Saleshando hardens tone against Boko

PALAPYE: Although he did not openly say it, Dumelang Saleshando appears to have signalled the end of the road for the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) in the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), an opposition coalition.

In his speech at the party’s leadership forum in Palapye on Saturday, the BCP president was clear that the outcome of the next UDC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting billed for May 21, could potentially be the last for the BCP in the UDC. Saleshando did not name anyone in his hardline speech, but his prime target appeared to be UDC president Duma Boko, who he vilely accused of turning the coalition into a one-man show.

Saleshando stated some key elements that he believes have to be urgently dealt with in the UDC include holding a special congress that will pave the way for an elective congress that will deal with governance issues (in the UDC), for the BCP to remain in the coalition.

But to some extent his posture at the forum was of a man who certainly knows that UDC will highly likely not settle for any of his demands, particularly the holding of any form of congress, ultimately paving the way for the BCP to leave the coalition.

“In July last year the UDC NEC met, and it was resolved that we go for a retreat to resolve some governance issues in the UDC. Ten months later all the efforts to go for a retreat have failed,” he said, signalling the usual lack of commitment by the UDC to implement resolutions.

Even the emotion behind many BCP members and their reactions to Saleshando’s speech at the weekend meeting suggested that circumstances in the UDC have never been good and it is not feasible for UDC, under Boko, to set up a congress amongst others. Some in the audience even remarked that “re dule gale” meaning that the BCP has already pulled out of the UDC when Saleshando highlighted the coalition’s lack of commitment toward executing resolutions of the NEC or key meetings.

Saleshando said he had hoped that governance issues in the coalition will improve but to no avail. He went on to explain that what prompted his unusually harsh stance against the UDC is a lack of commitment to governance issues.

“We are now paying the price of trying to build quietly and whispering to those that we work with. Signs were there that there are problems in the UDC. We just kept quiet with the hope that everything will be fixed once the coalition has shaped up. The big issue for the BCP in the UDC is the lack of governance. I want that to be clear,” he said.

Saleshando added: “As per the norm, the 2019 general election were not coordinated by the NEC, but by people who are not in the UDC structures. We were even not consulted when petitions disputing the 2019 election results were launched.”

He also said the UDC cannot continue to sell itself as an entity that upholds the tenets of democracy when it acts on the contrary.

“We have to present ourselves as an alternative government. In a social democracy, leaders are voted, that is why we want an elective congress of the UDC. We can’t on the one hand say we are social democrats in the UDC and at the same time do not hold leadership elections. The two cannot go together. There is a major clash of values.”

In another clear sign that the BCP has lost confidence in the UDC, Saleshando maintained that the BCP will submit its own proposal with the opposition’s cooperation talks (for a method of cooperation that the BCP feel should be adopted by the opposition at the 2024 general election).

Contrary to what the UDC says, the BCP leader said that a decision was taken last month (by all opposition parties in the cooperation talks) that parties submit their own proposals for the method of cooperation that they should feel should be adopted in 2024. He claimed that the decision was taken after it was realised that the UDC was taking a long time to finalise its submissions. Meanwhile late on Saturday, the BCP leadership resolved that the party’s July congress should be given the mandate to decide the future of the BCP in the coalition if sticking points that were raised by Saleshando are not adequately addressed.

Yesterday, UDC spokesperson Moeti Mohwasa also reacted to Saleshando’s remarks at the leadership forum. He said the fact that the BCP says it will raise its concerns at the next meeting, UDC NEC negates any assertion that the coalition is a one-man show.

He also maintained that the BCP has to detach itself from the UDC if it wants to go at it alone at the cooperation

talks for the next general elections.

“Secondly, it has to apply to be part of the negotiations forum before it can be accepted as a party to the talks. This is basic and easy to understand. As we have mentioned, the UDC is engaged in negotiations with AP and BPF. What constitutes the UDC is the sum of BCP, BNF,

and BPP.”

BCP inches closer to UDC exit

‘Re dule gale’, BCP members at the weekend

meet Governance challenges haunt UDC UDC president accused of running a one-man show UDC is democratic –

Mohwasa