- Label him a ‘useless’ MP
- Accuse him of undermining them
SESUPO RANTSIMAKO
FRANCISTOWN: A leaked recording of a Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) Molepolole South Branch suggests that party members are fed up with the area MP, Dr. Tlamelo Mmatli and no longer want him.
The Botswana Gazette is in possession of a recording of views made in the branch meeting called to elect party committees in the constituency over the weekend. In the recording, Mmatli who is accused of trying to stall committee elections, is criticized for conniving with Sidney Pilane and of being a useless MP. “Mmatli, whether you like it or not, we are going to elect these committees. Who do you think you are? We want to show you that you are so useless in this party. Just like you we are BMD card carrying members. You have undermined us enough. Those who still feel for him can go away with him because he is so useless and does not understand this constituency nor the constituents,” charged one irate individual. “Do you think we care about the money you go around buying people with,” blasted a woman in the recording.
Dr. Mmatli is thought to be aligned to Gilbert Mangole/Nehemiah Modubule faction which is currently at loggerheads with the Ndaba Gaolatlhe led faction.
Molepolole South Branch Chairperson Botshelo Kgatitswe confirmed this development when reached for comment, adding that they chased Dr. Mmatli because they wondered “where he came from”. “Since we started committee elections we invited Mmatli several times but he never bothered to attend even once, so we wondered why all of sudden he came at the ward belonging to his sister, councilor Babantle Mmatli. We suspect that his sister could have invited him to come and help her to elect their supporters. Mmatli is an absent MP therefore he cannot emerge from nowhere and tell us how to conduct the committee elections while he has been shunning our invite in other wards. We are fed up with his tactics and are only waiting for the congress to topple him and his friends because they have tarnished our party,” stated Kgatitswe.
Dr. Mmatli for his part said he was not surprised how things turned out, saying he has been going through a torrid time since 2014, thanks to some individuals in the constituency. “What only surprised me is that this time around they recorded our argument and send it to the media. People who do not know these people should not be shocked because they have been doing this since I occupied this parliamentary seat,” he said.