Mma DiBeans

Mbuso: Dumela mmaV

MmaV: Dumela ngwanaka

Mbuso: Is it a bad time to talk to you?

MmaV: We can talk, I am so stressed, maybe talking to you will help

Mbuso: It will surely help, i used to be a therapist in my past life  

MmaV: Hehehe, Tsamaela koo

Mbuso: Ke nnete, lets talk serious issues, schools are closed, now what?

MmaV: Ke mathata ngwanaka, kana nna my hands are tied. I closed schools to protect lives and property, I had no choice. I took that decision even though Rraetsho was against it.

Mbuso: Rraetsho ke mang, Rre Moitoi?

MmaV: Nyaa, wa lekutwane la ga Seretse, kana he does not want to be appearing to lose.

Mbuso: Is it a win/lose situation?

MmaV: To him it is, he does not listen to anybody. To him the Unions are children that need to be punished.

Mbuso: Mme dikolo di bulwa leng MmaV?

MmaV: Like i said before, my hands are tied, i cannot order schools to be opened unless the teachers are back in class. The painful thing is I have no influence whatsoever in getting the teachers back to class. It’s a matter between the Teachers and their employers.

Mbuso: What is the cabinet saying?

MmaV: Mathata ke gore the cabinet is toothless, fa Ian a buile gagona gore re ka reng even when the majority of the ministers are against the prolonged strike.

Mbuso: So the cabinet is toothless?

MmaV: Ga o ise o bone

Mbuso: Ke go thomogela pelo mma, kana when the teachers eventually go back to schools you will have headaches trying to resolve issues like no work no pay, the teachers say they will not cover work that they should have covered while on strike unless they are paid for it?

MmaV: O seka wa bua Jalo pls, its a nightmare scenario, kana you are talking of four weeks of lost work.

Mbuso: What are you gonna do about it?

MmaV: Ga ke itse motho wa modimo. I have tried to talk to the powers that be but no one is willing to listen. Mma Bakwena has referred me to HE, it’s a mess.

Mbuso: It must be a frustrating time for you

MmaV: You can never imagine

Mbuso: Isn’t there anything you can do?

MmaV: Like what, kana Ian runs the country unilaterally, getting advice from some shadowy characters whose relationship with him remains shrouded in mystery.

Mbuso: We have always been told that you were close to the president

MmaV: Since the exams debacle we have drifted apart. He is the one who put us in that mess, he was the invisible hand behind BEC refusal to talk to the teachers.

Mbuso: Ao mma?

MmaV: Rre yo o rata go laola too much, he does not let professionals do their work.

Mbuso: Talking of BEC, what is the status of the negotiations with the teachers?

MmaV: Everything has stalled, and the strike is making things worse, BEC is yet to meet the teachers, i have tried to intervene but like i said the BEC director reports directly to the president like any other parastatal CEO. Ministers have been turned into figure heads.

Mbuso: You went on radio in the morning on Monday, vowing not to close schools only to backtrack a few hours later, that must have been very embarrassing

MmaV: You can say that again

Mbuso: Ka setswana o swabile

MmaV: Nne ka swaba tota ngwanaka

Mbuso: Nko kana molomo?

MmaV: Hehehe

Mbuso: I feel for you

MmaV: Thanks

Mbuso: Did you really believe that the letter in Lobatse was written by politicians?

MmaV: Naa, we were trying to score a cheap political point, but we messed up big time

Mbuso: So you believe that your embarrasing utterances on BTV contributed to this situation?

MmaV: Yes, i think that what was a localised  problem became a national problem because of that.

Mbuso: Thats very brave of you to admit your mistakes

MmaV: saying the truth is always therapeutic

Mbuso: With all this mess have you considered resigning?

MmaV: No, i am not a quitter.

Mbuso: Whats your family saying?

MmaV: They have tried to ask me to resign but i have resisted, you know my husband is leaning towards the BMD, so gompieno a re ke go boleletse.

Mbuso: You have always been touted to be a Morataphathi, but you, like other Barataphathi in parliament you did not defect, why not?

MmaV: I am from Serowe, my voters would not have forgiven me. Most of my followers are barataphathi including my husband, so I had to do a balancing act, I asked Ian to send away my main challenger MmaSeretse so she does not use BMD to decampaign me. That was actually a condition he had to meet so I do not defect.

Mbuso: Is it true that you threatened to divorce your husband if he defected?

MmaV: Yes, the BMD issue caused a lot of stress at home, kana he attended the infamous Mogoditshane meeting.

Mbuso: So a reng fa go nna jaana?

MmaV: Heish, o ile Morakeng to let me decide my future without his influence, he has asked me to resign though. But like I said before I have not thought along those lines yet, but if the situation continues getting out of hand like it is doing we I will have no choice but to resign to save my name.

Mbuso: Talking about your husband, is it true that you have been married 5 times?

MmaV: Hehehe, nyaa rra.

Mbuso: Whats the truth?

MmaV: I don’t want to discuss my personal life

Mbuso: Yours son is called Binns, your Husband Moitoi, you Venson, its confusing

MmaV: Ka re ga ke batle go bua ka dikgang tseo, ke tloga ke go koba mo ofising yame

Mbuso: Sorry mma

MmaV: You have anything else to ask?

Mbuso: Your facebook page

MmaV: What about it

Mbuso: Who came up with the idea?

MmaV: My son Kabelo

Mbuso: Wow, great, was he the one updating it kana e ne ele wena?

MmaV: It was me, but i took too much of my time and i became a facebook addict that’s why we decided to move it to MOE.

Mbuso: How did you cope with all the negative comments from kids young enough to be your grand kids

MmaV: At first i used to take it personal, but then i developed a thick skin, you expect those things in my line of work.

Mbuso: Since you transferred your account to MOE it went quiet

MmaV: It was not a well thought of idea, kana DIT e blockile facebook, however i was back updating it when the strike too the wrong turn.

Mbuso: About that, why were you quiet when the strike started?

MmaV: Like i said before, the issue is between the teachers and their employer

Mbuso: In hind sight don’t you think you could have talked to the parents and the students before the situation went out of hand?

MmaV: Well, its a tricky situation, nne ke tla a ba raa ke reng, we did not anticipate the strike taking that long

Mbuso: We?

MmaV: Including Rraetsho

Mbuso: You thought all the no work no pay threats would work?

MmaV: Yes, i guess we underestimated Batswana, The situation is now out of hand.

Mbuso: Do you see an end soon?

MmaV: No, i think the government has to give in, but now they have complicated the situation ka go koba babereki, we were all very vocal against this at the cabinet meeting on Monday, so we were all shocked to see it being announced on TV later.

Mbuso: I should think nothing Ian does shocks anymore.

MmaV: Mme o a bua waitse, ke mathata.

Mbuso: You have worked with Mogae and Ian, what is the difference between these 2

MmaV: Mogae o ne a reetsa, he gave room to professionals to do what they do fa yo mongwe ele know all.

Mbuso: What do you think he is like that?

MmaV: I think he was a spoilt kid, got everything he wanted fa a gola, plus he thinks people take advantage of his low education, so he always wants to show that he is in control at the detriment of the country.

Mbuso: People are now calling for regime change, what’s your take on that

MmaV: Nyaa, a re neneketseng fela ke segole sa rona

Mbuso: O tshaba go senyegelwa ke mmereko?

MmaV: Nyaa, ga ke thoke madinyana a ga goromente, I am in politics as a volunteer. If people do not want me I will go.

Mbuso: But people have asked you to resign

MmaV: Nyaa, bao ga se bathopi ba me.

Mbuso: Lets talk about the failed Media bill, whose idea was it?

MmaV: Well, it was a cabinet decision

Mbuso: What motivated it?

MmaV: Irresponsible reporting from the private press.

Mbuso: You must be disappointed that you failed to implement it

MmaV: We miscalculated a lot of things

Mbuso: Your government is always miscalculating, take the strike as an immediate example.

MmaV: Well, the problem is our leader gets advice from his friends and relatives instead of people hired to advice him.

Mbuso: And they mislead him?

MmaV: Yes, they do.

Mbuso: I am told the cabinet sometimes agrees on an issue only for the president to come with a different resolution the next day, how far true is that?

MmaV: Very true

Mbuso: Ke mathata, and grown ups take all this shit, for lack of a better word, lying down?

MmaV: Its called collective responsibility

Mbuso: But there is nothing collective about one man decisions

MmaV: Well, what can we do

Mbuso: Has the cabinet deliberated on the constitutional review calls?

MmaV: kae re ye teng

Mbuso: So Ian’s utterances are just his personal views?

MmaV: I would say so, because this issue has never been discussed.

Mbuso: What are your views?

MmaV: Our constitution needs to be reviewed, a lot of things needs to be changed, including curtailing the powers of the president.

Mbuso: That’s a strong view, especially coming from an insider

MmaV: Well, if the issue is ever put before cabinet i will say my mind

Mbuso: Tell me about the “Friends of the BDP” whose idea was it?

MmaV: It was my idea

Mbuso: We never heard from them, what happened?

MmaV: Rraetsho disbanded it, he says he was not informed when it was set up

Mbuso: Rraetsho sounds like a real arse

MmaV: Well, i would not use that word but he is frustrating at times.

Mbuso: Has the BDP taken a stand on the strike?

MmaV: Nothing that i know of, plus the president’s stand is the party stand

Mbuso: Come to think of it, i have never heard of you running for party office, why not?

MmaV: Its a deliberate move, do i look like a cheerleader?

Mbuso: Well, you are a cheerleader in cabinet!

MmaV: Well

Mbuso: Some people thought you were gonna make VP

MmaV: Well, all i can say is thanks to all of them that seeing me in that light.

Mbuso: Do you have presidential ambitions?

MmaV: Well, i am willing to serve Batswana in all capacities

Mbuso: What are your chances

MmaV: I would say Nil, with only one person deciding who will be the next president i have no chance

Mbuso: Is that why you want the constitution to be changed?

MmaV: Yes, this automatic succession is flawed, how can 1 person decide who is the next president while the president has so much powers. Just look at the current situation, one man has decided to screw up the country.

Mbuso: Mmaetsho ema ke tsamaye, re tla bua, thanks for the interview.

MmaV: Tanki ngwanaka