Lobatse is too close to call

Sebidiko Gobotsamang sits with friends inside the two-bedroom house that she is renting. For a while now, the house has provided her family with shelter.

The house is jam packed with some of the possessions that she has procured over the years, with some items heaped on top of each other. She and her daughter, son and grandchild call this place home. Each month she forks out close to P400 for rent. She also spends additional P30 for water at one of her neighbours. The yard has no electricity and the tenants all use one pit latrine. It is a hot Saturday afternoon, and she is chatting with neighbours about this and that. Since she relocated to Peleng West when she was in her late twenties, she has never had formal employment.

When she arrived in Lobatse from Moshupa, the self-taught entrepreneur became one of the famous shebeen queens in the neighbourhood. But that dream has since crashed along with her hopes and aspirations. Although she owns a piece of land in Molapowabojang, she has only gone as far as constructing a one-room house. After government introduced the new trading regulations for alcohol, she instantly became an unemployment statistic adding to hungry residents of Peleng West and Lobatse who were estimated at around 60 percent in 2001. Over the years, Ramoleele and other residents of Peleng West and the surrounding wards have watched with contempt, as the area has remained unchanged. In fact, Peleng has remained stagnant for decades now.

Some of the red mud houses that once clustered this location might be gone but the numbering system remains, as do some of the old structures whose owners are yet to develop them. The same one-lane streets are still there. Although the Lobatse Town Council has attempted to change the face of Peleng, residents find little comfort in these initiatives such as the Peleng Infrastructure Upgrading that included the sewerage reticulation as well as the water reticulation handover to the Water Utilities Corporation. Other recent developments include upgrading of Athlone Hospital, phase 2 of Geological Surveys, provision of infrastructure at Airstrip/Plantation, Boswelatlou, Tsopeng, Motswedi and Pitikwe, extension of civic centre as well as the construction of the Lobatse Town Park (which is now functional). “Life in Lobatse is different to life in other towns. We are yet to understand how some of these projects will simplify life for us while we are living in houses that will fall on us while we are sleeping.

We are even more frustrated by the fact that it seems like we have been deserted while developments are being taken to other locations in Lobatse,” says a frustrated resident, Jabulani Nyathi. He says that they are concerned at the filth in the town and the fact that nothing is being done to clean the area. Like other residents, he spends sleepless nights worrying about unemployment in Lobatse. “Workers here are unfairly treated and there are few opportunities for our children to find work,” he says. Another resident who refuses to disclose her name says they are still finding solace in being employed at neighbouring farms. Every day she parts with P10 to commute to work and back, She also pays P200 for a two-room house that can barely stand on its feet. “I have a family to feed and there is nothing that I can do. My wage is not enough to cover rent, my transport as well as clothe and feed my family,” she reflects sadly. “Lobatse is just full of abandoned buildings and old structures such as the old Police Officers houses in Peleng, as well as the dilapidated Lobatse Old Mall that has a rich history. Apart from unemployment, residents are crying about shortage of land. Many residents have waited for many years before they were finally given a piece of land. In 2009, Lobatse Town Council serviced 1 895 plots at Plantation, Airstrip, Pitikwe, Tsopeng North, Boswelatlou and Motswedi.

The layout for the Airstrip/plantation comprises 1 054 plots (including 130 plots at Tsopeng, 166 at Motswedi, 67 at Boswelatlou and 468 at Pitikwe). The demarcation for these plots was conducted in 2003. Until recently, plots were last allocated in 1996, with a total of 1 310 plots allocated to deserving citizens. Out of this number 143 of the plots were deemed to be unsuitable as they were in the No-Go area-Ext 23. In 2007, the 143 plot holders were relocated from the No-go area. On top of these plots there is an area of 356, 25 hectares north of Pitikwe, known as Spitskop/Goede Hoop, which at the time was in the pipeline to be serviced for industrial activities. Evergreen that holds 288,50 hectares south of Lobatse College of Education is reserved for residential plots. As the road to the 2014 general election intensifies, many who make up part of the 29000 residents of this town are left searching deep into their souls to determine whether they will choose the Member of Parliament based on the candidate or party.

But one thing is for sure when the winning candidate is announced at the Lobatse Civic Centre on October 25th Lobatse will never be the same again. However, cracks are beginning to show that the residents of this ghost town might have finally learnt a valuable lesson when it comes to going against the ruling party. Many have observed with disdain what they term government punishment for voting the opposition into power. On October 24th, Gobotsamang, Nyathi and the rest of the 12 889 eligible voters of the 12 council wards in Lobatse will cast their votes. For the first time since the opposition took control in 1994 through the Botswana National Front of this beef town, the residents are torn apart. Some feel that for as long as they stay loyal to opposition, the ruling Botswana Democratic Party will continue to punish them.

Outspoken Nehemiah Modubule and MP since 1999 (Umbrella for Democratic Change), Elias Rantleru (Botswana Congress Party) and Sadique Kebonang (Botswana Democratic Party) will know their fate on October 25th. The candidates are all confident of victory prospects but only the voters know for sure about who they will rally behind. And while there are some who are blaming Modubule for the demise of Lobatse, others like Kabelo Modise beg to differ. “We blame the government for every ill that has befallen Lobatse,” he says. He also points out that voters like him are wondering how much suffering they have to endure before their town returns to its glory days. “And for these much needed developments to happen, some are left with only the option of voting the ruling party even if they are card carrying members of other parties,” he notes. He also says that the win for any of the candidates was not as easy as it looks. He is also confident that any of the candidates stands a good chance of winning. “It can either be BDP, or any of the opposition parties,” says Modise. In 2009, Modubule made history when 4175 voters rallied behind him making him the first Independent candidate to win the hearts of Lobatse residents.

His opponents, Otlaadisa Koosaletse (BNF candidate and MP from 1994 to 1999), Moggie Mbaakanyi (BDP), Taunyane Williams (BCP) and John Modise (Batlhoka tiro organisation) received 1018, 4060, 474 and 40 votes respectively. Modubule’s victory was testament that voters were not after a party but a candidate and his capabilities. He agrees with some of the residents that the biggest challenge right now in Lobatse is job creation and unemployment. “We still need to do more in terms of attracting firms to Lobatse in order to create jobs. The Economic Diversification Unit motion that I tabled in parliament hopes to try and revive the economy of Lobatse,” he says. He also points out that all is not lost for the hungry residents since there are two projects in the pipeline that will create employment.

These are the Leather Park that will employ close to 5 000 job seekers as well as the Milk Africa Dairy. Other projects that will hopefully transform the face of Lobatse are the two museums at the late Fish Keitseng’s residence where Nelson Mandela took shelter and the Samora Machel Museum. “They will certainly attract tourists to Lobatse,” he observes. Like Modubule, Rantleru who is not new to politics having once led the Botswana National Youth Council (BNYC) is optimistic about his chances and hopes to add to the number of MPs for his party. His priorities range from education, economic development and sport. Regarding sport, he says that this can be done by way of emulating other big teams across the world such as creating the Gunners Village (that will have hotel, houses as well as offices) as a way of making teams self-sufficient. He says Lobatse can be turned into an economic tourism town by taking advantage of this history and the historical sites that still remain. “I have done my research and I am confident that these will work,” he says. At press time, Kebonang was not available for comment. Several calls to his mobile on Tuesday and Wednesday were not returned.

Fact Sheet:
Ben Thema was the first MP of Lobatse under the ruling party in 1965
The constituency has 12 Council Wards- namely Thema/Motswedi, Peleng East, Peleng Central, Peleng West, Maokaneng, Boswelatlou, New Look, Botoka, Woodhall, Tsopeng South, Tsopeng North and Lobatse Farms
Two Police Stations: Lobatse and Woodhall
Primary Schools: Hill Primary School, St Theresa, Peleng West, Ipelegeng, Bothakga, Maitlamo, Pitikwe.
Senior School: Lobatse Senior School
Junior Secondary School: Pitikwe, Letsopa, Ipelegeng, and Itireleng.
Health facilities: Sbrana Psychiatric and Athlone Hospital, as well as Motswedi, Peleng East, Peleng Central, Woodhall and Tsopeng Clinics