The Voice (Botswana)

UDC MARCH FOR CIVIL RIGHTS

”Government has collapsed,” Mohwasa

- BY KABELO DIPHOLO

Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) is rallying its troops for a civil rights march this Saturday in Tutume.

Dubbed ‘UDC People’s March’, thousands of Umbrella loyalists are expected to turn up, the party spokespers­on, Moeti Mohwasa, has revealed.

According to Mohwasa, the march will be preceded by a 9am indoor National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting led by

President Duma Boko.

“From there, at 12 noon, we’re going to march and hand a petition to the District Commission­er,” said Mohwasa.

He further stated that UDC will be marching against poor service delivery, escalating commodity prices, looming retrenchme­nts, rampant corruption, high unemployme­nt, and for judicial independen­ce.

Mohwasa said Batswana are getting poor service at health and education facilities due to the incompeten­ce of the Botswana Democratic Party (Bdp)-led government.

“There’s no medication in clinics. The government has collapsed,” charged Mohwasa.

The UDC mouthpiece further noted that they are aware that government will be retrenchin­g a lot of people in a few months to come, and are raising their voice against the move.

“It is very bad for a government to retrench people, when already unemployme­nt figures are high. Everyone is struggling, so where are these people sup

posed to go?” asked Mohwasa.

“The government has indeed collapsed,” he reiterated.

He noted that while such petitions are usually held in cities, it is not unusual to have them away from the city.

“UDC is a national brand. Everything should not be centred around Gaborone and Francistow­n. We’re marching against issues of national concern, which affect everyone regardless of where they live,” said Mohwasa.

Tutume falls under the Nkange constituen­cy whose Member of Parliament, Dr Never Tshabang, and four others were suspended by their party Botswana Congress Party (BCP) in July. While the constituen­cy was won by BCP of the UDC, a defiant Tshabang has elected to remain under the Umbrella coalition going into the 2024 general elections.

 ?? ?? UNITED: Tshabang and UDC President, Duma Boko
UNITED: Tshabang and UDC President, Duma Boko

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