Serowe: A political giant in decline?

JAMES KGOSI
Correspondent | Friday January 18, 2013 00:00

 

The village, which is also the headquarters of the vast and expanse central district, was established in 1902. Legend has it that the vastness of the district is attributed to the cunningness of Chief Khama III who is said to have out-witted the chief of Bakgatla on the boundary that divides the two districts.

The Bakgatla ba ga Kgafela Chief apparently agreed that where they would rendezvous in the morning would be the place where the boundary would be located. The two eventually met in Dibete - a short distance from Mochudi - and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Serowe is home to several royal and political figures who are key to the political discourse of Botswana. Its main architect, Chief Khama III, was the de facto leader of a delegation made up of Kgosi Bathoen of Bangwaketsi and Sebele of Bakwena who protested the possible incorporation of Bechuanaland into South Africa.

Three of the four presidents Botswana has had since independence in 1966 are from Gammabesi, as her residents affectionately call Serowe. They are; founding president Sir Seretse Khama, Festus Mogae and the incumbent President Ian Khama are sons of Serowe.

The picturesque village has several notable features like the eastern located Swaneng hills and Serowe hill, which is at the centre of the village and broods over the main Kgotla that lies at its base.

There is also the oldest hotel in the village, Tshwaragano Hotel, perched atop the hill and overlooking the Rural Administration Centre, Council Chambers and the old mall.

The beautifully crafted Thataganyane rock, a stone's throw from Khama III memorial museum, lies on the northern side of Serowe hill.

Khama Rhino sanctuary lies 15 kilometres north of the village along the Serowe-Orapa road, near the satellite village of Paje. Serowe provides a transit route to the diamond rich town of Orapa which is 212 kilometres northwest of the village. The rapidly developing village of Palapye lies 44 kilometres east of Serowe.

Despite being highly decorated, Serowe lacks infrastructural developments. The internal roads are not well developed and most of the village's internal road links are dusty labyrinthine paths.

The local authorities in the village are aware of the bad state of the village roads. At the close of the full council meeting late last year, councilors were quoted in the state media expressing concern about the poor roads which they said were a hindrance to the economic advancement of the village.

The poor roads are also a major scare to would-be transport operators, except for a few brave combi's that ply the not so lucrative routes.

But people like Godiramang Gaboalafswe of Masilo ward have no choice but to rely on the scarce combi's. She says the lack of tarred roads in their locality is a serious concern because people wait for long for the few combis that ply that route. The late arrival of the combis results in passengers arriving late at their respective work places.

She said they are often forced to walk long distances to connect with combis operating on the main route on the Serowe-Orapa road.

She further said, at times, they are lucky and get lifts from good Samaritans going their way.The rapidly expanding village, however, boasts of several developments like the newly built Boiteko Junction Mall situated at the Serowe-Orapa junction, opposite Newtown Primary School.

The new mall gives customers a wider shopping choice as it houses a Spar supermarket and eateries like Hungry Lion. Choppies superstore at Botalaote Mall sits on land which was previously occupied by the famous Sesakgaleng Bar And Bottle Store. The bar was an entertainment location of choice. 

The multimillion Pula state-of-the-art Sekgoma Memorial Hospital and the nursing institute adjacent to it now sit comfortably on a large tract of land that was previously used as an airstrip near CTO workshop along Serowe -Palapye road. The hospital was relocated from its old and derelict site on the western side of the village.

Mokwadi Marapo of Botalaote ward says he is happy to have a district hospital in his home village. He said most people will be able to access health services closer to them.

Marapo said this will cut costs of travelling to distant places like Francistown for medical attention. The hospital has given small business operators a platform to sell their wares. Several street vendors have erected stalls and sell food items, drinks and airtime to visitors at the hospital.

Public transport operators plying the hospital route also benefit from passengers visiting the hospital.  Despite the village football team, Miscellaneous, playing in the beMobile Premier League, most villagers are denied the chance of watching them play at home due to lack of a functioning stadium in the village. The team uses Itekeng Stadium in Orapa as their home ground and supporters have to dig deep into their pockets to travel to watch them in action.

Otsilegape Lasarwe, who is a diehard supporter of Miscellaneous, says the current arrangement adversely affects supporters and believes the sooner the local stadium is fixed, the better it will be for them and the team.

Rookies, Green Lovers, has added another dimension to the local football scene. The team, which is in the first division north league, has achieved a feat unsurpassed - even by oldest teams in the village like Maphatshwa in their  long periods of existence.

The Makolo-based outfit is having a good run in the league and occupies a comfortable position in the league table.