Ramokgwebana Councillor queries veterinary checkpoint name
Late last year, Ramokgwebana Councillor, Godfrey Smile tabled a motion asking the Department of Veterinary Services why the veterinary gate in the village is called the ‘Moroka Veterinary Checkpoint’.
The North East District Council goes to a Full Council Session on Monday and Smile has tabled the motion once again.
“It’s not a new motion. The session ran out of time before answers were provided last year, so I’m hoping to get a response this coming week,” he revealed in an interview with The Voice.
The veteran politician, a died-in-the-wool member of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), said his question does not suggest in any way that the name should be changed.
“All I want to know is why is named Moroka when it’s in Ramokgwebana. This is what people in the village also want to know, and I believe this week I’ll be able to give them an answer,” he explained.
Smile further said what’s even stranger is that there’s another checkpoint along the railway line in nearby Moroka village, which is also named ‘Moroka Veterinary Checkpoint’.
In 2018, Councillor Smile was soundly defeated in a by-election, losing to Morapedi Mafotlha of Botswana People’s Party (BPP) by 387 votes to 293.
He bounced back big time within a year, smiling all the way to victory at the 2019 General Elections, bringing home 548 votes for the BDP while Mafotlha could only manage 468 – the newly formed Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) finished a distance third in the ward, with 241 souls casting their vote for the Ian Khama-linked party.
