There is only one way to win Saleshando in a debate: Do not engage him in one. You see, Saleshando is the kind of guy who can tell you to ‘f@#k off’ and end up convincing you to believe he never really said that. He can argue, convincingly, that he was not present when a picture of him was taken. He is that smart.
Saleshando was not supposed to be the subject of my column this week. I only picked him late Sunday night after watching and listening to his interview with Btv’s Thebeyame Ramoroka on Matlho-a-Phage program. During the interview, Saleshando revealed a lot of information that other opposition leaders have been shying away from.
He declared that the BCP will not join Umbrella II, without necessarily being blunt about it. From his statements, it is clear the BCP has kissed the umbrella goodbye, for good. He said it without really saying it.
Saleshando made sure he emerged out of the interview as the visionary one while other opposition leaders are a bunch of stinkers. I admire Saleshando for when given time to tell his story, he grabs the opportunity with both hands.
You know, when Gomolemo Motswaledi and Duma Boko of the BMD and the BNF respectively, appeared on the same television program last week and told us they are still hopeful of the BCP’s return to the umbrella talks, I just thought to myself these guys could be foolish or they just think we are fools. I mean, who wants to tell me they are still not aware of the BCP’s resolution over Umbrella II?
Motswaledi and Boko know too well the BCP is not coming back and, as such, they must stop the pretence. I know no one opposition party wants to be looked at as the one which stifled umbrella talks but until and unless opposition parties make clear decisions and decide on their ideal partners, only can they plan properly and make progress.
Last week Boko and Motswaledi wanted to make us believe they are in good terms with Saleshando but now Saleshando tells us their ‘threesome’ affair ended with the collapse of umbrella 1. And according to the picture he paints about them, they are the ones displaying belligerent attitude and being bitchy towards him.
It beats me as to why it has to be so difficult for the BNF, BPP and BMD to accept the reality that the BCP is in no mood for back love with them. Why can’t they just accept the situation and move on without the BCP or give up on the whole umbrella project if they truly believe without the BCP it is ‘mission impossible’. I don’t understand why it is so difficult for the BCP to make it very clear, in no ambiguous terms, that they have no intentions of joining umbrella II. But here I’m really being unfair on the BCP because the BCP has long said NO and I don’t understand why the other parties want to confuse ‘NO’ for ‘ON’. Well, I know it’s popular among guys to believe that when a girl says no she actually means yes but I doubt it is the case with the BCP.
The signs have always been there for everyone to see. The BCP refused to immediately join Umbrella II on the pretext of consultation with their membership. Though a genuine and sound reason, this could have been just a polite way of saying “we’re not interested”.
When the BCP realized that the other opposition parties were not getting the message clearly, they sent their youth league to issue a statement that they don’t want to be part of umbrella II. Still other opposition parties played dumb and pretended not to get the BCP’s clear message. Now the BCP leadership is getting irritated and has resorted to making public pronouncements of their dislike for the umbrella at freedom squares.
High ranking, elderly BCP members dismiss the umbrella party with some of them labeling one of the umbrella II members as zombies. The BCP is smart and people can only dismiss its strategy at their peril. There is only one reason the BCP is not interested in working with the BMD. The thinking inside the BCP is, naturally, the formation of the BMD has ‘eaten’ on the BDP numbers and, as such, they fancy their chances at the general elections if they work with the BNF to fight the BDP which has been weakened by the formation of a splinter party, the BMD.
To them, the BMD has split the BDP votes and their role must end right there. The calculators know no rest at Kgololo House and with the BMD having no numbers to show and work on, the only option for the BCP is the BNF. They want to use the BNF.
And please do remember there is nothing wrong with using anyone or anything to win elections. That’s the nature of elections anyway. The BCP has sold this strategy to some of the BNF members and this explains the current infighting in the BNF. Mabiletsa’s group believes in the BCP calculations. Boko believes BMD is an equally important partner. Though it can’t be guaranteed, the BCP strategy can cause a major upset at the elections and leave the BDP and BMD with dropped jaws.
The only problem for the BCP is, not all BNF members agree with the equation. The other problem that Saleshando faces is, while he doesn’t want the umbrella, most of his councilors support the umbrella. The truth behind the BCP’s countrywide consultations is that the leadership is not soliciting ideas from party members. Instead, they are making their members believe the umbrella is not good for the BCP. And I’m not blaming them.
I have learnt never to believe politicians. But let’s assume Saleshando was telling the truth in some of the statements he made on Matlho-a-Phage. He raised a point that has been doing rounds in my head. While Umbrella II partners want us to believe they are waiting for the BCP, they have since assigned the BPP to allocate constituencies. The question is, how do you distribute constituencies when the other partner is not yet around? And if you are truly sincere, why do you tell the viewers that the BCP will take part in your team building exercise when you have never bothered to approach and check on their availability, if indeed Saleshando is telling the truth.
Saleshando is also right to ask what miracle is expected to remove, just like that, the hurdles that led to the collapse of the first talks. Saleshando is also right to say courtesy, appreciation, dedication, sincerity and respect for one another have to be shown through communication and acknowledgement of correspondences between or amongst the presidents, directly and not through the media. All that said, I have come to a conclusion opposition cooperation is not made difficult by anything difficult. It is just a clash of personal egos amongst contemporaries fighting for limelight. Everyone wants to be the ‘number one hunk of politics’.
