. Moswaane said this recently when addressing a meeting in Monarch location over the allegations that he was a corrupt leader and chose his friends as nominated councillors. Before the meeting, people took it to social media that they were unhappy and disappointed with the list of the nominated councillors, which was released last week. The list received criticism as the ruling coalition party members were displeased to see some of the diehard Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) members on the list. The list of the nominated councillors included BDP Francistown region chairperson Mpedzeni Sambadani, the former assistant Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Buti Billy, Sean Sebele to name but a few. Additionally, the people believed that councillors were nominated not based on merit but rather favouritism. It was also alleged that the Assistant Minister was being paid to favour his preferred candidates. When addressing the meeting, Moswaane denied the accusations and emphasised that he was not a corrupt leader.
He was surprised to see that some people close to him were working against him. Moswaane said all the statements made against him were false and intended to discredit him. Moswaane declared that he is an agent and full member of the Botswana People's Party (BPP) and UDC and would never go against the party’s principles. Moswaane explained that one of his preferred nominated councillors for Francistown West, Bayapo Johane, has been assisting him as a driver and secretary since 2017. As for another one, Gabriel Makafiri, he explained that he has been helping people in Francistown West with legal matters. He stated that, to date, Makafiri has won 200 cases and he was handling the matters free of charge. Moswaane said that the nominated councillors were considered accordingly. “I cannot say I did not have direct influence over the list of the nominated councillors because I supported whatever the minister said. I support my minister 100% and he is the one who has a final say for every nomination,” he added. Moswaane stated that people should understand that they are a coalition government and even before elections, they couldn’t finish issues of allocation of wards. He pointed out that, "it is not easy in a coalition because every party wants equal shares or party representation."
The assistant minister added that 152 applications out of 1, 000 were to be taken into consideration. According to Moswaane, 815 people are still protesting, and the issue will never be fixed if the chosen one is changed. He went on: "Batswana need to give these things time to rest so that we can move on with our lives." Moswaane said as honest as he is, he will never be able to receive compensation for the allocation of positions like it was reported. "I was offered a guest house by one man, but I turned him down. I don't do that, and I'm not a crooked leader," he said. He also clarified that a lot of people were coming with offers and he kept on turning them down. He said those who were not chosen under the new administration will be considered for other positions.
Moswaane also said he would not jeopardize his position with an offer of P100, 000 like it was alleged after spending more than P750, 000 to help people during the COVID-19 era. He stated that it is unbelievable and he does not want anybody’s money. The planned orientations and swearing-in of councillors in different councils were postponed until further notice including the City of Francistown Council, which was supposed to be done on Tuesday and Friday(today) respectively.
