THE BIG COME BACK
Mokgethi fancies beating UDC in Nkange
Specially-Elected Councillor, Ishmael Mokgethi who served as Tutume Sub District Chairman from 2014 to 2019, is confident of going to Parliament in 2024. “When I agreed to contest Tutume West ward which is now Tutume North Ward back in 2004 after winning the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) primary elections, my ambition was to serve the ward for three terms before contesting the constituency for two terms after which I would retire from active politics but remain a BDP member,” Mokgethi said in an interview with The Midweek Sun.
However, although the former Tutume Sub District Chairman won the BDP primaries for the Nkange constituency, his bid to go to parliament was scampered by Dr Never Tshabang of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) in 2019, when Mokgethi got 6806 votes to Tshabang’s 7766.
Nyalalani Wotho, who had left the BDP for the Alliance for Progressives (AP) after expressing disaffection with the party primaries to Mokgethi, was voted by 1458 people.
“To me, the loss to the UDC is a temporary setback. I lost because one of our own did not accept the results. Our divisions gave the constituency to the UDC,” said Mokgethi, who is confident of a win in 2024. “I will then retire in 2029 as originally planned,” said Mokgethi, who is apparently emboldened by the fact that none of Tshabang’s Councillors supported him in his running battles with his erstwhile party, Botswana Congress Party (BCP) from which he has since been expelled.
Mokgethi is unfazed by the opposition’s presence in the constituency. “I am not worried. The constituency has always been ours and we are not going to allow what happened in 2019 in the Nkange constituency to happen again.
“Indications are that instead of collaborating, the opposition will compete vigorously. A BCP-led coalition with the Alliance for Progressives (AP) is a real possibility too and will allow us to turn the tables. The UDC does not stand a chance in the next general elections,” Mokgethi said.
However, he is alive to the fact that someone else in his party may win the primaries and hence destroy his plans to go to parliament.
Sharing his political history with this publication, Mokgethi, whose own father led the opposition Botswana Progressive Union (BPU) following the death of the party founding President, Daniel Kwele in 1992, stayed away from his father’s party.
“Although my father became the party president at some point, I did not join it. Instead, I joined the BDP because of the relentless efforts to recruit me by Obed Chilume, Philip Magaga and Semausu Ndzinge, among other BDP activists. “For some time, I hesitated to dump my secure job at the Central Transport Organisation (CTO) in Francistown and blunder into what was practically a leap of faith activity,” said the former Sub District chairman.
He added that BDP members put more pressure on him to leave CTO for politics, as there was going to be a delimitation process which would create more wards. “So determined was the BDP to win me that before I knew it, they were on the ground campaigning for me. After my wife and parents’ approval, I left my job for political activism,” he revealed. Among his achievements as one of the longest serving politician is the elevation of the Tutume sub district to a fullyfledged district. “Besides, I have contributed to the infrastructural development of Tutume as a whole including the villages that constitute the district.” As the chairperson, Mokgethi used his experience and training from CTO before he became a politician. “One of the attributes of leadership is impartiality. I never threw anybody out on the basis of party affiliation. I have always treated Councillors equally,” the veteran politician said.
He refuted allegations that politicians take positions for their own benefit and not for the voter.
“That is too general and unfair. I am not aware of anybody who was a destitute before becoming a Councillor only to leave a millionaire. The opposite is true. A lot of politicians were doing well even before they joined politics. It is a fact that some politicians were financially and materially worse off when they left political office than when they took office,” Mokgethi said.
He observed that the expectations of the people sometimes become too much for the Councillor especially where poverty reigns supreme.
“As a Councillor, you find yourself having to intervene by way of providing transport for a variety of challenges to the community members some of who are your relatives. You cannot run away from that because the voters believe that somehow, the car you drive belongs to them especially if you bought it after they elected you. “While it is true that assisting your voters even at a personal level is part of thanking them, it is also important to teach your community the real role of a Councillor or MP,” Mokgethi concluded.