Mmegi

Serowe’s fading image

RYDER GABATHUSE Staff Writer

SEROWE: It is a breezy Tuesday morning in the village of Serowe, one of Africa’s populous villages that famously produced the country’s three presidents, the late Sir Seretse Khama and his son, now on self-imposed exile, Ian Khama and Festus Mogae.

Historians say Serowe is well-known across Africa because it is the home of one of Africa’s most renowned Dikgosi, Kgosi Khama III (the Great) of the Bamangwato who ruled the tribe from 1837-1923.

History journals describe Khama III as a reformer, a converted extremely devout Christian, and a man determined to protect his land and people from the colonialists.

With a population of 55,484 people (2022 population and housing census), Serowe is the capital of the Central District, the headquarters of the Bangwato tribe. From the last census, Serowe beat its neighbouring and fast urbanising Palapye, which now has a population of 52, 484 and Mahalapye with 47,726 people.

Serowe registered a growth rate of about 0.8%, whilst Palapye and Mahalapye registered growth of 3.35 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.

Serowe village is surrounded by hills and history suggests that it derives its name from a hill found near that village. Whereas Serowe, as the main settlement centre in the Central District was founded in 1902, the historical significance of Serowe goes back to about 1817.

Other historians suggest that the Bamangwato first occupied Serowe in 1920 after they had abandoned their earlier home in Palapye.

In the past, Serowe homesteads, just like many villages across the country, consisted primarily of clusters of round, traditional African houses, which earned the village the moniker, Kwa Ditlhoeng because of the shiny tops of African huts. But, the village was very clean and organised then. The advent of roofing tiles has quickly erased the memories of the shiny tops.

A visit to one of Serowe’s oldest malls in the heart of the village, which villagers popularly remember as Kwa Posong or Kwa Koporaseng because of its proximity to the post office and the village cooperative or Co-op, provided a sore sight.

Buildings across the mall are dilapidated and have an untidy or dishevelled appearance with paint long washed away or slowly peeling off the walls. The whole space is literally neglected and only a few buildings show signs of revamping whilst the rest are not cared for.

Vegetation competes for attention with paved bricks as grass and other plants offshoots have turned the area green literally like a football pitch lawn.

Litter is indiscriminately strewn across the Serowe’s generally dilapidated and unkempt mall that used to be the heartbeat of one of Africa’s renowned villages making the place look filthy and unattractive.

There seems to be no care for the mall that used to be the go-to place and the pride of the villagers with a mounted statue of a duiker, or phuti, which is the totem for the Bangwato.

Patronage also seems to be a challenge despite that there are not so many malls in Serowe. Boiteko Junction Mall anchored by Spar Supermarket seems to have stolen the hearts and minds of shoppers in the village.

As politicians commenced canvassing in earnest for votes ahead of the July 8 by-election for the Serowe West constituency, the development trajectory and the general upkeep of the village should be a concern to them as it is to the villagers.

Until the last General Election in 2019, all three Serowe constituencies were strongholds of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). The Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) took over from the ruling BDP in the last polls. For the 57 years the BDP has been in control of the three constituencies, it doesn’t seem it really helped Serowe realise any meaningful growth. Serowe looks like it is regressing and set to be overtaken by both Palapye and Mahalapye that in the past were miles far behind the Bangwato capital. Just a stone’s throw from the old mall, lies Tshwaragano Hotel which is now a complete shadow of itself, a few years after it was gutted by fire. It was built in a traditional manner, on a hill that overlooks the village and it gave Serowe a sight to behold.

The property is now overgrown with vegetation and since the fire incident,t no developments have been done. There are fears that the hotel could be gone forever

Kugele Lesifi, a 47-year-old Serowe resident summed up the case of Serowe succinctly: “In our loyalty to our political representatives, we vote for people who rarely serve our interests. Look, we voted for Tshekedi Khama in the last polls in Serowe West and he never delivered on his promises.” She also took a swipe at the area councillor whom she says has simply deserted them. Lesifi is not shocked that Serowe is generally suffering from a lack of development, as they seem to be voting for people who do not care about their plight and even the areas they represent.

She decries that the majority of the young people in Serowe are no longer interested in politics because politicians tend to look at their personal interests at the expense of the people.

Her friend Keneilwe Motshabi who told Mmegi this week that she does not have a party, echoed Lesifi’s concerns. Her reasons are that politicians are not sincere and hardly keep their promises.

She might vote for the ruling party because her friends are pro-BDP but she has concerns that politicians have to fulfill before she can fully partake in politics.

“I am jobless as we speak and we look up to politicians to make the right decisions that can lead to the creation of jobs, especially for us young people,” declares the 37-year-old woman. Serowe District

Council chairperson, Keneilwe Monageng, who is a BPF councillor, is aware of the filth that is choking Serowe and his council has plans to reverse the bad image of the village. “People are being encouraged that the mall is theirs as some have this thing of thinking that the mall belongs to the council. I have been moving around the village with the council environmental health team addressing villagers to take good care of the mall,” Monageng informs

Mmegi.

He asked people to avoid the mentality of indiscriminate littering just because the council is there to pick up the litter. “Serowe is dirty and this does not speak well about our village as it doesn’t attract investors as a result. The council can’t be spending money on cleaning the village when there are other competing interests,” he warned. Monageng and his council are in the process of addressing investors in Serowe especially in the area around the old mall to refurbish their buildings and keep the area clean. He concedes that the mall is not really looking good and the council has plans to meet all stakeholders to keep the mall clean. Monageng promised that in about three years or so, Serowe would completely be revamped with developments growing towards the Orapa Junction where a new and modern mall is coming up. A new Magistrate’s Court, according to Monageng is also on the cards towards Semane Junior Secondary School.

Politics

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2023-06-02T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-02T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://enews.mmegi.bw/article/281758453674386

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