When politics becomes child’s play

Robert Masitara’s future as parliamentary candidate for Gaborone Bonnington North looks uncertain as Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) is allegedly hatching a plan to oust him.

He surprised his colleagues when he pulled a shock announcement that he will be suspending campaign to take up a lucrative job in North America for a period of half a year. Botswana goes to the polls in late October under a cloud of poor service delivery and increasing corruption under president Ian Khama’s leadership. Masitara is believed to have touched a raw nerve when he urged council candidates in his constituency not to mention his name in their campaigns. It was advice uncharacteristic of a BDP politician.

Since then, the party appears to have developed a master plan for dealing with Masitara’s exit. Officially the party claims that all is well in the constituency especially after secretary general, Mpho Balopi summoned Masitara to an emergency branch committee meeting last week Sunday to address “burning issues.” But several sources in the constituency are in agreement that Tsholetsa House is in a panic mode and has concocted a plan to elbow an increasingly infantile Masitara out of domkrag politics.

‘A new kid on the block’ has been identified. Kagiso Ntime, former Botswana National Front (BNF) Youth League president is fingered as the most capable of candidates to match the maverick BNF president, Duma Boko and soft-spoken Anna Motlhagodi of Botswana Congress Party (BCP).
Those who understand BDP politics say Ntime appear to understand the language of opposition politics more than many in the ruling party and should be thrown down the gauntlet. ”He has worked with the opposition. He knows Boko,” muses one council candidate as he tries to suppress his disappointment with Masitara’s announcement.

Ntime also comes with his own baggage. As an opposition politician, he failed to impress at the polls. He stood and lost election in Village and Gaborone Central ward twice.
Be that as it may,  he has been able to endear himself well to the Khamas. That worked. Much like Khama, he rarely shaves his hair and idolises the president he grew up hating. He is relatively close to Khama and is said to be making some uncomfortable at Tsholetsa House. The plan to court Ntime, sources say, was hatched by Mephato Reatile (also former BNF firebrand).

Masitara fell out of favour when he adopted a sniff-out-and-tell attitude towards corruption. In African politics, that was a recipe for obvious conflict.As chairman of the public accounts committee - a parliament oversight body responsible for government expenditure, Masitara stirred up a hornet’s nest when he threatened to spill the beans on high-level corruption, and later called on the vice president to account for the ongoing power crisis. Ponatshego Kedikilwe was energy minister when government lost out on a multibillion Pula Mmamabula energy deal and when Morupule B hired an incompetent contractor at a cost of P11 billion. Masitara has been summoned for condemning his corrupt colleagues in parliament and observers say he might be frustrated with BDP ineptitude and heading for exit. But his strategy was far from perfect.

At Galaletsang primary school last Sunday, he looked weak and tired. Without showing any sign of remorse, he rescinded his plan to suspend campaign and effectively cancelled his financial intelligence job in Canada but veered to his mantra: ‘Batsadi bame,’ he told gazing council candidates in a half full classroom, “Ke ne ke itshamekela. (I was joking, I am not going anywhere.)” But nobody believes him.

Leading the disappointment is specially nominated councillor and actor John Mokandla. “He has created animosity among the sitting councillors, but his recklessness had made BDP edgy and nobody knows what he will do next.” For the opposition, this is a defining moment and candidates are hoping to exploit disappointment with the BDP in October. In 2009, Motlhagodi lost to Masitara with a margin of 1587, garnering about 30 percent of the votes. Many fear that Motlhagodi may close the margin if Masitara continues to be inconsistent and provide conflicting political signals to voters.

Under Masitara, the constituency is at its weakest and opposition might pick up the pieces. At 3277 votes, Maemo Bantsi came a reasonable third in 2009 providing glimmer of hope that Boko may pull a surprise in 2014. Both Boko and Motlhagodi command breezy confidence of politicians who know that things are going right for them. October will also be a litmus test for Boko who has partially been paralysed by ultra-conservatives who have focused their anti-alliance message on discontent with the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).

Masitara campaigned on a strong message of ending corruption and bringing development in less affluent parts of Gaborone, Bonnington North. He promised to use his personal wealth to construct a road and a bridge that links Extension 16 and Bull and Bush. That promise has now been tucked away in shelves at his dysfunctional constituency office. But Gaborone Bonnington North has gone under a transformation and is evidently a sucking vortex where Gaborone’s economic heart is. The relocation of Diamond Trading Company from London to Gaborone appears to have benefitted Gaborone Bonnington North residents in a more significant way than any other constituency.  Over 3 000 jobs in the mid-tier diamond beneficiation business are housed in Block 8.

Real estate is booming. Sightholders became a magnet for merchant banks. Crime is low and there are fewer potholes. Sir Seretse Khama Airport police station records least house breakings and murder cases than any other police station in Gaborone. But don’t be fooled, the electorate, too, is changing; it is becoming increasingly sophisticated. With four universities and colleges of education, Gaborone Bonnington North voter is generally young, dynamic and disheartened.

BDP’s poor service delivery record, part fuelled by constant squabbles with student representative councils, does not bode well with young voters who in turn resort to apathy. Boko and Motlhagodi may exploit BDP woes and Masitara’s missteps, but should know too well that voters demand real solutions to their real problems, not politicians who are willing to spew contradictory rhetoric.