Rudie's Big Brother Amplified Musings

BIG BROTHER AMPLIFIED
RUDIOMETRE
by Rudeboy Necta

Six seasons on, and the incredibly popular Big Brother Africa has been Amplified.
Running 91 days and 24/7 with a dream grand prize of USD 200 000, this season of Africa’s biggest reality show promises more of the drama, the emotion, the excitement and the suspense that have made the series a firm fan favourite.
Since the show kicked off on Sunday May 1st, we have seen six housemates (Jossy of Namibia, Nkuli of South Africa, Michael of Mozambique, Bhoke of Tanzania, Ernest of Uganda and just recently Confidence of Ghana) evicted while the other seventh; Lotus of Tanzania was disqualified for breaking the show’s rules…

ZEUS
Botswana
Rating: 10/10 Stays the same
He is still my favourite housemate simply because he’s as impartial as they come. Although he seems to be a favourite amongst the female housemates he hasn’t declared his love interest on anyone unlike somebody I know who once declared her undying obsession for the male stick to the entire continent. Keep your head up homeboy.
MISS P
Botswana
Rating: 10/10 Stays the same
She’s up for possible eviction and I pray that Nigeria courtesy of Karen whom she saved a couple of weeks back help us vote to keep her in the house. Her character is beginning to show courtesy of the argument she had with Luclay over cigarettes. Let us all rally behind her Botswana.
WEZA
Angola
Rating: 8/10 Down Arrow
She’s bully, snobbish and thinks she can control everybody in the Heads house. The sooner somebody puts her in her place the better. She’s a clear case of the adage, “looks can be deceiving.”

KAREN
Nigeria
Rating: 7/10 Down Arrow
She’s officially crazy. At first glance you’d mistake her character for someone who has had an overdose of the ecstasy pill. She’s always on a high a thing which has become an irritant on other housemates. Save for her Pamela Anderson look-alike breasts, she’s a real piece of work.
LUCLAY
South Africa
Rating: 7/10 Down Arrow
He needs anger management lesson ASAP. He’s always bringing distress in the house. His row with Ernest is far from being over. Wonder between the two who is trying to claim the ‘bull’ stake in the Tails house. Chill out dude, being a South African doesn’t give you the right to trample on everybody.
CONFIDENCE
Ghana
Rating: 10/10 Up Arrow
Her country Ghana should be given a pat on the back for saving her from possible eviction twice. They’re behind her 100 % and it just goes to show the love they have for her. She is starting to tone down a bit and the more she survives, the stronger she will get. True to her name, she’s a confident woman.
VINA
Nigeria
Rating: 10/10 Up Arrow
The Naija radio presenter survived possible eviction yet again this past Sunday. This will act as a much needed boost during her stay in the house. I like her very much simply because she’s an entertainer of repute who avoids conflict at all costs. Way to go Vina.
NIC
Kenya
Rating: 7/10 Down Arrow
The love of Kim’s life is starting to act like a real snob. He’s constantly involved in gossip with his clan, which comprises of Kim, Bhoke and Ernest. I hate the fact that he always tries to act as a mediator whenever there’s a conflict in the house. Chill out looser!
ALEX
Ghana
Rating: 9/10 Up Arrow
The Ghanaian fashion designer is basking in the glory of his ‘cool attitude.’ He’s hardly gets involved in fights let alone small bickering. If he maintains the same attitude, he might just be on the right track to bagging the coveted US$200 000 prize money.
ERNEST
Uganda
Rating: 6/10 Down Arrow
My perceptions about this guy are beginning to change. When the show started a few weeks ago he sold most of us an ‘I’m a cool and intelligent guy’ type of dummy. Him and Luclay need to sort their s&^% out pronto! He also needs to stop acting like a pervert by trying to take a sneak peek under Mumba’s dress. He needs to up his game is he wants to survive the lurking eviction baton this coming Sunday.
HANNI
Ethiopia
Rating: 9/10 Up Arrow
The 22-year-old Ethiopian pretty face got lucky when Vimbai saved her last week. She didn’t see it coming and I foresee a situation where she shall during her stay in the house remain indebted to the Zimbabwean Good Samaritan. At the end of the day she seems like a naive chick.
SHARON O
Uganda
Rating: 8/10 Up Arrow
It’s no surprise Sharon O is in the Heads house. She lives by these words; “always look at being a head, not a tail.” She survived eviction this past Sunday and this has injected a much needed life-saving medication in her life. Ever heard of ‘looks without brains’?
DANNY
Ethiopia
Rating: 5/10 Down Arrow
Good Lord somebody hold me before I break into BBA house and strangle this squirrel-like looking guy. I don’t like him. I was pissed when he replaced Luclay with our very own Miss P. I will never forgive him for that. Looser! Sucking up to Luclay. Why?
KIM
Zambia
Rating: 8/10 Up Arrow
During the week she put the irritating Karen in her place. That was an awesome confrontation to watch. She’s keeping the cold winter nights at bay by cuddling up with Nic. However, in her own words; she can get any guy she wants in the Tail’s house. Give us some steamy action Kim. Talk is cheap...
MICHAEL
Mozambique
Rating: Evicted
Last week I noted that the Hairdresser cum DJ seemed to be fading into obscurity. It was no surprise when he got voted out this past Sunday. He has declared his undying love for Sharon O, and prefers to be marooned with her in an island. We gonna miss your Grey jersey bra!
VIMBAI
Zimbabwe
Rating: 9/10 Up Arrow
She’s spontaneous, intelligent, goofy and fun-loving. She carried out her Head of House duties proficiently without throwing her weight around and threatening the living daylights out of her fellow housemates. Her explanation for saving Hanni was world-class. Keep doing what you do Vim. Rudie is behind you!
MUMBA
Zambia
Rating: 4/10 Down Arrow
She’s going to be the first to celebrate when Danny reveals whom he saved and replaced this coming Sunday. The Zambian chick showed no emotions whatsoever when Bernadina entered the Tails house this past Sunday. She just stood there as if nothing has happened. You could see her face swelling green with envy. Women?
LOMWE
Malawi
Rating: 5/10 Stays the same
I hear he outclassed our Zeus over a Hip-Hop battle rhyme a thing which I still find hard to swallow. Ha! Ha! Ha! Besides his colourful tattoos, this guy offers no entertainment in the house. The Heads house need to give him a wake-up call by nominating him next week, maybe he’ll come out of his slumber.
WENDALL
Zimbabwe
Rating: 3/10 Down Arrow
The 23-year-old pilot from Harare is a space-filler in the house. In his profile he promised viewers that he will take excitement and suspense to another level, a thing which I’m still to see. He should interact and become more conversant. Keeping to himself wouldn’t help at all.
MILLICENT
Kenya
Rating: 6/10 Up Arrow
The Kenya and Nollywood actress is constantly whining about how some people (Confidence) think they own the house. I don’t like the fact that she is slowly turning herself into a gossipmonger. Talk about sex-toys won’t win her money either. Wake up Milly!
FELICIA
Malawi
Rating: 4/10 Stays the same
The other day I watched as she sobbed about missing her boyfriend and how the two could be getting all steamy and wet. Some housemates even pleaded with Biggie to hook her up with a psychologist ASAP. Damn, that was too much for a continental TV. Maybe a toy would have come in handy. Just mu guess!

BHOKE
Tanzania
Rating: 2/10 Down Arrow
She’s a classic example of the word ‘boredom.’ In her country she’s deemed a popular face on Tanzanian TV. These two statements don’t jell together considering the fact that Bhoke is hardly ever seen doing anything in the house despite getting cosy with her boring boyfriend Ernest. Let’s send her home this Sunday Africa.
BERNADINA
Namibia
Rating: 6/10 Up Arrow
Last week I considered her wasted space in the house just like Wendall. I take that back after she survived possible eviction by a whisker this past Sunday. The survival alone will get her to interact and entertain us more with her crazy dance moves. Way to go Bernadina. Don’t let me down. Putting my head on the block here!

AFRICA SENDS MICHAEL PACKING

32-year-old Michael from Mozambique became the third housemate to be evicted from the Big Brother Amplified House this season.
The suave professional hairdresser who counts his father and Denzel Washington as his role models received the lowest country vote from his native country, Mozambique at 12.6 %, Namibia’s Bernadina got 17.3 % country vote, Confidence of Ghana scored 19.3 % country vote, Sharon O got 22.7 % from six country votes (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe), while the highest country votes went to Nigeria’s Vina who scored 27.8 % courtesy of Angola, Ethiopia, Botswana, Nigeria, South Africa and the Rest of Africa.
Vina and Confidence were second time lucky after escaping eviction with a whisker two weeks ago. The fact that Africa saved them once more; it will give them a much-needed boost during their remaining stay in the Big Brother Amplified house.
Michael whom some housemates liked to call Miguel entertained himself by flirting with every woman in the house, his closest buddies being Sharon O and Confidence. Had it not been for Head of House, Vimbai who last week saved Hanni and put Michael in her place instead, the Mozambiquan hairdresser could still be very much in the game.
During Sunday’s live eviction show Michael looked calm after hearing the news and professed "I'm cool!" When Bernadina was asked to leave the House, tears ran down her face. The gang escorted her to the big eviction doors, with Vina wiping away a few of her own tears.

After a very short interview on stage, the Namibian diva was headed off to the Tails House. When she saw the Tails gang she screamed "I knew there was another House!"
However, Michael's fate was confirmed as IK unashamedly told him he has been evicted. "I'll miss the boys and Sharon O a lot," Michael said in a muffled voice. He’s the third housemate to be evicted from the show. RSA’s Nkuli was evicted last week after Jossy of Namibia became the first housemate to leave. So far three housemates have been sent home, while the other one; Lotus of Tanzania was disqualified after a heated argument between her and RSA’s Luclay turned violent.

NOMINATION NEWS FLASH….

The Tails house took their turn Monday with their nominations for possible housemates for eviction.
This time Botswana has every reason to be worried thanks to the Head of House, Danny who saved Luclay and replaced him with Miss P.
Miss P finds herself pitted against, Uganda’s Ernest, and Tanzania’s Bhoke.

At the close of Monday’s nominations, Ernest had the most nominations- six-followed by Luclay with five. It appears Luclay’s explosive tantrums have made him very unpopular with his fellow Tailsmates.

In fact, his only friend seems to be Karen, whose popularity ratings in the House sadly, also leave a lot to be desired. Since walking into the Tails House, Luclay's head has been put on the chopping block for possible Eviction all two times.
However, it seems he finds a way to bounce back. When his fellow Tailsmates tried to send him packing after one of his infamous blow ups, he managed to pip fellow country mate, Nkuli, who was shown the exit door.

Luclay -who had the most votes-, was saved from possible Eviction by a last minute swap made by Head of House Danny. The two, though not best of friends are only casual smoke buddies. Is it luck? This week you get to save Bhoke, Ernest or Miss P and I’m calling on all Batswana to rally behind our own; Miss P.
AMPLIFY YOUR VOTE AND WIN!

Big Brother wants your Vote: Just remember you are voting to keep a nominated Housemate in the House!
This means, the more you vote for your favourite nominated Housemate, the better their chance of staying in the house.
The Housemate who receives the least number of votes will be evicted.
When you Vote, you also stand the chance of winning weekly prizes.
The following awesome prizes are up for grabs: DStv Decoders, and from Samsung: Cameras, Camcorders, Laptops, Smartphones and the Galaxy Tab. To vote via SMS: send the word VOTE followed by the name Miss P to 16626 from your beMobile, Mascom or Orange handset or alternatively log onto www.mnetafrica.com/bigbrother.

*EXCLUSIVE

MICHAEAL CHATS ABOUT HIS UNTIMELY EXIT FROM THE BIG BROTHER HOUSE

The 32-year-old fun, lovely, happy, creative, sexy and proactive Micheal of Mozambique became the latest victim to exit the Big Brother Amplified house this past Sunday.
The suave-looking professional Hairdresser cum DJ became the third housemate to be evicted from the game following hot on the heels of South Africa’s Nkuli who was sent packing a week ago. On Monday afternoon Rudeboy had a chance to speak with him about his unfortunate exit as well as his future plans…

R: Thanks for your time king. What was the first thing you did when you woke up in reality this morning?
M: You’re welcome bra! Ha! Ha! Ha! Funny enough the first thing I did was to check for my microphone forgetting that I was now out of constant surveillance. I was happy to take a normal shower knowing fully that there’s no camera hovering over me. That felt good.

R: You obviously feel sad that you got evicted earlier in the game. Did you have any strategy?
M: To tell you the honest truth, I had no strategy Rudeboy. I went into the game knowing fully that it’s a win or lose situation. The first time we went into the house I analyzed my fellow housemates and it was then that I told myself ‘its game on.’ I have no qualms whatsoever for beings sent home this early. In life you win some, you lose some.

R: You flirted with every woman in the house but your eyes were set on Sharon O. Tell me about her…
M: Ha! Ha! My love for Sharon O is real. Although I have a 3-year-old child and a dysfunctional relationship with his mother, whatever I felt for Sharon O was real. Show me a man out there who can claim not to like women. I was being real dude. Given a chance I would love to know her better.

R: Your relationship with Confidence?
M: She was one of the first people in the house whom I got acquainted to. There was even a time when our pact seemed to wane when I started having feelings for Sharon O, and she was quick to remind me that I shouldn’t stray away from her. I would even visit her in Ghana after the game.
R: If you were marooned in an island who would you prefer to be with and why?
M: Ha! Ha! Obviously Sharon O. She’s a real marvel and candy to the eye. We’re more connected and I would love to spend quality time with her away from the 24/7 camera surveillance.

R: What three items under the sun would you like to have now?
M: I wish I was sitting next to my 3-year-old son. I miss him so much. I would also love to see Nkuli as well as the mother to my son.

R: Any hidden talents that you wish people knew about?
M: I can be extremely quiet and shy at times.

R: If you were not a professional hairdresser what would you have been?
M: I would have been a soccer player. I’m a die-hard Barcelona fan and the moment I came out of the house I didn’t care about the political stuff. All I wanted to know was how my team has performed.

R: What is the most bizarre incident that ever happened to you in a relationship?
M: There was a time when I was in a relationship. I think I was 25 then and my ex-girlfriend was 23. Due to my poor state, her father said I could not continue dating her and we broke up. Several months later she fell pregnant with a man she did not love and they broke up. She pleaded with me to take her back but by then I had already moved on. It was so sad.

R: Thanks for your time. Any last words?
M: The fact that many people cheered for me on that stage on Sunday have given me a boost of confidence and I think I will try my hand at acting. I want to be in the showbiz industry. Say hello to my Botswana fans. I liked Miss P and Zeus. Botswana ke a mo rata.

A YEAR INTO THE JOB

Gabz FM boss-lady shares her experiences of being the first woman to captain a commercial private radio station...
By MOSES MARUPING

It’s an open secret that pregnant women sometimes change moods without warning.
So you can imagine the hesitation and trepidation in me when I go to meet and interview Gabz FM Chief Executive Officer and former Miss Botswana, Joyce Manase-Ntau who is pregnant with her third child.
Being the fearless scribe who has in the past rubbed the country’s top brass the wrong way, I psyched myself up and stepped into the 35-year-old Manase-Ntau’s territory at the Gabz FM studios situated along the Old-Lobatse road.
Although our appointment is scheduled for 10 am I make sure I rock up 30 minutes early so as to etch a long-lasting impression on the vivacious face of Botswana’s first woman to manage a private commercial radio station.
But as fate will have it, it’s month end and the boss of the airwaves is busy preparing staff salaries, something I learnt after her personal assistant made a quick phone call to her office.
However, the wait seems short courtesy of the vibrant and the colourful atmosphere that engulfs the station that prides itself with “playing today’s hits and yesterday’s classics.”
At one point I could feel my toes wriggling inside my shoes to the soothing sound of the background music blasting through the overhead monitors erasing the monotony which is synonymous with most local receptions.
A few minutes pass and in no time I’m ushered into Manase-Ntau’s spacious office who welcomes me with a warm smile that puts me at ease.
She has already carved herself a golden niche despite the fact that she only took over the leadership of Gabz FM last year December from the incumbent Programmes Manager, Kenneth ‘Cutrite’ Moeng.
She takes a quick look at her laptop to see if there’s any email which needs an urgent reply before she could let me in on her journey through the years to become Gabz FM boss.
As we were about to settle into the mission at hand, Manase-Ntau quickly calls the adult contemporary radio station accountant into her office and I excuse myself as the two discuss this month’s staff salaries. It doesn’t take long before I’m called right back into her office where upon she reaches for a cup of coffee and starts pouring in the ingredients to make herself a cup of tea.
“Excuse me, Mr. Maruping for keeping you this long. It’s a hectic day for me as you can see. Let me just grab this cup of tea and we shall be on,” she says with a sassy laugh as I settle comfortably into the leather chair.
There’s no single grain of doubt that hers is a demanding job which requires the strength of an African elephant and the fervor of a honey-making bumble bee.
She considers herself somebody who stumbled upon the media most particularly the airwaves.
Despite this, she says she enjoys the job to the core courtesy of her supportive Gabz FM team, and her aim is to take the radio station to even greater heights.
“This is where I want to be. I’m home. I consider myself more of a business person than a media person. My formula is quite simple. I always tell my team that all we need to offer listeners is intelligent talk balanced with entertainment and excitement hence why at the beginning of the year we reshuffled our line-up,” she says adding that in as much as they are a Botswana-based radio station they are also targeting the global market courtesy of their web-streaming.
“I would have loved to retain the old presenters. However as you may be aware, anything which metamorphoses into something new has to shed the old skin. Right now I can confidently reveal we have the most listened to breakfast show in the country thanks to the calm and smart Jazzelle Kebakile and the unstoppable Thebe Mogapi who on a daily basis enthrall our listenership.
A job like hers obviously comes with challenges and for Manase-Ntau; the greatest of all was the economic melt-down which affected almost every business globally.
“I think as a nation we celebrated the recovery of the economy from the global recession too soon and pinned our hopes on the 2010 soccer world cup where we saw sales picking up and then suddenly taking a slump. This affected a lot of businesses including us,” she says with over-flowing confidence before explaining to me that she is an economist by training.
This affirms her statement and I can tell hers is not a guessing game.
In most instances, women in leadership positions are usually looked down by their male subordinates, something that might as well characterize the environs of Gabz FM whose staff members are predominantly male. However, for Manase-Ntau, the latter is utter nonsense.
“I’m still to experience that really. I relate to them as colleagues and although some call me boss lady I don’t act and behave like one (boss lady) unnecessarily. I have created an environment where any member of staff can approach me with ease. However, I’m fully aware of the fact that women in leadership positions have to speak double more than their male colleagues.”
She’s happy that at Gabz FM, the management team is balanced with two men and two ladies.

Although all is well with Manase-Ntau being the captain of the Gabz FM ship and envisaging to steer it in the right direction, she would one day love to represent Botswana in a bigger global continuum.

“I always dream of taking up a job with organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), United Nations in Geneva or simply becoming an ambassador for the country.”
Being a married mother of two and now expecting a third sometime early next year, Manase-Ntau juggles all these vocations with ease.
She explains, “Although this is demanding I have the wonderful support from my husband whom I believe is Heaven sent.”
The couple has been married for nine years now.
Her day usually starts around 0530 with a 30 minute exercise and a bit of reading.
“I will read a few verses from the Bible to get me up and going as well as motivational books. I’m currently reading two books, one called ‘Young Mandela’ and the other one dubbed ‘I gota move my car’.”
She says after all the reading is out of the way she usually prepares both breakfast and lunch packs for the kids and husband. Manase-Ntau is crazy about her Blackberry phone which she says makes her whole life easy.
“On my way to work I’m able to check and play around with my diary for the day. Each and every time an idea springs to my head whilst on the road I record it,” she says before explaining that all her life she only buys phones with a recorder mode.
Quizzed about her favourite dish, Manase-Ntau says she loves prawns although some people call them cockroaches of the sea. We both laugh and get back to the subject of her favourite dishes.
She talks of dikgobe and madombi adding that although she is not much of a kitchen favourite, her two young boys love her cooking.
“I grew up being told I was a bad cook, ha-ha!” she says with a cheeky laugh before adding that she is just an average Motswana who has a farm and at times when she needs to unwind she packs up her bags and goes for a retreat there, a haven that affords her peace and serenity.
She wants to see Gabz FM being the radio of choice especially amongst the 25-year-olds (25+) age group, a group she says has a larger buying power.
The conversation that was supposed to last less than 30-minutes has stretched to over an hour by the time we call it a day. Manase-Ntau is an extraordinary woman-not the unpredictable drama queen I was expecting before the interview. She’s just a loveable lady who loves life.
Her message during the 16 days of activism on violence against women is simple, “this is something which happens to all whether rich, poor, smart, educated etc,” she says adding that this form of violence can either be physical, financial and emotional.
Her advice is for people to do away with the way they were raised where a victim of gender violence is usually classified as being the ‘naughty one’ in the relationship.
“All I can say is that people should break the silence and speak up against this form of violence. There’s more to life than that particular individual.”

Duma FM sacks three staff members over political broadcast

Two radio personalities at one of the local private radio stations have been fired, after the ruling BDP allegedly accused the presenters of supporting a breakaway party, the Botswana Movement for Democracy.
The two Duma Fm journalists, Moses Maruping, Kevin Thipe, and the station's programs manager Gabriel Rasengwatse, have been given letters informing them to serve a 14-day notice. They claim their dismissal is centred around the live discussions they had, involving the break away party last week.

It is said that a prominent BDP activist Macdonald Peloetletse confirmed to MISA-Botswana that he called Duma fm to complain about the pro-BMD debates and the anti-Khama crusade, carried by the station. But the station has denied the allegations that the dismissals were political. MISA Botswana has meanwhile condemned the dismissals.

MISA Botswana chief, Thapelo Ndlovu, says they believe the firing of the three media practitioners was political. He says the media rights group will assist the journalists in whatever possible way.

Meanwhile... BDP activist, MacDonald Peloetletse, has dismissed claims that he accused the dismissed journalists, of supporting a breakaway party.

This comes after MISA Botswana issued an alert yesterday saying Peloetletse had confirmed to the rights group that he had complained about the pro-BMD debates carried by the station.

Peloetletse says he has never spoken to MISA Botswana. He accuses Ndlovu of having a political agenda...

Duma FM dismisses three employees

Three Duma FM radio personalities were given letters informing them to serve a mandatory 14 day notice and that their services would not e required beyond May 31st. he employees who were on probation are Moses Maruping who worked as a News Editor and morning show presenter, and Kevin Thipe the morning show co-presenter. The third practitioner, Gabriel Sengwatsho, the producer of the morning show, was also charged with the same account.

“We have reviewed your performance thus far, and we regret to inform you that we will not be requiring your services beyond the 31st of May 2010’. The Station Manager said in an identical letter to the presenters dated May 13. When asked for comment, Busang said he is not at liberty to discuss staff contractual obligations with MISA Botswana.

In an interview with MISA Botswana, the two presenters said the management had said their dismissal has got nothing to do with non-perfomance, but rather ‘business’. They said the issue centres around the discussions they had with the break away party around the week of World Press Freedom Day.

A prominent ruling party activist Macdonald Peloetletse confirmed in an interview with MISA Botswana that he called DUMA FM to complain about the pro-BMD debates and the anti-Khama (President) crusade carried by the radio station. The Station Manager on the other hand denies this, saying the reason for the dismissal is non-political. The practitioners have taken up the matter with labour authorities.

Source: MISA Botswana

Btv is disappointing - survey

By Gasebalwe Seretse

A recent research conducted by Mmegi has shown that urbanites have had enough of Botswana Television (Btv), which they accuse of lacking innovation and creativity.

Interviews with 50 urban dwellers of varying ages and backgrounds revealed that many people are choosing to desert the national broadcaster over a number of reasons. The survey, which was conducted in both Setswana and English, targeted both males and females of all age groups although most of the respondents were youthful.

"Not meaning to be rude, programming at our TV station really leaves a lot to be desired. The station spends too much time airing repeats rather than current issues.

A lot of money is spent on programmes that do not entertain at all or benefit us anything," quipped Kabo Kebaimetse of Gaborone on Facebook.

A popular middle-aged actress, who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation, challenged the television station to increase local content.

"We need more local programmes. I would rather watch a not-so-well produced local programme than an equally bad international programme," she said. The actress, who has appeared in a number of local productions also challenged the station to commission local producers for more programmes.

Like Kebaimeste, Bernard Bogatsu from Gaborone expressed disappointment with the poor showing of the national television station.

"We are sick and tired of Btv. I think privatisation is the only possible solution," he posted his comment on Facebook.

Well-known journalist Moses Maruping was equally uncompromising saying that the entire television station needs an overhaul. "The majority of people at Btv are talented but the system has diluted their brains. Their work is controlled by remote control from the powers that be," said the outspoken Maruping.

Kelebemang Lenkokame of Francistown however told Mmegi that she did not have any problem with Btv programmes calling them 'okay'. The 44 year-old Lenkokame said that she did not have access to any other station so she would not know what the competition offered.

A 25 year-old female of Gaborone and another 24 year-old male also of Gaborone, who did not want to be named called Btv 'a big joke'. The woman pointed out that Btv would be embarrassed if they compared their programmes with those of South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in neighbouring South Africa.

Some individuals from urban areas, who took part in the survey revealed that there was nothing that they could say about Btv as they have decided to part ways with the station in favour of more engaging television stations, including pay television channels.

Some of the rural areas dwellers who were mostly interviewed telephonically were more tolerant of the station despite the fact that they felt more could be done to improve the status quo.

Keneilwe Mogale of Bobonong said that while she does not watch much television she likes watching Dikgang (News) and Morwalela on Btv.

"I normally watch the news but I feel that Btv should also cover rural areas as well because all we see is news items from places such as Gaborone and Francistown," she said. The 22 year-old Mogale also called for more entertainment programmes.

Lesego Mpate of Gabane attacked the television station for favouring certain political parties when it came to coverage. "Btv seems to prefer to repeat news items of a certain political party and this most certainly raises eyebrows," she said adding that the station should try to profile some personalities in some entertainment programmes. She also called for programmes such as Melodi ya Kgalaletso and Mokaragana to be broadcast live.On the other hand, Boitshepo Ramathudi said that she is not happy with the news as it lacks content.

Thirty-five year-old Kwena Kgakge who stays in Tlokweng called for live coverage of some programmes saying that some programmes do not make sense when their broadcasting is delayed as they became irrelevant.