Molapisi warns of BPP extinction if more attention goes to UDC
We were not treated fairly in the 2019 elections
The president of Botswana Peoples’ Party (BPP), Motlatsi Molapisi has called on his party members to always protect it so that it does not disappear into oblivion.
Molapisi was the guest speaker at the party’s regional congress in Francistown on Saturday.
“You need to do everything to protect your party. If you neglect it in favour of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), the BPP will disappear into oblivion.
“You need to bear in mind that as individuals, we are not members of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). We are first and foremost, members of the BPP before we are members of the UDC.
“Our mandate is to grow the BPP so that we become strong and effective UDC partners. A partnership must strengthen and not weaken its members,” the BPP leader lectured.
Molapisi reminded them that back in 1989, his party went into a partnership with the Botswana Progressive Union (BPU).
“The BPU strategically befriended our councillors in Tutume before recruiting them to their party when our partnership with them ended.
“A pact relationship with the Botswana National Front (BNF) also took away our members because we became complacent during a partnership with them back in 2009,” the BPP president reminisced.
“Ke batla go le bolelela gore le ka 2019, ga re a direlwa sentle. Francistown is our stronghold. It is our base. But, out of the three constituencies, the BPP was allocated Francistown west only.
“Francistown South was given to the AP, while the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) was allocated Francistown East. As a party, if we are not treated fairly especially with respect to the allocation of wards and constituencies, we must stand up and demand fairness from our partners.
“Regrettably, instead of fielding BPP candidates in the Francistown West constituency, our parliamentary candidate inexplicably fielded his BCP friends,” Molapisi lamented.
The BPP leader expressed disappointment with people who do not work hard to mobilise enough people to win elections.
“When the person loses, instead of continuing to mobilise for the next election, he or she leaves the
party. I am also troubled by the naked opportunism that has become rampant in this country.
“I have been getting visitors who want me to assure them that a particular ward or constituency will be allocated to the BPP so that they join the party and become the candidate,” Molapisi revealed.
He said they are experiencing sleepless nights over acts of indiscipline besetting the party especially by those in the party leadership.
“There is no accountability. We are reviving our disciplinary committee. Should the situation not end, we will have no choice but to crack the whip including vetting out the would-be candidates,” the BPP leader threatened.
When he took to the podium the party’s deputy secretary general, Tiroeaone Ntsima, asked the party to ensure it wins more wards and councillors than they currently have. The BPP has a total of five wards and zero constituencies nationally at the moment.
“We must register better results this time around. This is possible if neighbouring wards and constituencies work together in their campaign effort,” Ntsima advised.
He appealed to the electorate not to burden the candidates by asking for money or cooking gas when they should be the ones to support party candidates.
Mbaakanyi Smart, councillor for Mosojane, who doubles as the national organising secretary, called upon the different structures to hold training workshops to empower the party structures with winning skills.
“Please remember that it is the numbers that win,” the party official advised.
“Our youth are vocal only on social media. My mandate is to mobilise and radicalise them so that they are visible in other platforms,” Mpenya observed, as he pledged to turn the party youth around. Speaking to the same audience, the secretary for political education and campaign strategy for the 2024 general elections, Ignatius Moswaane, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Francistown West, advised potential candidates to be humble and have a good reputation among electorate.
“If you are dishonest, a liar and gossip-monger, how can anybody follow you? Besides, you have to be a hard-worker. You also have to be easily accessible to your political clientele,” Moswaane advised.