The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) president, Dumelang Saleshando, has rubbished the umbrella II initiative by the BNF, BMD and the BPP saying that the three opposition parties need to bury the hatchet and move on as their efforts would never bear fruit.
Addressing a rally in Francistown over the weekend, the BCP president said the umbrella talks have long proved to be a failure advancing his party’s pull out as the underlying reason.
“Boko, Motswaledi and Molapisi need to fully admit that the umbrella talks will never take them anywhere. The three opposition leaders seem to be in denial. They are just like a person who is refusing to accept that when a person is dead, he is dead,” said Saleshando whose party resolved not to participate in the second round of the talks.
He discarded the coalition, saying that the BCP does not need the umbrella strategy to win the coming 2014 general elections.
Saleshando said his party is ready to oust the ruling party from power in the coming general election, adding that the BCP is going to continue benefitting from defections from the BNF, and other opposition parties as well as the ruling Botswana Democratic Party.
“We as the BCP are going to be the main beneficiaries of the defections from the BNF as members are continuing to be received in our party. We received two of their Members of Parliament and we are still going to receive more members from the party,” he said confidently.
He attacked the umbrella, saying that the future of Batswana should not be based on uncertainty but ideas that are sound, and assuring them of a good future adding that the BCP is a party which has the future and needs of Batswana at heart as it is advocating for Batswana to fully benefit from the economy of the country.
“In our manifesto, we fully stipulate that Batswana should benefit from the resources of the country, unlike the current BDP government, which is throwing away all the country’s wealth to foreigners and leaving Batswana wallowing in abject poverty,” he said.
Saleshando further castigated the BDP, saying that the party continues to disregard citizens in terms of the distribution of wealth. He also raised concerns over the decline of the state of education in the country, adding that the situation calls for a change of government as the ruling party is failing to address the problem.
“The state of education in the country is also a serious concern that needs to be addressed urgently. We are faced with an education crisis in the schools, including the country’s highest institution of learning, the University of Botswana,” he added.
Saleshando concluded by lambasting Khama for disregarding serious issues concerning Batswana, charging that instead, the President has resolved to coming up with petty projects, such as Ipelegeng and backyard gardening which are only promoting poverty in the country. Saleshando called on Batswana to elect BCP and remove the BDP from power in 2014 as it is failing to address the needs of the citizens.
