29 Jun 2015

Little wonder then, that Kgosi Banika has a duty cut out for her, to bridge this ethnic divide especially as it exists between black residents on the one hand and their white counterparts, consisting mostly commercial farmers from South Africa, on the other hand.

The settler farmers have ploughed over 32 000 hectares of agricultural land in Pandamatenga for this year alone, employing a considerable number of residents.

“Bringing members of these two groups into the Village Development Committee (VDC) has helped a lot in solving the thorny problem of the racial divide,” says Kgosi Banika.

Pandamatenga Projects, which is Kgosi Banika’s brainchild, has also solidified relations between the residents and settler farmers, with women from both ethnic backgrounds coming together every week to share skills in knitting, mosaic and quilting as a way of empowering each other.

The traditional leader says the Pandamatena Projects started after one of the white farmers’ wives had seen and took interest in the beanie (warm hat) she had made for her grandchild.

“At her behest, I agreed to teach her how to knit a beanie, and so we met one Thursday afternoon where we had also brought along some of our friends; in the end, there were seven of us meeting every Thursday with more people showing interest in the lessons,” adds Kgosi Banika.

The idea grew into something big and they decided to knit 120 beanies for orphans in the village.

“At the donation, more people showed interest and brought gifts in the form of blankets and toiletries, and from then onwards we broadened the classes to include basketry, quilts, candle-making, mosaic and pot-holders,” she notes.

The project, says Kgosi Banika, has provided a platform for the villagers and farmers’ wives to interact and become friends with each other. Now, with 16 members, including two men, Pandamatenga Projects is no longer just a women’s social club.

It has become a profit making entity as they now export as far as Germany and the United States of America (USA).

“Chobe District Council has also come on board to help us with the buying of raw materials,” reckons Kgosi Banika.

The traditional leader says once in a while they date themselves on a boat cruise in the Chobe River just to relax and unwind.

While this has been a healthy way to co-exist, there have been a few regrettable incidents, which have threatened this fruitful relationship.

She recalls an incident in which a farmer donated P120 000 towards maintenance of their owned houses, only for P88 000 to suddenly go unaccounted for within six months. “As a result, we came up with a temporary solution to function without a treasurer for some time, banking all the money accrued,” she explains.

Kgosi Banika adds that the change helped them accumulate and save money but at the cost of no developments in the village since there were no withdrawals from the account.
Subsequently, they elected a new committee but to this day, Kgosi Banika says misuse of funds continues to be a challenge.  

“So many people have been suspended and fired from the position as a result of this,” she notes

Regarding other issues, Kgosi Banika says crime has generally gone down in the village this year, adding that diesel theft, which was on the rise last year and the beginning of this year has also recorded a notable decrease.

Kgosi Banika notes that as a village, they also did their part by advising those who were falling victim to the theft to ensure that they hired security guards for their property.

“I believe this trend was influenced by construction developments in our village, therefore, I believe this problem will now relocate to Kazungula where construction of Kazungula Bridge has commenced,” she says.

Prostitution continues to be a challenge for the village due to truck drivers who make a stopover in the village.

“Unfortunately some public servants and married people are also very active in this trade, and the risk of HIV infection cannot be ruled out,” reckons Kgosi Banika. Ends