The ruling BDP has been in charge of the City since the last general election. Of course this is a confidence-booster to opposition parties. This could be a first sign that the opposition parties are really determined to work together and this could be the boost they need ahead of opposition cooperation talks. Political strategists in the opposition camp are obviously happy that they are gradually nibbling away at the power-base of the BDP and this might well be so. But to a lot of people this might be a non-event. Not that people have anything against the opposition taking over the city and other local authorities. In fact, many might be saying, 'good for them'. The only indifference is the fact that other than electing officials to councils, what does the public benefit from that process? Internal roads in the city and in villages are not tarred, those that are tarred are in a poor state of disrepair and it seems no one seems to care. In villages where street lights have been erected they remain unlit most of the time. Even replacing bulbs takes months. It also takes councils ages to collect refuse and quite often the excuse given is that the sanitation trucks have broken down - and this happens ever so often. Are these trucks too difficult to maintain? Most villages and towns still do not have recreational facilities like welfare halls, playgrounds and parks. There are still thickets in the city that need to be debushed. Litter is strewn all over, cats and dogs lie on road reserves dead without anyone picking up the carcasses for days on end. The story is the same in villages and towns where abandoned houses and store houses remain that way for years without anybody doing anything about such health and security risks. As voters this is what we expect our councillors to be preoccupied with and not their self-serving political intrigues. To many frustrated residents the change of leadership baton from one party to another with a different name and a different colour is tantamount to re-arrangement of furniture. Unless the new leadership in Gaborone or anywhere else promise to do something radically different from the lethargy that we are used to the whole process is just an exercise in futility. Many will continue to dismiss these 'takeovers' or 'coups' as political stunts. The public does not need mayors and parties, but they need service and service delivery. We want to lead a campaign of civic revolution where communities will hold their civic leaders to account other than merely speaking at funerals and turning themselves into community welfare registration agents that register orphans to receive food rations. Surely councillors' mandate goes beyond this routine activism. Meanwhile, we would like to salute US First Lady Michelle Obama for the visit. Though brief Botswana will certainly benefit from her visit. This was indeed a busy week, Pastor Irene was in town for spiritual awakening and there was the Annual 1, 000km Toyota Desert Race. What a busy weekend it was.
Today's thought
