Letsweletse Martin Dingake has recently been appointed the BCPs Presidential Spokesperson and congratulations are in order for my Cousin. Welcome aboard. Uncle Mike Dingake was the founder President of the BCP and for now the Saleshandos are holding fort. It was Rra Dumelang, Gilson Saleshando, who then passed the baton to the son in person Dumelang Saleshando. Dums wife Dineo delivered a speech at the launch of the BCP manifesto, and I will not count her out, who knows we could be having Sonia Ghandi in the offing, in Dineo Saleshando.
With time, the Dingakes’ and the Saleshandos’ will metamorphosise into a dynasty in the BCP hold. This obtains throughout the world, take the Kennedy’s and Bush’s in America, the Ghandi’s in India and many more, so its normal. The Clintons tried and failed once, but indications are they will give it another short. Hillary Clinton’s new book ‘Hard Choices’ could be the revitalization of her bid.
As a nephew to the Dingakes’ I believe that had I been an ‘insider’, I could stand to benefit from the dispensation and snatch the leadership of the BCP, more so my other Uncle, handsomely positioned somewhere in CBD appears least interested in partisan politics for now. Then I will steer the BCP into the direction of the BDP for a total merger in order to reinforce the formidable BDP. This should not be a problem because the BCP has experience in swallowing other Parties, remember it was Mr Setshwaelo’s BAM and now it is Themba Joina’s MELS; talk of strange bedfellows. In politics, there are no permanent enemies by the way, more especially in Botswana.
Absorption of BCP into BDP could lead to the desirable two tier party system whereas it will be the BDP against the UDC as obtains in the US with the Republicans and Democrats. This will give electorates a chance to vote for anyone of the two Parties as against what obtains now with voters attention being divided between the stronger BDP and 2 opposition parties bickering amongst themselves.
In leading to the assimilation of BCP into the BDP, I will not be inventing the wheel since nowadays there appears to be competing forces by the opposition to become more BDP in size, shape and formation. The wakeup call came after the ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe made it public that the BDP is ‘thee’ Party of Choice. I mean who doesn’t know that the BDP has taken over the BNF through UDC. Hovering over the BNF firebrand and Policy maestro, Dr Elmon Tafa, Professor Calmon Mogalakwe and other well known BNF cadres, the BDP trained mastermind, Ndaba Gaolathe was the principle architect of the UDC manifesto and he is their Policy Director. The way the guy walks, the way he talks, the way he thinks, Ndaba Gaolathe is BDP proper. It is only poor Gabriel Kanjabanja who can read the script.
Back to my nephew’s appointment as Presidential Spokesperson, in his first assignment, and appearing on ‘Breakfast with Reg’ he informed the nation that the BCP was targeting 29 Parliamentary seats in the October national elections. I bet you, the BCP Presidential Spokesperson made a genuine error by getting his terminology and wording mixed. He used the word ‘target’ instead of ‘wish least’ whereas ‘wish least’ refers to a groping in the dark on the balance of probabilities (go kapa dintsi) which is precisely what he meant because 29 is just a figure, arrived at by dividing the 57 constituencies by 2, which gives us 28 and then they added one (1) to arrive at 29 for ‘wishful thinking’ purposes only. We must however understand that Martin Dingake made a genuine error that comes with the exigency of a new undertaking we normally call TP (teething problems).
This is just baptism Lets Dingake, more is coming your way when the media and other stakeholders fire red hot salvos at you. One hot potato which you will have to contend with is why the President of BCP announced during the Press Conference that they will support UDC in the Kweneng Constituencies, when in actual fact they chickened out from unity talks? If the BCP was genuine they could sideline say Vain Mamela and have the UDC’s Wynter Mmolotsi run on their freebie. UDC experiences however during the Letlhakeng West Bye Elections when BCP members betrayed and were caught celebrating the UDC loss is still fresh in their minds.
Back to the BCP’s ‘wish list’ (as Lets Dingake will correct from henceforth) I can believe that amongst the 29 constituencies on the BCP’s ‘wish list’ is non other than Bobirwa Consituecy and it is probably in the top 5. Like many others within the 29, Bobirwa unfortunately has been very illusive for the BCP. Then in 1999, BDP’s Shaw Kgathi emerged victorious with 4900 to Taolo Lucas’s 1200 a margin of about 3700. In 2004 Taolo Lucas made some grounds by garnering 3700 to Shaw Kgathi’s 4200 a margin of around 700 thus bringing so much excitement into the BCP camp that come 2009 they will bag the constituency. This was not to be as in the said 2009 elections Shaw Kgathi increased the margin from 700 to 840 gathering 5899 votes to Taolo Lucas’s 5059.
In placing ones bet as to who will triumph in the 2014 elections between these two, your guess is as good as mine. And Mr Presidential Spokesperson, if your top 5 of 29 constituency is as dicey, slippery and almost lost, it means that the other 24 constituencies that occupy positions 6 to 29 are more dicey, slippery and most certainly the BCP is going to loose them. The BCP President and his Senior team have thrown over to you a red hot pebble to swallow and you have to wiggle yourself out of it. The BCP leadership is engaging in propaganda known as a scarecrow ploy.
This they do in an attempt to gain ground from the UDC formation which is claiming superiority over BCP to the chagrin of your leadership. Don’t worry that is why you are there, you have to apply not a bit, but more of the late Paul Rantao’s propaganda stunts. Remember after being one of the 11 men in flight, who formed BCP, Paul Rantao decamped back to BNF informing the delighted BNF members that he used to be Saul, now he is Paul. In Biblical terms before his conversion, Paul, then known as Saul, was a “zealous” Pharisee who intensely persecuted the followers of Jesus.
The truth of the matter is that for now you are a way above the UDC formation and come October 2014 you are going to give them a run for their money or at best you are going to help the BDP clean them UDC out. For example, with the BCP’s help, the BDP is going to wipe out Wynter Mmolotsi, and Gilbert Mangole, and Ndaba Gaolathe and…..the list goes on and on. Take cue of what the BDP Mahalapye East Parliamentary candidate Hon Botlogile Tshireletso said during the launch of the BDP Parliamentary Candidate for Mahalapye West Joseph Molefe on Saturday 21st June 2014: “We hear of the UDC but we have never come across them during the campaigns. It is however not surprising because the ‘U’ in UDC refers to being ‘Ungraded’, so if people are ungraded, it means they are not in the race, they have no impact”.
And so Letsweletse Martin Dingake, what you have to do now is enjoy the World Cup games, including your team Belgium as it stumbles along. Then come 14th July after the finals, start drafting a press release on where the BCP got it wrong in the October general elections. It is never too early to start and remember to praise the victorious BDP and its Leader Lt General Seretse Khama Ian Khama for a job well done. Let us accept defeat in the generosity of spirit.
