Nothing has changed – Saleshando
Following the Botswana Congress Party’s (BCP) decision to give the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) six months period to rethink its position on important issues like governance, transparency, and accountability, nothing has changed, Mmegi has learnt.
The six months deadline will elapse on January 2023 and the BCP will officially leave the UDC then. The BCP has already started talks with the Alliance for Progressives (AP) as the two forge an alternate ‘New Botswana’ coalition.
In the AP, the BCP is convinced it has found a partner that believes in the principles of social democracy. In an interview with Mmegi yesterday, BCP president Dumelang Saleshando said the UDC has not made any efforts to fix things.
He revealed that they had tried to engage the UDC on the matter through their secretary-general, Goretetse Kekgonegile but nothing has materialised. Saleshando said the reason they cannot stay in the current UDC setup where an elective congress has not been held 10 years on is because the BCP cannot compromise democracy.
“We can’t be free in an organisation that doesn’t uphold its constitution for 10 years. We are clear about what we want. We want commitment to uphold the constitution and democratically elected leadership. It’s not personal, it’s not about egos, it’s about core values,”
Saleshando further pointed out.
Asked if he is making it difficult to reconcile with Duma Boko, Saleshando clarified that they can’t reconcile with the Boko led UDC when they don’t share the same values.
He added that they have carved a new path with AP because they are like-minded parties who share the same values. “You cannot force us into something we don’t believe in, that’s not how it works.
We have shared our values therefore the UDC should also share theirs. They should just tell us they are okay with running an organisation for 10 years with a transitional clause.
They must come out clear and tell us that they will also suspend the constitution for 10 years if there were to assume power,” Saleshando highlighted.
The Maun West Member of Parliament (MP) said the fact that the UDC claims to be waiting for other opposition members to join the coalition is not enough reason to postpone an elective congress for a decade.
He said when the UDC was a year-old they didn’t even think a party like Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) for example would join let alone exist. “Every year they find another excuse,” he said.
Saleshando indicated that they have not given up on opposition cooperation, therefore they are still waiting for Botswana National Front (BNF) to join their talks with AP.
“BNF was in same talks we are currently in with the AP, they walked out and we are hoping they will come back and if not we will continue with AP,” Saleshando emphasised. Before the BPF joined the UDC recently there was a structure called the opposition cooperation forum that was constituted to negotiate an election arrangement for 2024 General Election. Opposition parties AP, BCP, BNF, BPF and Botswana People’s Party (BPP) were represented.
According to BCP, parties were to submit cooperation framework at that forum and only AP and BCP complied as others decided to disengage from that forum. The BCP has outlined that they will not be party to a union that tramples on democracy, its constitution, basic tenants of governance and human rights.
Commenting on the alleged reports that many of their councillors and MPs have submitted Expression of Interest letters to the UDC following the latter’s September 26 deadline, Saleshando indicated that they are not aware of any MP who wants to stand with the UDC.
He said there were claims that 40 of their members have joined the UDC. “The number of people who have supposedly joined the UDC does not even exceed five,” he said.
Speaking of the number five, Saleshando further pointed out that even though one of the five members who were expelled by the party’s national conference in July Kenny Kapinga has asked to be readmitted into the party, the decision to return lies on individual MP.
Saleshando said the expelled MPs are supposed to ask for readmission, not the other way round.
“We didn’t ask Kapinga to come back, his constituency advised him to do so. The other MPs are not prepared to listen to their constituents so the constituencies will find their replacements.”