse is the order of the day there. Crime levels are high. Houses are prone to flooding due to the poor drainage system. There are not enough streetlights, nor are there any public toilets, a situation that, coupled with excessive littering, puts a major strain on the environment.

Recently, Phitshana opened an office at Khaphamadi where he intends to serve members of his constituency. This was a personal initiative on his part, financed through his own resources.

In his own words: 'I believe that as a politician, one has to be concerned about how much they give instead of how much they get,' he said in a recent interview.

The 68-year-old councillor believes he must be able to deliver on his electioneering pledges sooner rather than later because of his advanced age.

'I might not stand for the next general election, but I guess it is still too early to make a final decision. Let's just say time will tell,' said Phitshana.

Phitshana's constituents have applauded his initiative. Councillors have in the past asked government for offices to avoid meeting their voters in their homes.

Councillors assist people to resolve domestic problems and they listen to disputes in their respective wards. Lack of proper premises to work from is seen as a great inconvenience. 'Imagine that you are not at home and your constituents cannot find you. Now that I have an office, people can always see me, and even when I am not around there is a secretary to take my messages,' said Phitshana.

'I want to set the trend for other councillors for them to know that politics is not a job but a kind of volunteerism.I do not expect to gain profit in politics. All I need is to serve the people that have voted for me with all my heart,' he said. Phitshana was born in Kanye and attended Maisantwa Primary School from 1958 to 1962. He did mechanics for four years before heading to South Africa to further his training in mechanics.

After that, he briefly relocated to South Africa where he worked as a chief mechanic for an employment agency for South African gold mines.

He cut his political teeth in 1967 when he joined the Botswana National Front (BNF) in Lobatse. Subsequently, he was chairman of the party's Lobatse youth league.Phitshana returned to Botswana in 1971 and moved to Francistown where he replaced a South African expatriate at Wenela as the chief mechanic.

This was part of the localisation effort, championed mainly by the opposition Botswana Peoples Party (BPP) back then.

While in Francistown, Phitshana ran his own motor mechanic workshop where he trained many boys, some of whom were later self-employed if they did not join government's Central Transport Organisation (CTO).

Because the BNF was not very visible in Francistown at that time, Phitshana's political activism ceased until 1976.In the meantime, he became involved with TAFA soccer club and later joined the Botswana Football Association as an official. Although he knew the BPP president, Philip Matante well, Phitshana did not join the party.

In 1989, he stood for White City Ward, which consisted of White City, Riverside North and Aerodrome. He lost.Unfazed, he stood and lost again in 1994. After the BNF split in 1998, Phitshana became a founder member of the BCP. In the same year, he doubled as the party's chairman for the northern region and council candidate for the then Bluetown Ward.

After the creation of Botsalano Ward before the 2004 general election, Phitshana stood for the new ward but once again lost until last year when he finally won after about 25 years.