The Voice (Botswana)

CRITICAL THINKER

The UDC is in turmoil we cannot afford to get entangled in - Kgoroba

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Former Member of Parliament for Mogoditsha­ne, Sedirwa Kgoroba, is not one to keep his opinion to himself. Of late, the outspoken Kgoroba has been issuing controvers­ial statements on social media platforms that rubbed many of his party colleagues at Alliance for Progressiv­es (AP) the wrong way.

At the beginning of this month, he issued a statement through a video, calling for an elective congress of the Umbrella for Democratic Change’s leadership.

However, that did not end there as he further released another statement directed at his party President, Ndaba Gaolathe.

“If not mistaken, I heard your detail about the new Botswana ten or more times and you repeated the same story again in your visit to Mogoditsha­ne. Mr President, I advise you to close that chapter because we know what the new Botswana should look like,” reads part of his statement.

The Voice staffer, DANIEL CHIDA, engages the former MP who has asked his President, Ndaba, to stop wasting his energy and time by preaching about the new Botswana, but draw the map and strategy as to how they will get there.

Q. Did you see yourself losing to the incumbent MP, Tumiso Rakgare?

I never saw it coming because I served to the best of my ability and our party offered the best realistic manifesto.

Q. Where do you think you lost it?

I suspect rigging is responsibl­e for my loss although there is not enough evidence, but conviction is plenty.

Q. You have been making statements, and the latest being the one you asked Ndaba to explain how the new Botswana would be achieved. Why?

Yes, it is true I said that because Ndaba is spending too much time on the vision, which we all love and have bought into, now we need to dwell on how we get to the promised land.

Q. Do you think the platform (social media) you are using to address him is the right one?

Public platforms become a necessary evil when push comes to shove.

Q. You have been vocal; are you not afraid that you may end up being sanctioned by the party leadership?

I don’t have a problem with being sanctioned so long as I know I am on the side of righteousn­ess.

Do you have respect for your party president though?

Yes, I have plenty of respect for my president but I’m not afraid to address him when I feel he is wrong. People often confuse the two. Our leaders should put self-serving agendas aside and indulge in that which is good for the bigger picture. We have plenty self-serving leaders within the opposition and if we’re not careful, their self-interest will be our downfall but my hope remains very much alive that we will overcome that.

Q. What is your take on the new cooperatio­n that your party is having with UDC?

As far as I know, we are not joining the UDC but rather forming a pact with the UDC and other parties.

Q. What kind of partnershi­p do you prefer?

The UDC is in turmoil. We cannot afford to get entangled in it therefore I prefer the pact model. Both AP and BPF should opt for a pact with UDC rather than joining it.

Q. AP is already losing members who are retracing their steps back to the BDP. What do you think could be the reason?

Those going back to the BDP are broke and desperate to feed their young families, not that I am not broke but I have been broke several times before and have mastered the art of going through that.

Q. Do you still want to contest next elections?

Like Gomolemo Motswaledi would put it, “Tlaa be go le thona ga nkaske ka ema”.

 ??  ?? SPEAKS OUT: Kgoroba
SPEAKS OUT: Kgoroba

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