"It's a raw deal," Basarwa in Makgaba speak out

Pini Bothoko
Correspondent | Friday November 2, 2012 00:00

Instead of Makgaba, the Basarwa who live there call the place 'Xhoitshaa' in their Sesarwa language and it means 'metsi a phatsimang' in Setswana, which translates, to shining water.Conversation in this community of 581, according to the 2011 population census, is in Sesarwa language only. They speak Setswana only when talking to visitors.

I could only perceive 'The Monitor' in the clicks and clacks as I was being introduced around and one of them would volunteer to say that they were saying I am a journalist from The Monitor newspaper.There is a simmering discontent among the residents of this settlement towards the government and central to their issue is that they want their settlement to be declared a village so that they too can enjoy the benefits of such an arrangement.

Almost all, if not all villages in Botswana have government facilities like clinics, primary schools, a kgotla and a police posts or station. There is water reticulation in these villages and sometimes there is a problem of water drying out or engines supplying a particular village needing repair.

But residents of Makgaba have none of the above and are now demanding the attention of President Ian Khama to visit the place and see for himself how they are struggling to survive.A smorgasbord of emotions wracks the residents while at times they feel furious at whoever is not taking their problems seriously, they also become dejected when their wailings continue to fall on deaf ears.

Their lament is that they have been neglected for far too long and that it is time they were declared a village.They suspect the fact that they are Basarwa could be the reason that makes their political representatives neglectful of them, as they (the representatives) do not know the pain of living without anything you can call your own.

The two withered old men I meet sitting by a cleavage of two rocks with water cascading endlessly muse among themselves about what the future hold for them and their offspring. Faces dusty and leathery from old age, they are dressed in rags, just like the street urchins in the shopping malls of Francistown.

The men look visibly exhausted after walking 10 kilometres to the fountain. They are taking a short breather and from there it is another 10 kilometres trek each with a heavy 10 litres container on his head. It is a way of life, and John Pelaelo 64 has no qualms speaking about his experiences and his demands to me. Same to his companion, Ditshego Kearabile who is sitting nearby, his exposed bony knees hugging his cheeks.

Pelaelo says he has been living in Makgaba for 12 years and he vows that the settlement is the mother of Mokubilo, Mmea and Mosu village. People who reside in those villages originate from the settlement.'We want President Ian Khama to come and visit us and see how we are struggling. Can you please tell him to visit us and hear our complaints? 'Pelaelo looks at me pleadingly.

'We drink from this fountain between the rocks with wild animals which I do not think is healthy. Perhaps that is why nowadays we are all sick, ' he adds.Kearabile licks his lips readying himself to make a rejoinder. An elder in the settlement, he says all the residents of Makgaba are destitute and depending on government social welfare programme.

He says his honest wish is for the settlement to be declared a village for them to really enjoy government resources. 'If we were a village we could be having jobs, say in Ipelegeng. But without anything we do not see ourselves recognised as people. We need to have a clinic near us.

Some people have lost their lives because they could not go to Mokubilo to collect ARV's ( antiretroviral drugs for HIV positive people), 'he stresses gesticulating wildly. He also echoes his friend's concern that they drink contaminated water with animals risking not only their limb, but also their health.  He says since their complaints to their political representatives have been unsuccessful, it is time they confronted President Khama himself.

Back at the settlement, residents gather around us, chatting excitedly among themselves in Sesarwa. One of them, a young man in worn out denim shorts and a vest that have seen better days, faces me directly and takes me by surprise when he swiftly changes to Setswana. 'Dumela mma. Nna ke bidiwa Biki. Ke na le dingwaga di le 38. (Greetings madam, My name is Biki Bitsang and I am 38 years old).'

Bitsang says the population of Makgaba allows them to be a village and that he is confused as to what is causing the delay to make the declaration. 'We get everything from Mokubilo, which is a bit far from them. In fact, we are treated like wild animals. We have got nothing that sustains our lives in this place but when it comes to voting we vote like everyone else, though we are not given the resources like other people. 'When we ask why, we are told that Makgaba is not a village and there is no how they can give us resources but when it comes to times of voting they want us to vote. For what? We are not going to vote come 2014, ' says a now emotionally charged Bitsang.

Another dweller, Thatayaone Xhabue, chirps in arguing that according to the Revised National Settlement Policy, for a settlement to be declared a village, it should have a population of 250 or above and Makgaba is over-qualified at 581 people.

When reached for comment councillor Chebane Jackson whose ward includes Mokubilo, Mmea and surrounding areas, says he is working hard for Makgaba people to be given resources but he always hits a brick wall because of the settlement's status.