The Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) launched in Selibe Phikwe over the weekend with the holding of a star rally at the popular General Freedom Square.
This follows a series of other inaugural rallies that the BMD has been running throughout the country.
Addressing the rally, Francistown Mayor and councilor for Philip Matante East Ward, Shadrack Nyeku, explained that the recent ousting of his Deputy, Stanley Masalila, a BDP councilor for Tati Town, was meant to give the BDP a taste of their medicine after the BDP used the same tactics to remove councilor Monyame of the BMD from his chairmanship in the North West District Council.
Nyeku said unlike in the Bible where people are told to offer the other cheek when slapped on one side, “in politics, when your opponent slaps you, the only logical thing to do is retaliate with vengeance and cripple your opponent”.
The cooperation of opposition councilors in the Francistown council saw them succeed in their quest to remove the BDP’s Masalila as Deputy Mayor and replacing him with the Botswana Congress Party’s Ephraim Maiketso, who is the councilor for Francistown Central.
Addressing the same rally, BCP’s Member of Parliament for Selibe Phikwe West, Gilson Saleshando, applauded opposition parties for their cooperation, which looks set to cause an upset in the BDP.
However, Saleshando seemed to be skeptical of the Botswana National Front’s commitment to the idea of opposition cooperation. He implored the BNF to “wake up” and show commitment if indeed they want to be part of opposition cooperation.
Perhaps as a sign of credence to Saleshando’s skepticism, no BNF members were spotted in their party regalia at the rally, whereas the BCP members came in large numbers and were visible in their party colours.
Saleshando implored opposition members to work hard in winning the upcoming by-election for Ikageleng Phase 1 in Phikwe, which recently lost its representative with the passing on of BDP councilor Letsweletse Dinnale. He said should the opposition win the ward, it would be possible to oust the BDP from political leadership of the Phikwe council as happened in Francistown.
As leaders of the three main opposition parties are busy in Gaborone drafting models of opposition cooperation, residents of Selibe Phikwe, especially BCP and BMD members who attended the rally, were straight forward in their appeal to have the BNF left out of the opposition cooperation talks.
After the rally they gathered around party leaders who had just walked out of the tent and told them to their face that they do not want the BNF in the talks.
For his part, the Member of Parliament for Francistown South, Wynter Mmolotsi, criticized government’s extravagant spending of taxpayers’ money in times of the world economic recession.
He questioned the economic logic behind the building of Cabinet Ministers’ houses, which cost around P5 million each and furnished to the tune of around P300 000 each.
He said government misused money reserved for natural disasters in setting up the DIS and now there is no money to assist Francistown residents who were recently affected by the heavy rains and tornados that swept through the city and left many people homeless.
Mmolotsi said people are now being asked to make contributions to assist the victims and this is because funds that were meant for such disasters have been routed to the DIS.
Mmolotsi also complained about the large amounts of money spent on the President and his Vice’s helicopters’ fuel during their campaign for Tonota North MP, Fidelis Molao.
MP for Lobatse, Nehemiah Modubule, publicly derided President Ian Khama and his pet projects. He says the BDP government is playing mind games by changing the Namola leuba program to be called Ipelegeng, when in actual fact the two programs are the same.
Modubule said the alcohol levy is irrelevant in the fight against alcohol abuse as indications are people have not reduced alcohol consumption even when slapped with the alcohol levy.
The MP for Kgatleng West, Gilbert Mangole, assured the people of Selibe Phikwe that the remaining six BMD MP’s will never disappoint them by going back to the BDP.
Mangole said it was disrespectful of President Khama to publicly declare his disdain for the marriage institution.
He says Botswana is built on the foundation of marriage and it was wrong for the president to dismiss it. He urged President Khama to prove that indeed he doesn’t like politics by stepping down from the presidency, which he only ascended to through politics.
The BMD interim Chairman, Gomolemo Motswaledi, thanked his party’s MPs and councilors for a sterling job in their deliberations and representation in parliament.
