The dark side of Bophirima ward awaits Mankie Sekete’s action
The people of Bophirima ward in the Gaborone Bonnington South Constituency want newly elected Councillor Mankie Sekete of Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) to be a visible leader who should be ready to loudly tell government about nagging issues in their area.
Casting their votes at different polling stations while heavy rains poured this past weekend, voters said all they want is a leader who will know why they were sent to council. Ontibile Malgas (62) said they want Sekete to speak about installation of culverts because rain water flows all the way into their homes and damages tarred roads. “She should also speak for the vulnerable members of the community such as the poor, orphans and the disabled. They need to be cared for and given special treatment,” she said. Robert Lesedi (43) who has been in Bophirima since the 1980s said unemployment is very high in their area. There are no jobs leading to the youth idling and eventually misbehaving.
Otisitswe James Njadingwe (64) expressed concern about vehicle owners who prefer to drive along passages designated for pedestrians. “It is not fair on school going children and other pedestrians. Passages should strictly be for those walking and not cars. We are deeply worried about that,” said Njadingwe. He further added that there are some homesteads in the area known to be safe houses for criminals who terrorise the community. “We are happy that the police managed to bust them not so long ago but I want the new Councillor to aggressively speak to the community so that we watch out and help each other,” he said. Tshwaraganang Motlhabi (32) said there are many issues that need immediate attention in their area. “The roads are bad, storm water floods our homes, the whole area is dark at night, we need street lights.” “We also have no entertainment venues, we used to have Mmamasire Youth Centre hosting a bee hive of activities for the youth but everything there is now dead. There is nothing exciting here anymore, the only entertainment here is at the beer holes and shebeemns.
I hope that the new Councillor will look into such,” he said. Motlhabi also noted that crime in the area is so high that when retiring to bed, vehicle owners have to take out their car batteries and keep them in the house for the night. “If you leave it in your car, you will find it gone the next day, your car will not start. The area is densely populated with many unemployed youth leading to high crime rate.” Gomontlemang Keoratile (25) said there is high presence of drugs in the streets and there is need for through cleaning. “They need to find ways of cleaning up the streets because the youth is getting consumed by drugs on a daily basis. The younger generation are tomorrow’s leaders but they will perish because of substance abuse,” he said. Elderly women, Tiny Kewakae and Idah Mohamadi complained that their ward was very so filthy it needed urgent attention. “We need through cleaning - papers and plastics are everywhere, council should be in a position to help get the area clean. Also, we hardly sleep at night, there are just too many alcohol depots around here and they play loud music, they need to be controlled,” they said. After she was announced winner on Saturday night, a happy Sekete who was in the company of party president Duma Boko said she aims not to disappoint those who trusted her with the office of a councillor. She pledged to hold hands with the community and do her best to serve to the best of her ability.