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BOPA News on 22 October 1999

Several faces from the previous Cabinet have been dropped. These include former ministers, Chapson Butale (Health), Bahiti Temane (Labour and Home Affairs), George Kgoroba (Commerce and Industry), Ronald Sebego (Agriculture) and Lesedi Mothibamele (assistant minister of Agriculture).

The President has retained Lt-General Seretse Khama Ian Khama as Vice President and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration.

General Mompati Merafhe has also been retained as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The President has given the post of Minister of Commerce and Industry to Mr Daniel Kwelagobe, former Minister of Local Government, Lands and Housing.

Minister of Works, Transport and Communications, Mr David Magang has also kept his post, a move seen by some analysts as a stamp of recognition for the job he has been doing as the country tries to reshape its landscape.

The Minister of Education is Mr Ponatshego Kedikilwe who was the first to be announced at a news conference on Wednesday.

Mr Thebe Mogami is the new Minister of Labour and Home Affairs while former Bank of Botswana Governor, Mr Baledzi Gaolathe becomes the Minister of Finance and Development Planning.

Other appointments are: Dr Margaret Nasha (Minister of Local Government), Mr Johnnie Swartz (Minister of Agriculture), Ms Joy Phumaphi (Minister of Health), Mr Jacob Nkate (Minister of Lands and Housing) and Mr Boometswe Mokgothu (Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Affairs).

Ms Tebelelo Seretse, the new Member of Parliament for Serowe South has been appointed Assistant Minister in the Office of the President, and Thamaga MP, Ms Gladys Kokorwe is the Assistant Minister of Local Government.

Mr Pelokgale Seloma is Assistant Minister of Agriculture while former Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) and Palapye MP, Mr Boyce Sebetela has been named Assistant Minister of Finance and Development Planning.

In 1937 his life took a dramatic turn when Tshekedi Khama, the Bangwato regent, accused him of impregnating his wife and conspiring with her to poison his mother. Although these sensational charges were never substantiated, Raditladi was exiled from Gammangwato. Thereafter he became a strong critic of royal autocracy.

After serving as a clerk in the colonial civil service, where his advancement was blocked due to race, in 1944 Raditladi became Batawana Kgosi Moremi III's Tribal Secretary. From 1945-53 Raditladi continued to work for Moremi's widow, the regent Pulane Moremi.

Raditladi then moved to Francistown, where he operated a cafe and worked for the labour recruiting agency "Wenela". There he became involved in the Bamangwato National Congress, a grouping of young supporters of the exiled Seretse Khama, which also included K.T. Motsete, Lenyeletse Seretse, M.P.K. Nwako and Kenneth Koma.

In 1954 Raditladi also revived the Bechuanaland Protectorate African Workers Union and in the same year founded the Francistown African Cultural Organisation. The latter served as a forum for educated township dwellers. In 1957 he was finally allowed to return to Serowe.

Raditladi decided to form the Federal Party after the colonial government agreed to establish a Legislative Council. The Party's manifesto declared its opposition to the continued political domination of dikgosi. But, its growth was compromised when Raditladi, himself, agreed to serve as the sub-chief for Mahalapye. The Party was then overtaken by the BPP and BDP. In 1965 Raditladi took part in meetings that led to the formation of the BNF, but he did not play an active role in the movement.

As a journalist Raditladi contributed articles to the Naledi ya Batswana newspaper, using the cover name "Observer". Raditladi's contributions to literature include his poetry collection Sefalana sa Menate, the historical dramas Sekgoma and Motswasele II and the novel Ditshontsho tsa Lorato.

Since the tendering process for radio broadcasting licences started in 1998, the BTA has issued two licences to Copacabana Investment, the owners of Yarona FM radio station, and Thari Investment, whose GABZ FM 96.2 station will go on air at the end of the month.

Twelve applicants had bought tender documents, three submitted their bids on time but only two were awarded the licences after meeting the set criteria.

Speaking at the launch of GABZ FM, at the Grand Palm Hotel, yesterday, vice chairperson of the BTA board, Ms Martha Dambe said they would soon hand over the issuing of broadcasting licences to NBB. The BTA will, however, continue to play a major role in providing secretarial services and technical advice to the board.

"The airwaves are a finite resource for the nation and as such the allocation and management of this resource should be done carefully so the nation can reap maximum benefits from its use," she said.

According to the Broadcasting Act, the NBB will consists of 11 members appointed by the minister responsible.

Among them will be an officer from the Office of the President, one from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry who is responsible for administering copy right legislation in that ministry and one from the Department of Culture and Social Welfare in the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs.

There will also be a member of the BTA and seven others, one of whom will be designated as chairperson of the board, appointed from a list of 10 candidates nominated by the Nominating Committee.

Functions of the board will include issuing the broadcasting licences and exercising control over and supervising broadcasting activities, including the relaying of radio and television programmes from places in and outside the country.

A news release from SADC explains that the programme seeks to reduce the production, trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs in the SADC region and thereby contribute to enhanced social and economic growth.

The financing agreement covers mainly interventions in the areas of regional and national capacity-building and co-ordination, regional harmonisation of laws, general law enforcement and the reduction of the demand for illicit drugs.

The pact will, inter alia, facilitate the work of the SADC Drug Control Committee which is composed of one representative from each of the 14 SADC member states.

It will also ensure that the SADC Secretariat has the needed capacity to implement the programme by providing funds for the recruitment of a regional drug control officer, the release says.

National inter-ministerial drug control co-ordination bodies will be established where they are not already existing to enhance the capacity of the SADC member states to co-ordinate and manage their drug control activities in the most effective way.

The capacity of the mass media will also be enhanced so as to contribute to an increased awareness among the general public regarding the harmful effects of illicit drugs on the social and economic development of the region.

The Executive Secretary of SADC Dr Kaire Mbuende signed on behalf of SADC and Mr Robert Collingwood on behalf of the EC.

SADC has a protocol on Combating Illicit Drugs in the region signed by the Heads of State and Government in Maseru, Lesotho in 1996 which entered into force on March 20, 1999.

Ms Dorcas Kgosietsile, GABZ FM Director, said at the official launch of the station at the Grand Palm Hotel that it would hit the airwaves on October 30 with a pre-launch broadcast.

Live broadcast programming will begin on Saturday, November 6 and will be received by listeners in and around Gaborone.

The station is a 51 and 49 per cent joint venture by a local consortium, Thari Investment Growth Fund and Makana Media and Communication, a South African media company which owns P4 Durban, Cape Town, Kaya FM radio stations.

Makana Investment and Independent Newspapers formed Makana Media and Communication, which is the largest newspaper group in South Africa.

Chairman of the GABZ FM Board, Mr Mogolori Modisi said at the launch that the need to bring Makana Investment on board was "in recognition of the fact that we are plunging into uncharted waters." He said they went in search of a more experienced partner on the advice of the Botswana Telecommunication Authority (BTA) and found Makana attractive as partners for technology transfer and commercial undertakings.

Presenting GABZ FM station with a broadcasting licence at the event, Vice Chairman of the Board of BTA, Ms Martha Dambe said a lot of skill and determination is required to set up and operate a radio station.

Consequently, she commended the local shareholders for a job well done and expressed the hope that they would use the spectrum allocated to them effectively and efficiently.

GABZ FM station manager, Mr Ferdinand Mabalane, a Makana employee who is in the country to get the station going, said the launch of the station was the beginning of a new era in the broadcasting history of Botswana.

The emergence of GABZ FM would be a total departure from the norm of a radio as a source of information and entertainment, he said, noting that they would in addition be a vehicle for advertisers to market their products.

Mr Mabalane said they would undertake a vigorous education campaign to educate companies that they could benefit from advertising on their radio station. At the same time, the station would ensure that its services were of high standards.

As pioneers in the private commercial radio industry, he said, they had the responsibility to prove that they could add value to convince advertisers that radio was their dream come true.

Mr Mabalane has been given the tasks to set up, train and launch the station.

He is in Gaborone for a specific period of time to run the station, while transferring skills to the station's future management.

According to the owners, the station has acquired the latest state of the art equipment for its studios, to provide its listeners with the best quality programming and productions.

"This equipment will also enhance the quality of commercials and other productions for local advertisers to finally realise the effectiveness of radio advertising.

The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) intends to petition the High Court to nullify the outcome of the Francistown East parliamentary seat which was won by the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).

Ms Joy Phumaphi of the BDP won the seat with 4 310 votes followed by Mr Peter Woto of the Botswana National Front (BNF) with 1 525.

The BCP candidate, Mr Raphael Sikwane, polled 1 416 while Dr Knight Maripe of the Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM) was fourth with 1 178 votes.

BCP legal secretary, Mr Gabriel Komboni told BOPA in a telephone interview this week that the matter had been brought to his attention and was still awaiting further instructions.

Mr Sikwane disputed the results, claiming elections were rigged. He alleged that there was no transparency during the counting of ballot papers.

Meanwhile in Moshupa, independent parliamentary candidate Tuelo Kebaswele will petition the High Court, complaining about the way the election were run in the constituency.

In a telephone interview with BOPA, Mr Kebaswele said he was denied access to the Ralekgetho and Moshupa polling stations.

He also said his symbol was not on some ballot papers at Manyana, Moshupa and Water Affairs Polling stations.

MELS Movement of Botswana has also sent a protest note to the IEC complaining about the irregularities in the Gaborone West constituency election. In the protest note MELS parliamentary aspirant for Gaborone West, Mr Ndiye Tlhatlogang, said at the Block 8 polling station there were no symbols for MELS and the MELS candidate's name was not shown to voters.

Mr Tlhatlogang said there were also no symbols for MELS and names of the candidate at Electrical, Ithuteng, Bosele, Taung and Mosekangwetsi polling stations.

Mr Tlhatlogang said he hand given the IEC 24 hours from October 18 to respond, failing, which he would petition the High Court.

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