STOLEN IDEA
Retired University of Botswana Professor, Setumile Morapedi, has come out with guns blazing at the Minister of Child Welfare and Basic Education, Nono Kgafela Mokoka, accusing her of hijacking what she calls her brainchild, the Bula Buka programme, which is expected to roll out today (Wednesday).
This came after she was flatly denied the opportunity to speak or ask the minister questions at a media briefing held in Gaborone on Monday to officially launch the start of Phase One of the programme.
Morapedi, who served in the English Department, Faculty of Humanities, from 1996 until 2022, says the project did not start with the current government but was born more than a decade ago, in 2011, in Moshupa.
According to Morapedi, the initiative was originally known as the Moshupa Study Group and targeted Junior and Senior Secondary School leavers in Moshupa.
She said the idea was inspired by a youth expo held in Moshupa, where she was struck by the level of talent among young people, but also by their visible frustration and lack of direction.
“I realised that most of them were very talented, but at the same time I could see that they were not happy, that they needed more,” she said.
Morapedi explained that she spent months developing a proposal and sourcing funding to support young people with practical skills. She submitted the proposal to her then-employer, the University of Botswana, which endorsed the idea and agreed to fund it.
She then registered over 500 students, many of whom expressed interest in acquiring hands-on, practical skills. She recalls that on the day the programme was unveiled, the Moshupa kgotla was filled with young people eager to enrol.
Using Diratsame and Moshupa Secondary schools as centres, Morapedi said the programme ran until 2014, when funding was depleted. By then, she said, many participants were industry-ready and were absorbed into the job market.
The success of the programme was celebrated in 2015, at an event attended by the then Minister of Education, Unity Dow.
Following the funding challenges, Morapedi reached out to several organisations, locally and internationally, to revive and expand the programme nationally.
At one point, the government was interested and she was advised to register as a trust, leading to the establishment of the Youth Education and Empowerment Trust (YEET).
However, she said momentum stalled following the change of government in late 2024, forcing her to reintroduce the concept to the new Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) administration.
According to Morapedi, the reception was positive, and for the past year, they had been working closely with government in preparation for a national rollout.
She alleges that several preparatory workshops were held and that, in consultation with education stakeholders, the programme was renamed from YEET to Bula Buka. She says plans were at an advanced stage, with a formal launch expected to be officiated by the President.
Morapedi was shocked when the minister went ahead and launched the programme in Mmathubudikwane last year without informing her.
“We have been left shocked. I thought we were together in this, only for her to come and do this. We had even planned that the launch would be done by the President, not her,” she said.
They were in the process of signing a Memorandum of Understanding when communication suddenly stalled, only for them to later hear that the programme had already been launched and that registration was underway.
“Nono should back off. That is my baby, my brainchild. You can never take it from me. I will fight for it with my all,” Morapedi said.
She now wants to meet President Duma Boko to establish whether his government still supports her idea.
“He should tell me if his government does not want my idea. I will take it elsewhere. The proposal they are using to seek funding is my sweat and my brains. They cannot get funding at my expense and think they can sideline me,” she said.
Morapedi insisted that she piloted the programme and understands its full scope, adding that no funder would support an initiative without proof that those seeking their money understand what they are proposing.
In response, Minister Kgafela Mokoka said she had little to say on the matter, insisting that the programme predates the UDC government.
She said the government has long been running out-of-school programmes, including initiatives such as targeted 20,000, and that Bula Buka is simply part of a shift in approach to assess what works and what does not.
“We have not signed any Memorandum of Understanding. There was a point where my officers wanted to meet with her, but she did not come. I do not think this is her project for her to claim ownership of it.”
She also explained that Morapedi was not allowed to speak during the press briefing held at the ministry headquarters on Monday because the meeting was intended to brief journalists, not to address unrelated issues.
Meanwhile, when giving his 2026 national budget speech this past Monday, Minister of Finance Ndaba Gaolathe said the proposed budget for the Ministry of Education was P11.83 Billion and that part of the money will be used for project Bula Buka.
He said, “The initiative, undertaken jointly with the Botswana Open University College and Open Schooling and Youth Empowerment Education Trust (YEET), aims to expand educational access, provide skills, training, build character among out-of-school Junior Certificate leavers, and offer remediation opportunities to Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education leavers”.