The pain of Morupule B

Mmegi, “The Reporter” newspaper of Friday 02 December 2016 carries a report headlined “Why Morupule B was doomed from the start” by one Mbongeni Mguni. Mguni’s report literally made me cry. Mguni was basically summarising a World Bank report, which I haven’t read.

I now understand why the Chinese ambassador would have warned the Botswana government that the Chinese company CNEEC which won the tender was not qualified to build such a plant: – the plant design requirements were changed after the CNEEC had successfully prequalified for the initially required design. I submit that the engineer who changed these requirements was motivated by criminal malice and should be charged with economic crime. No engineer would change design specs of a billion dollars’ project without issuing NEW Prequalification documents unless criminally motivated. If the changes were made by foreign consultants, where were our own home-grown engineers? Why did they let such a disastrous alteration pass? Did the politicians overrule our engineers’ concerns?

If the politicians did overrule our citizen engineers, then the head politician i.e. the President of the Republic should accept responsibility and resign forthwith. If he is no longer in power, then the nation should be told that he carries political responsibility for one of the greatest crimes ever committed against our nation.

I hate addressing my people in Setswana language, but because my people have been forcibly converted into Setswana speakers, I have no alternative but to use Setswana for illustration.

Go tshwana le motho ana le ngwana yo ngaka e rileng a se anywe mo go mmaagwe. Gona le barui bale bararo – Radikgomo, Radipudi le Raditonki. Motsadi (wa ngwana) abo a ntsha “prequalification documents” are o batla phologolo e egamiwang, mme gotswe mashi a aka nowang ke ngwana. 
Radikgomo, Radipudi le Raditonki babo ba iteka lesego ba araba tendara. Radikgomo le Radipodi babo ba atlega. “Nkadilatlha” abo a goroga; are ngwana o tshwanetse go nwa mashi a tonki. 

Boemong ja gore motsadi a ntshe “prequalification documents” tse dintsha, abo a tswelela hela a ntsha “request for proposals document” a neela bone baba setseng ba atlegile.  “Request for proposals” yone ebe ere e batla tonki! Radipudi abo a atlega, Radikgomo a retelelwa. Radipudi ha a sena go atlega, abo a thloka ko aka rekang tonki teng, a bo a tlisa pitse.

Ke ha ba gama pitse ba neela ngwana. Ngwana abo a lwala. Motsadi a bo are “ke tlaa rekisetsa Radipudi pitse e gore a egame, anthekisetse mashi a yone, ebong mashi a tonki, ke tle ke otle ngwanake ka one”! 

Seemo sa Morupule B ke sone seo gompieno, BeShashe!