04 Mar 2020

Order! That’s the summation of Mayor Thata Father Maphongo’s plans for Gaborone.

His vision is for a city with scenic boulevards, whose gardens are the enchantment of visitors and locals alike.

He envisions a time where chaotic arrangements that are Main and BBS malls are transformed, with spaces in the malls realigned and reassigned different roles.

In a recent interview, Mayor Maphongo said the makeover of the city would lead to it claiming its rightful status of the ‘Diamond City’.

He outlined an ambitious roadmap to transform Gaborone into an orderly oasis - a real diamond city that is green, lit, sparkly, clean and safe, with a wonderful ambience for dwellers and visitors alike.

Under his stewardship, Mayor Maphongo, who comes from a business back-ground, envisages enhancing the ease of doing business through Public Private Partnerships (PPP), owing to the minimal national cake.

He has many ideas that tick the right boxes for private sector involvement- the model to design, build, operate and transfer as key to investors.

The approach he wants to take is to court the private sector through proposals that could work for them to recover their investments and later transfer ownership to the council, as a way to accrue revenue for the council. 

Mr Maphongo said top of his priorities would be a deliberate move to light up Gaborone by installing 54 tower lights by this month, as the first phase of the project.

He said post that, the city council would continue to install another 30 tower lights during the 2020/21financial year. “Subsequently, this will be augmented by solar lights that we continue to in-stall on the streets. Gaborone is a diamond city and it must reflect that status,” he stressed.

Mr Maphongo said following that, the city would be adequately lit, impacting positively on the reduction of the current ‘runaway’ crime that is the way of life in the current Gabcity, due its darkness.

Another one of ‘Father’s priorities is to clean up the city with the assistance and involvement of a wide array of stakeholders tagged; Gaborone Clean City Campaign. 

He is adamant that the campaign would yield results for a clean and beautiful city, adding that cleanliness would indeed enhance the city’s attractiveness. 

Mayor Maphongo also wants the Segoditshane River, to be converted into a tourist attraction, by being turned into a canal of some sort, so that Gaborone residents and visitors could have somewhere to go for leisure.

“This, as well, would be in the form of a partnership with the private sector, to come up with a working model, which will have a mutual benefit for the council – possibly the PPP that was articulated in the recent budget speech. We are trying to facilitate usage of such partnerships,” he said.

The other initiative is to turn the main mall into a cultural hub, with a beehive of activity to promote culture through music and selling of artifacts that will bring about investment, through tourism driven by Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs).

“Gaborone lacks cultural vibrancy that it can be identified by. … our Setswana culture is very rich and when promoted, it can lead to a creative economy worth millions of Pula,” he said.

He said such performances should be held regularly and be enhanced, to ultimately lead to competitions, outside the country. He is adamant that this could be a game changer in terms of employment in the mall area and revitalising the activities within the city.

The mayor wants the buildings in the Main Mall to be facelifted to accommodate restaurants, to serve night revelers around the area.

“We want those ‘diamontaires’, who come to Gaborone periodically to stay and not fly in and out of the city. We want them to spend their money here,” he stated.

“I have set myself targets, the Main Mall area as the cultural hub and the Segoditshane corridor – I want them to have started by June,” he stated.

Mr Maphongo became Gaborone mayor, after being nominated to council, following the 2019 general elections.

“I am not looking for a job, but am here to serve. I want to ensure that things are done slightly differently,” he said.

He has vast experience in both the public and private sectors and owns a couple of businesses in the financial sector - the most notable being Bayport Botswana.

He hails from Shashemooke and is married with three daughters. He comes from humble beginnings, where as a child, has partook in household chores; including herding livestock.

He went to Materspei College and went on to obtain a dual degree in Accounting and Information Systems as well as a Master’s degree in Strategic Management at California State University in United States of America. ENDS