BCP on mass mobilisation drive: Plans to open regional offices
FRANCISTOWN: His star in the BCP is rising as he was recently voted as the party’s secretary-general (SG); the most influential position within any political party after the president during the party’s elective congress.
Mmegi: From time immemorial, when people campaign for various positions within political parties, BCP included, their biggest campaign promise to delegates (and/or general membership of the party) is to start or resuscitate dormant party structures but this rarely happens.
A lot of factors, especially funds since there is no political party funding in Botswana, and the fact that the business community mostly sponsors the ruling party with millions while the opposition is given little or no funds amongst other factors, are given as reasons why parties do little or fail to achieve that goal.
In light of the above situation, which is still prevalent amongst the opposition in Botswana, will the newly elected team of the BCP manage to start/resuscitate its inactive party structures across the country?
Kekgonegile: We campaigned under the theme “Party ko bathong” which literally translates to national visibility and membership driven party. As leadership quite often we relegate the party owners (being membership) to the peripheries and assume running of the party in all respects. We intend to continue with setting trends as the BCP in being a membership driven party.
Mmegi: Coupled with the above fact, only a few BCP members pay their monthly subscription fees which is obviously detrimental to the BCP’s aim/objective of starting/reviving its inoperative structures across Botswana. How is the newly elected team of the BCP going to manage to achieve the above mentioned aim given the make or break 2024 general elections?
Kekgonegile: Voluntary organisations will always have financial challenges with political parties worse off given devastating repercussions of sponsoring democracy from our pockets. The “Party ko bathong” principle revolves around membership oriented financial support to the party either monthly or annually. But political party funding remains the most sustainable option.
Mmegi: The BCP used to have an office in Francistown before the 2014 general elections that was manned by paid personnel, but it
In 2014, former influential trade unionist, Goretetse Cut Kekgonegile, one of the architects of the historic 2011 public service labour strike dubbed ‘mother of all strikes’ tried his luck to be the legislator for Maun East but lost to the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) candidate in the general elections. Dispirited as he was, Kekgonegile did not give up but tried his luck again in the 2019 general election and came out on top. Staff Writer CHAKALISA DUBE and Correspondent LEBOGANG MOSIKARE ask what the newly elected BCP leadership intends to achieve during its tenure was however closed mainly due to lack of funds. Given the centrality of finance in various political campaigns, including intra-party campaigns, does the BCP have funds to open similar offices in some of its regions in Botswana given their importance to assist the BCP to recruit, start/revive its inactive structures as per your team’s campaign pledge?
Kekgonegile: A national organisation cannot effectively function without structures. Our politics seem to be seasonal as parties and politicians are more active during elections hence structures automatically collapse immediately after elections.
Effective functioning of structures is dependent on a number of variables inclusive of funds, personnel and national programme of action or political agenda with deliverables. Our first 100 days in office agenda talks to revival of structures strategy and timelines on each constituency, its wards and their cells. In six months, all our structures will be up and running.
A membership driven party cannot be run from one centre hence it’s paramount to establish regional offices to relieve our party headquarters of that burden. The party must open at least three regional offices and places will be determined in due course as and when they are opened.
Membership drive targets with timeliness will be communicated to constituencies in line with our regime change agenda. The strategy is to recruit for a vote that will change government not just for one to have a BCP card. A BCP member must be result oriented and responsible. We will inculcate the spirit of organisational expectations on our members.
More importantly, leadership regeneration programme where we identify a number of youths for leadership development is a must. Lindiwe Mazibuko and Mmusi Maimane were not a coincidence to DA and Julius Malema was not a coincidence to ANC in South Africa. The BCP must cultivate its culture and ideology through political education.
Mmegi: During the 2019 general elections, the posture of trade union movement in Botswana (BOFEPUSU and BFTU) tended to side with the BDP after President Mokgweetsi Masisi promised them that he would swiftly address their grievances although they (trade union movement) did not publicly pronounce that post the Ian Khama presidency which was fraught with ‘labour pains’.
Before the 2014 general elections, you were one of the influential members of BOFEPUSU who was at the forefront of the instigation of the ‘2011 mother of all strikes’. Then, BOFEPUSU publicly urged its general membership to vote for the UDC-a factor which led the UDC to perform better during those elections.
Since you are now a very influential member of the BCP (which is an affiliate of the UDC), who is also an ex-trade unionist, what is your team going to do to attract the whole workers movement in Botswana to vote for the UDC?
Kekgonegile: The labour movement is composed of leadership and members who all make individual political decisions quite often. Our unions have made anti political party activism resolutions as organisations, but they remain influential to their members.
The workers in a free market economy are very important hence our social democracy posture will always appeal to them. It’s a matter of continuously and vigorously deliberating about their issues in forums in representation structures such as Parliament and in our policies to get their approval.