MOKOBAXANE: Since his childhood, 32-year old Sidney Bothokobotsile knew that he would become a politician. "I have always had a predilection for politics," says the man who is running on the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) ticket in the council by-election for Mokobaxane, slated for March 10. "My late grandmother, Maria Bothokobotsile, was a staunch BDP member. She served as chairperson and coordinated the party's activities for the Mokobaxane, Mopipi, and Kedia Wards. I tagged along to rallies with her during school holidays. That is where my association with the BDP comes from." That was in the late 1980s when he was a pupil at Phatsimo Primary School. Though it must have been unbeknownst to her, or even to him, Bothokobotsile's gandmother was her grandson's political idol. When she died in 1993, her protg had just completed his junior secondary school at Motsumi Secondary School in Letlhakane, which he also credits for his early political consciousness. "Although I was not such a brilliant student, I joined the debate club and learned how to interrogate issues and acquired leadership skills that I now use in my political work." After the passing of his grandmother, Bothokobotsile went back to his home village of Mokobaxane and got involved on day-to-day party activities as an ordinary member of the BDP and enrolled for a short clerical course at nearby Letlhakane. His break came when he became the campaign manager for the ward's longest serving councillor, Boikhutso Matekane, helping him win in the 1999 general elections. "I acquired a lot of knowledge on how to strategise for winning elections," says Bothokobotsile. "I also learned a lot from Matekane whom I still regard him as one of my early mentors." In 2008, he decided to test his mettle against the late Galesebiwe Gaothuswe in the BDP primary elections. The result was his first taste of defeat. But instead of moping, he gracefully accepted the outcome and joined Gaothuswe's campaign team, helping him prevail over the Botswana National Front (BNF) and the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) in the last general elections. It is against this background that Bothokobotsile is confident and believes his is a better CV than that of his opponent, Obonye Lobang, of the BNF. He is the incumbent chairperson of Mokobi Conversation Trust that is funded by the United Nations Development Programme, a position he has held 2005. In addition, Bothokobotsile chairs the village's social welfare committee and has served on the Village Development Committee. "I believe the skills I have acquired from serving these organisations place me in a better position to clinch the council ward," he says.
It proves that I am a capable leader," he says. Unlike his rival Lobang who believes the BDP has done little to uplift the lives of the villagers, especially the youth, Bothokobotsile is full of praise for his party's track record here. He says the young people of the ward should be encouraged to utilise existing youth empowerment programmes, something that he has tasked himself with doing if elected. While he acknowledges that the roads and health services are in a bad state, he attributes the situation to lack of funds. This married father of two is thus unfazed and actually fancies himself and the BDP better placed to clinch the Mokobaxane council ward. "We have better campaign structures than the opposition," he says. "Even combined, the opposition cannot defeat us because people have lost faith in them because of their endless political squabbles." Like his BNF rival, the financial outlay for the campaign has been considerable. He says he has thus far spent nearly P15,000, with most of the money going to logistics. "The BDP has provided me with three vehicles for my campaign team," he says.
