A factional war has erupted within the Sefhare Botswana Democratic Party membership. The supporters of the sitting Member of Parliament, Oreeditse Molebatsi, are pitted against those of councilor Gipsy Mulosu that are threatening to vote for the Opposition in the next general elections.
Molebatsi under Threat
Mulosu’s supporters accuse Molebatsi of working against her. At a recent Kgotla meeting the residents of Sefhare expressed concern about the division. The general feeling among the villagers is that MP Molebatsi has neglected the village. The latest bone of contention is imminent construction of the Vocational and Technical College (VTC) in Chadibe.
Prominent BDP members in the village have accused the MP of moving the VTC to Chadibe to appease the people of that village after a Junior Secondary School allocated for the area was moved to Mokobeng.
“During Pelokgale Seloma’s era a Junior School was promised to the Chadibe village but was then moved to Mokobeng. Now that the elections are approaching he has given them the VTC promised to us, to appease them,” an active party member of the BDP who preferred anonymity said.
The villagers said Tswapong South is the only constituency whose developments are not centralized. “Sefhare is a big village with a large population, but still lags behind in development and its services are not centralized. The village has a primary hospital and the land board offices; but now Tumasera Seleka will get a Senior School while Police stations will be built in Machaneng and Ramokgonami. We feel that this is just a way to build a solid base for the MP ahead of Bulela Ditswe,” said a village elder.
But Molebatsi has dismissed allegations that he does not see eye to eye with his councilor. He said projects in the region are guided by the National Development Plan and not by his wishes.
“It is not true that Mulosu and I are divided. We are two people working together guided by the development plans, how can we then be divided?” He asked. He said it was unreasonable for the Sefhare community to demand that every development should be located in their village when Tswapong South is a big region.
“The technical college was never intended for Sefhare; Cabinet decided that it should be in Chadibe because the village lagged behind in development. Every village is fighting for projects; Chadibe has nothing while it has a population of more than 4000 people. Tumasera is even bigger than Sefhare.”
As the date of the primary elections fast approaches Molebatsi could find himself out of the race for Parliament next year. Mulosu’s supporters have threatened not to vote for him, a development that might see either Segaetsho Gaerekwe or Richard Segodise winning the ticket to stand for the general elections.
Insiders also say that Molebatsi acknowledges that the party is divided in the village and feels that some people are trying to de-campaign him.
BY NCHIDZI SMARTS
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