23 Oct 2013

Member of Parliament for Lobatse Nehemiah Modubule this week expressed concerns at reports that farm owners deny registration officers access to their farms to register eligible voters for the general elections.

Addressing a kgotla meeting at Motswedi ward in Lobatse, Mr Modubule said there were reports alleging that some farm owners demanded that registration officers should present accreditation letters from the political parties they were affiliated to before granting them entrance into the farms.

He implored farm owners and managers to desist from such actions and allow registration officers access to their farms, saying their actions denied people the opportunity to exercise their fundamental right to elect leaders of their choice.

“Every Motswana over the age of 18 years should be allowed to elect their preferred legislators. Elections are very important in a democratic country,” he said.

On other issues, Mr Modubule explained that court presidents were not represented at Ntlo ya Dikgosi because they did not have the same powers as dikgosi.

Mr Modubule said the decision to relocate Lobatse High Court and Court of Appeal to Gaborone was not justified as it worsened the development crisis facing the town at the moment. He said only the Court of Appeal should have been moved to Gaborone leaving the High Court headquartered in Lobatse.

“Even the Lobatse College Education was closed without due consultation and there were no concrete reasons for its closure,” he said. Earlier on, residents told the MP that they were contemplating a suggestion that Lobatse be relegated to a village instead of being a township as it was slowly going down.

They complained about lack of toilets at Motswedi kgotla and at Lobatse Town Council. They called on Mr Modubule to intervene and assist with maintenance of the ceiling and shattered windows at Lobatse police station. Mr Modubule also briefed residents on issues of legal aid, Lobatse Economic Diversification Unit and elections. ENDS