BNF Candidate urges women to be proactive in politics

DIRANG LEKUNTWANE
Correspondent | Tuesday October 23, 2012 00:00

 

She said that women remained vulnerable in numerous social challenges in our social landscape. She pointed to the continuing impending problems of rape and the lack of representation in parliament by people with 'brains'.Addressing a BNF political rally in Mahalapye on Saturday, Mogalakwe said it was high time the political atmosphere of the country took shape to benefit both women and youth, who continue to be haunted by lack of employment.

'We also need intelligent people to represent Mahalapye constituents,' she said.Mogalakwe, who represents her voters with a collective opposition of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) indicated that women of this country should be awaken from their deep slumber and take major political steps as demonstrated by other African women leaders such as Joyce Banda. She said that the way the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) was running this country was disheartening to some especially the youth.

'The current youth might not have the same patience,' she warned.She lamented that the ruling BDP seemed untouched by the plight of women, some of whom are single and are faced with taking care of children especially orphans. She cited as example, a situation whereby during her house to house campaigns she came across a compound that had 12 children under the care of an elderly woman who previously relied on the sale of the now loathed traditional brews.

'I found the children alone, only to learn that the guardian had gone grass harvesting as a means to improvise her meagre pension, to take care of the children, some of whom are orphans,' she said.She said it was ridiculous for the BDP to ban the sale of certain alcohol brews while the same ministers, parliamentarians and permanent secretaries were themselves raised off proceeds of alcohol selling by their parents.

'I am still going to question the alcohol issue when I get to parliament,' she promised her constituents. The aspiring BNF candidate said that youth are at loggerheads with landlords, although the so called government projects they are advised to undertake require land.

'The landboard policy should be microscopically checked because our youth are not allocated land although they need it to undertake their projects,' she said.For his part, the BNF president Duma Boko advised people of Mahalapye to vote for Mogalakwe in the November 3 parliamentary by-elections because the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) together with the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) have failed Batswana with no exception to the village of Mahalapye, where he was himself raised. He used the rally to take a swipe at both the BCP president, Dumelang Saleshando and the BDP candidate, Bernad Bolele, whom he said were 'better as legal representative than politicians.'

'BCP followers like their president more than the party itself. Fa ene e le kereke, reka bo rere ba rata Moruti wa bone go feta kereke. Jalo ba rapela modimo wa disetwa,' he said to the amusement of his audience.Boko said that Mahalapye Hospital is overloaded as it faces a challenge of the shortage of doctors and this puts the lives of patients at risk.

'The Lord has given, Domkrag has taken!' he lambasted. He indicated that the BCP should be awakened from its nightmare of wishful thinking of winning the 2014 elections as that remained an impossible feat. He told his audience that the ruling party recruited members from BCP because it was useless. 'Domkrag does not recruit members from BCP because it is useless,' he said.

Boko said Bolele had long cried for the parliamentary seat for Mahalapye West as first shown by his campaigns when he initially heard that the previous parliamentarian, Mompati Merafhe was not well.'We request the Lord to keep him (Merafhe) so that he witnesses history unravel before his eyes as Mogalakwe goes to parliament. We wish Merafhe quick recovery, and we pray that he sees Bolele losing the re-elections,' he quipped.'Philosophers have interpreted the world in so many ways, what matters now is the need to change the world,' he said.