BDP Women’s Wing race begins
The Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Peggy Serame has reportedly thrown her hat in the ring for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Women’s Wing chairpersonship. Mmegi has learnt that Serame might battle it out with Lobatse former mayor Malebogo Kruger. For her part, Kruger said she cannot comment on the matter since campaigns for the women’s party positions have not started.
Last week, party leader President Mokgweetsi Masisi wrote to all BDP structures instructing that regions, branches, wards and cells must hold their congresses to renew their mandate.
The instruction specified the inclusion of the BDP Women’s Wing and the National Youth Executive Committee (NYEC). The BDP Women’s Wing chairperson, Veronica Lesole confirmed that the mandate for her committee has long expired.
“We are going to brief the party central committee next week on the date we are intending to hold our elective congress.
If things go well, we intend to hold it by April 30, 2022, or the beginning of May 2022. We last held our congress in 2017. Yes, we have indeed approached Serame to contest and she agreed and I will be contesting as her deputy under her team,” Lesole said.
She said her committee has managed to deliver despite pandemic challenges since they advocated women to be considered when Specially Elected Members of Parliament are chosen and it was done. Lesole said in 2021, they managed to raise P153,000 as BDP women to help the country during the pandemic.
When asked why they recruited Serame for the BDP Women’s Wing chair, Lesole said her team believes that the party needs a new face to represent women and also one who can advocate their issues well at Cabinet level.
She added: “She will ensure that our resolutions are taken into consideration. She will be representing us at the Cabinet, central committee and therefore, it will be easy to convince some members on what we want as women.”
On other related issues, the BDP NYEC is also expected to brief the party central committee on the date and month when they are expecting to hold their congress.
According to BDP youth chairperson, Karabo Gomotsegang, his committee is ready to hold a congress on a date and month that the central committee will approve.
“Our mandate expired the second week of this month. We are going to brief the party leadership on that. The mandate of the youth committee expires every two years and we were voted into office in 2020,” he said.
However, this is part of preparing for the upcoming party congress, which is likely to be held this year in July and therefore, all structures must be renewed as some committee members will be eligible voters at the congress.
According to a letter written by President Masisi dated March 11, 2022, and reads in part: “Reference is made to a letter dated February 23, 2021, in which the central committee decided to suspend all-party congresses to contain the spread of the coronavirus following the increasing number of COVID-19 infections in the country.
Party structures (region, branch, ward and cell committees) are directed by this communication to renew all structures.”
The letter further states that regulations of all structures should be supervised by the Political Education and Elections Committee and members are also requested to adhere to COVID-19 health protocols.