Nkate guns for Ntuane
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Two of the most prominent members of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)’s old factions; A-Team and Barataphathi, Jacob Nkate and Botsalo Ntuane, are set for a battle that is likely to rekindle the factional wars that the duo once engaged in at the height of the BDP polarisation.
WeekendPost can authoritatively reveal that the former A-Team faction leader, Nkate, wrote to the party secretariat this week indicating his interest to contest the position of secretary general at the upcoming July congress, a position which Ntuane wishes to retain.
The party chairman, Mokgweetsi Masisi, has coaxed the former BDP secretary general to not contest with him for the party chairmanship, but instead tackle the incumbent secretary general for the position. In a shrewd political move, Masisi has managed to ward off one contestant and further consolidate his power ahead of the congress. Masisi will automatically become president when Khama leaves office at the end of March next year.
Masisi/Nkate teaming up also vindicates the down played indications that the chairman has never favoured the presence of Ntuane in the BDP central committee. Masisi is said to be one of the key opponents of Ntuane’s electoral and political reforms. Nkate who spent a majority of his youthful years in BDP ranks, including serving in the youth league, is known for his robust and outspoken character. During his time as MP, he found himself leading a factional battle on the side of President Lt Gen Ian Khama.
After losing his seat to the opposition, Botswana Congress Party (BCP), in the 2009 general elections, he was appointed BEDIA (now Botswana Investment Trade Centre (BITC), Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Subsequent to his controversial departure from the CEO post in 2012, Khama blessed him with an ambassadorial post.
When he announced that he would be running for the party chairmanship earlier last month, after returning from his ambassadorial role in Japan, Nkate had also stated that he was willing to take the secretary general’s seat if circumstances do not allow him to go after his first preference.
Nkate and Ntuane both had the privilege of serving the party’s central committee during their youthful years. Ntuane was elected an additional member of BDP’s Central Committee in 1995 after the Mogoditshane Congress. At 24 years, he became the youngest BDP member to be elected into the central committee.
Meanwhile Nkate became a member of the BDP Central Committee by virtue of his position as youth league leader between 1996 and 98. Nkate rose through the echelons of power in the BDP during the resurgence of A-Team; also known as Nkate-Merafhe faction in 2003 when he deposed Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi of Barataphathi from the position of the deputy secretary general, becoming Daniel Kwelagobe’s understudy until 2007.
In 2005 at the Serowe Congress, Kwelagobe’s protégée Ntuane decided to take Nkate head on, in another factional fight bout. With the backing of Khama, who was then party chairman, Nkate retained his seat. Two years later, when Kwelagobe willingly gave up the secretary general position after serving for 27 uninterrupted years Nkate moved on to contest the position where he faced Gomolemo Motswaledi of the rival Barataphathi faction. Nkate emerged from the battle as a winner though with a margin of 49.
Nkate and Ntuane were key players in the events leading to the 2009 Kanye Congress and eventually to the splitting of the party in 2010. Though the duo was not necessarily contesting for any central committee position, they became arch- rivals when they threw their weight behind their respective factions. Barataphathi, determined to reclaim control of the party structures refused suggestions by the central committee to allow the then sitting members to be returned to their posts unchallenged.
Ntuane’s political mentor, Kwelagobe, was on the receiving end of Nkate’s diatribe including in newspapers and broadcast interviews. At the end of the congress, the Nkate/Merafhe faction lost against to the indomitable Kedikilwe/Kwelagobe faction. The victory of the Barataphathi at Kanye set in motion events which led to the splitting of the party and formation of Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), of which Ntuane was among the founders.
Ntuane, has chosen ‘not to comment’ on the decision by Nkate to challenge him for the throne. Ntuane, who will be completing his term in July, has earlier stated that he will announce his decision of whether to defend his position or not after the party National Council in April this year. In a brief interview with this publication, Nkate remarked that he is not joining the secretary general race to fight anyone but to make a contribution to the party.
“In politics there is an expression which says there are no permanent friends and enemies, and there is also an expression which says even two days is a long time,” he said. “Circumstances have changed as compared to when we were going to Kanye. Some of the people you are talking about are no longer in the picture.” Nkate said he has never had personal hatred against anyone including Kwelagobe.
A former BDP member, who was at the centre of events ahead of the Kanye Congress, has told this publication that a lot of things have changed since 2009 and that voting patterns at BDP are no longer what they used to be in the past. “BDP has learnt from the Kanye aftermath. You could see that a lot of things have changed. The way in which they voted at Mmadinare [2015 Congress] is the same way they are going to vote. No more voting based on factional divide,” he said.
The source further indicated that the A-Team and Barataphathi factions are non-existent in the current BDP at the moment, if anything, he said, it will be new factions. Since Kanye, apart from the split, there have been major changes in the politics of BDP. Both Ponatshego Kedikilwe and Mompati Merafhe, who were factional leaders then, are no longer in the picture, with the former having retired and the latter having passed on.
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Local tennis team upbeat ahead of Billie Jean King cup
With almost two weeks until the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup, which will be staged in Kenya from June 12-17, 2023, the Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) ladies’ team coach, Ernest Seleke, is optimistic about reaching greater heights.
Billie Jean King Cup, or the BJK Cup, is a premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched as the Federation Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The BJK Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
The finals will feature 12 teams (Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) competing in the four round-robin groups of three. The four group winners will qualify for the semifinals, and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup will be crowned after the completion of the knockout phase.
Closer to home, the BW Tennis team is comprised of Thato Madikwe, Leungo Monnayoo, Chelsea Chakanyuka, and Kelebogile Monnayoo. However, according to Seleke, they have not assembled the team yet as some of the players are still engaged.
“At the moment, we are depending on the players and their respective coaches in terms of training. However, I will meet up with Botswana-based players in the coming week, while the United States of America (USA) based player Madikwe will probably meet us in Kenya. Furthermore, Ekua Youri and Naledi Raguin, who are based in Spain and France respectively, will not be joining us as they will be writing their examinations,” said Seleke.
Seleke further highlighted the significance of this competition and how competitive it is. “It is a massive platform for our players to showcase their talent in tennis, and it is very competitive as countries target to get promoted to the world categories where they get to face big nations such as Spain, France, USA, and Italy. Though we are going to this tournament as underdogs because it is our second time participating, I’m confident that the girls will put in a good showing and emerge with results despite the odds,” highlighted Seleke.
Quizzed about their debut performance at the BJK Cup, he said, “I think our performance was fair considering the fact that we were newbies. We came third in our group after losing to North Macedonia and South Africa. We went on to beat Uganda, then Kenya in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play Burundi due to heavy rainfall and settled for the position 9/10,” he said.
For her part, team representative Leungo Monnayoo said they are working hard as they aim to do well at the tourney. “The preparations for the tourney have long begun because we practice each and every day. We want to do well, hence we need to be motivated. Furthermore, I believe in my team as we have set ourselves a big target of coming home with the trophy,” she said.
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Pep Stores donates sanitary towels to Popagano JSS
The Guidance and Counseling unit at Popagano Junior Secondary School received a donation of 790 sanitary towels from Pep stores on Thursday.
When presenting the donation, Mareledi Thebeng, the Dinokaneng Area Manager, highlighted their belief in giving back to the community, as their existence depends on the communities they serve. Thebeng pointed out that research indicates one in four girls miss school every day due to the lack of basic necessities like sanitary towels. Therefore, as a company, they strive to assist in alleviating this situation. She expressed hope that this donation would help ensure uninterrupted learning for girls.
Upon receiving the donation on behalf of the students, Charity Sambire, the President of the Student Representative Council, expressed her gratitude. Sambire specifically thanked Pep Store for their generous gift, speaking on behalf of the students, especially the girl child.
She conveyed their sincere appreciation for Pep Store’s compassion and quoted the adage, “Blessed is the hand that gives.” Sambire expressed the students’ hope for Pep Stores’ prosperity, enabling them to continue supporting the students. As a gesture of gratitude, the students pledged to excel academically.
During her speech, Motlalepula Madome, the Senior Teacher in Guidance and Counseling, highlighted that many students at the school come from disadvantaged backgrounds where parents struggle to provide basic necessities. Consequently, some students miss school when they experience menstruation due to this lack.
Madome emphasized the significance of the donation in preventing the girl child from missing lessons and its potential to improve the school’s overall results. She expressed the school’s gratitude and expressed a desire for continued support from Pep Stores.
Popagano Junior Secondary School, situated in the Okavango District, holds the second position academically in the North West region. Despite its location, the school has been dedicated to achieving excellence since 2017
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Botswana misses out critical PAP committee meeting
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) committee on gender, family, youth and people with disability in its sitting considered, adopted and recommended to the plenary session the preliminary report on the framework for the model law on gender equality.
According to the last week’s media release from PAP which is sitting with its various committees until June 2nd, the committee is following up the PAP initiative to draw up a model law on gender equality to enable national governments to harmonize, modernize and standardize their legislations to address local needs is set to be discussed in Plenary.
However, what is concerning is the fact that Botswana which is a member state missed the deliberations. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko who sat in the committee representing Botswana has since been ejected by parliament and this is a huge blow for a nation that is still battling equity and gender balance.
“Although PAP has no legislative powers it makes model laws for member states to adopt. PAP also develops protocols to be ratified by countries. The input of countries at Committee state is extremely critical. It now means the voice of Botswana is missing the discussions leading up to development of protocols or model laws,” said one of Botswana’s representative at PAP Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang who is attending the current session.
While Botswana is missing, the committee meeting took place on the sidelines of the Sixth PAP second ordinary Session being held under the African Union Theme of the Year for 2023, “The Year of AfCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area” in Midrand, South Africa and will run up to 2 June 2023. Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala expressed satisfaction with preliminary processes undertaken so far towards the formulation of the Model Law,” a release from the PAP website reads.
“The law should be suitable to all countries whatever the predominant culture or religion is. The aim is to give an opportunity to women to participate in the economic, political and social development of the continent. Women are not well positioned and face a lot of obstacles. We are introducing the idea of equity in the Law because we cannot talk about equality without equity,” said Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala in the press statement.
The release has stated that among issues to be covered by the Model Law is the migratory movements of women. The Committee proffered that this has to be addressed at the continental level to ensure that migrant women enjoy all their rights and live with dignity in their destination country. The members of the Gender Committee undertook consultations to consolidate the contributions of the various stakeholders that will be the logical framework format for the Model Law.