03 Dec 2014

 Former deputy mayor of Jwaneng Town Council, Councillor Tsietsi Oodira-Kwenje recently beat fellow member of Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) Councillor Bankinyana Montsiemang with a slight margin to win the mayoral seat.

Cllr Oodira-Kwenje got five votes against Cllr Montsiemang’s four votes in a closely contested election.

Newcomer Cllr Kruger Chepete of Raphalane ward ascended to the position of deputy mayor when he stood unopposed after Cllr Montsiemang and his three sympathisers indicated that they would not take part in the nomination or election of deputy mayor, and walked out of the council chambers.

Furthermore, Cllr Montsiemang, together with Seole ward Cllr Obed Monkge, Kgalagadi ward Cllr Lydia Warona and Mogale ward Cllr Ronnica Ntsimako did not partake in the nomination of council committees, which saw the only three Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) councillors electing themselves to head the committees. 

The four UDC councillors also declined nominations to council committees, except where their membership was compulsory.

In his acceptance speech, Cllr Oodira-Kwenje urged the councillors to work together towards a common goal of effective service delivery to the community.

“Let us put our political party affiliations and other self-interests aside because we are all working towards one objective of seeking greener pastures for our community,” he said.

He called on the councillors to unite and help him lead the council because if they fail to deliver on their mandate they would have failed the electorate.

Cllr Oodira-Kwenje applauded the council administration for organising an orientation workshop for the newly elected councillors to ensure that they execute their duties diligently and responsibly.

He said he was hopeful that the Jwaneng Town Council would continue to uphold the good reputation it was known for.

The mayor also noted that he would soon devise a roadmap that would guide the council in its mandate to deliver services to the people.

The Jwaneng Town Council comprises nine councillors, two of which were specially nominated. 

From the elected seven, only one is a BDP member while the rest are from the UDC. ENDS