18 Sep 2013

Issues concerning bogosi should be handled with care and diligence, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Peter Siele said this during a kgotla meeting in Tutume.

The minister said there was no room for politics in bogosi and emphasised that bogosi and politics should not be mixed because the success of the country was a result of bogosi, which laid a solid foundation for nation building at independence.

Mr Siele said on the basis of his consultations meeting with the Bamangwato Tribal Administration, he had established that due consultation was done and the process of filling the vacant post of Tutume Sub-Tribal Authority (STA) could go ahead.

He said dikgosi would discuss amongst themselves with a view of identifying a suitable candidate to fill the vacant post in accordance with customary practice. The minister also said after identifying a candidate, a recommendation to the Bamangwato Tribal Authority would be made and the latter would subsequently make a recommendation to his office through the director of tribal administration.

Mr Siele said the purpose of his visit was that in the last meeting addressed by the Vice President, Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe some members of the community raised a complaint regarding the manner in which bogosi in Serowe was facilitating the filling of the vacant post.

He also noted that some expressed their concern about Tutume chieftainship as they alleged that they were not properly consulted on the filling of the vacant post which was created by the passing away of Kgosi Pius Selolwane.

Furthermore, he mentioned that it was said that immediately after the burial of Kgosi Selolwane, some members of the community approached Kgosi Jenamo Magapatona demanding to know when and who was going to fill the post.

Commenting on the issue, Mr Batisani Maswibilili dismissed the allegations and said what they wanted to know was the procedure of filling a vacant post. Residents, however, appreciated the feedback from the minister and added that feedback was crucial in resolving issues.

MP for Nkange Constituency, Mr Edwin Batshu appreciated the minister’s visit and noted that he had postponed his kgotla meeting which was to be addressed in Tati Siding to facilitate the minister’s visit. He encouraged the community to follow procedure and exercise fairness in line with Bogosi Act.

Mr Batshu said the community needed the post to be filled because there was a lot of backlog of work at the Kgotla. Ends