Cabinet Ministers push Molefhi
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As battle lines solidifies with hardline stances in the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) elective congress in July this year, cabinet ministers have taken the lead in Nonofo Molefhi’s quest to become party chairman at the expense of Vice President, Mokgweetsi Masisi.
Phillip Makgalemele, the deputy minister at the Ministry of Health and Wellness is the chairs all the proceedings of the Nonofo Molefhi campaign while deputy Ministry in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Biggie Butale is one of the coordinators of the campaigns. Because of the positions they have taken, for the first time in their political careers, they will have to go against President Khama openly within the BDP political spectacle.
After demonstrating their presence on the ground by their numbers at the National Council, the Molefhi camp launched Molefhi’s chairmanship bid just after the BDP National Council this past weekend in Mogoditshane. Tebelelo Seretse was introduced as the lead campaigner in the race to topple Masisi from chairmanship.
BDP insiders have described this as rare, for a president designate to be challenged by those who expect him to take over the reins in a not so distant future. Masisi will take over from President Lt Gen Dr Ian Khama in April 2018 and he will choose and Vice President and appoint his cabinet. But the usual lining up for lucrative ministerial posts appears not to be in the agenda of a number of the executive who have decided to go with their hearts.
Makgalemele is Member of Parliament for Shoshong and has made it clear that the BDP needs a chairman who will focus solely on building the party and will have no extra duties. He believes Molefhi’s pledge to resign from cabinet should he win is an indication that he is serious about strengthening the BDP towards the 2019 general election.
On the other hand, the Shoshong legislator has more than motivation, because he has Vice Presidential ambitions and the fact that he was unceremoniously pushed out of the Office of the President in the last cabinet reshuffle by President Khama could be a further instigator of faith in Molefhi.
Biggie Butale is a spiritual leader, a pastor and a straight arrow politician. He has not made his support for Molefhi a secret, he went to his facebook account to declare: “How do you expect me to be neutral when my brother in the load in running for chairmanship.” Butale’s wording was an exact replica line used by President Khama at the BDP National Council when he declared that people cannot expect him to be neutral when his Vice President is running for chairmanship. In addition to supporting his brother, Butale is incensed by reports that the Masisi camp has planted a shadow in Simon Mavange to challenge him in the primary elections next year.
MASISI CAMPS GETS WAKE UP CALL
Following the BDP National Council at Travel Lodge this past weekend, some of Masisi camp members admitted that Molefhi’s apparent strength shocked them. “It is not going to be a walk in the park, he has supporters,” admitted a BDP senior figure who wants the Vice President retained as chairman.
To demonstrate that this senior figure’s concerns are shared across the camp, there was an impromptu meeting in Mogoditshane on Wednesday evening to recap the events of that were observed at the National Council. Molefhi’s supporters had T-shirts branded ‘Party e Nonofile’ and they were in song and dance with piercing messages towards the Masisi camp, furthermore, they had the numbers. Masisi camp also has branded T-Shirts and caps under the tagline ‘#GoMasisi’.
At some point, insiders point out, the party members were asked not to put on their branded T-Shirts at the conference, but they defied he order the following day, and they continued in song and dance. Even with a signature President Khama endorsement for his Vice President at the Council, the pro-Molefhi enthusiasts appear undeterred and they have already thrown the endorsement over the window.
The BDP constitution is very clear that every five years the party will elect a President of the party at a Special Congress, and if a constant is adopted, Masisi will be sitting president at the time of that congress. The Masisi camp is worried by what a loss at the chairmanship could do to Masisi’s strength as a Presidential candidate, “he must win by hook or crook,” admits one of his supporters.
While the party constitution vests all powers with the President, who also chairs central committee meetings, party insiders fear two centers of power should Masisi lose the chairmanship because Molefhi will not just be an ordinary chairman, he will be a powerful one. Admittedly, Masisi camp is aware that he could push for Presidency at the Special Congress. Traditionally, it has not happened that a sitting BDP president is challenged at this Special Congress, but apparently the Molefhi supporters are alive to the fact that constitution supersedes tradition, therefore Molefhi must be terminated at this conception stage.
DADA, JAGDISH FACEOFF COOKING
This publication has learnt that the Molefhi camp is likely to surprise Satar Dada and field Jagdish Shah against him for the position of treasurer of the party. Initially there were reports that the veteran businessman mogul will not be running because of old age, but his support for Masisi is said to have urged him to have one more run. But the Molefhi camp is contemplating ditching him and vouching for Shah, another money spinning businessman.
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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.