Letsholo accused of abandoning electorates

A tough battle is awaiting Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Kanye North Member of Parliament Thapelo Letsholo in the party primary elections, Bulela Ditswe.Letsholo will face tough competition from Kentse Rammidi, Thamisanqa Chabalala and Victor Makuku. All the three, who are Letsholo’s political party colleagues, say the incumbent is hardly ever present in the constituency.Rammidi is a political veteran who previously served as Assistant Minister of Local Government, Kanye North Member of Parliament and party Secretary General.Makuku on the other hand is a teacher with Secondary Diploma in Education and pastoral theology, while Chabalala is a former Southern District Council (SDC) Chairman, which is now Kanye District Council. He is currently Councillor for Mahikana ward.Makuku lost as an independent parliamentary candidate dubbed 'Serurubele' in 2014 and again lost primary elections in 2018. He believes he is now in a good position to contest for BDP primaries against Letsholo for the second time.Makuku told The Midweek Sun this week that his intention to contest for the Kanye North parliamentary seat again has been renewed, as Letsholo has abandoned the electorate.He has observed that most MPs only become available to voters during campaign period and opt to stay in cities after winning elections."The incumbent lost touch with the electorate. They are complaining about it. In all the years from 2018, he has never taken my calls or bothered to return my calls as his voter," he complained.Makuku is hopeful that he stands a better chance to win primary elections and ultimately win the parliamentary seat this time. He believes that tabling motions in Parliament, something that Letsholo is renowned for, does not impact day-to-day lives of the electorate."I believe MPs should check on their voters. I hardly see the incumbent checking on his voters," Makuku said.Letsholo refuted allegations that he has lost touch with the electorate. As far as he knows, he has been available in the constituency and he's not aware if he's up for a tough challenge in the primaries."The BDP has not called for expressions of interest for its primary elections," he said.Letsholo won Kanye North constituency in 2019, garnering 11 109 votes against Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) candidate Otlaadisa Koosaletse, who only managed 5 667 votes.Both Rammidi and Chabalala confirmed to The Midweek Sun that they would be competing in primary elections.

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Letsholo accused of abandoning electorates