In fact, prominent BDP members authored some of the articles, which informed us in glowing terms about how the party had managed, contrary to earlier public expectations, to conduct a successful congress characterised by incident-free and completely free and fair party elections. We were further informed that from then on, the BDP would be characterised by the unity and discipline that it enjoyed in the past.
This was a confident outlook indeed, and one that probably convinced many people. After all, President Festus Mogae had publicly warned the warring factions of his party that their despicable conduct of recent weeks would not be tolerated in the future. The party would, therefore, not hesitate to take appropriate action against those who ignored his warning.
Hardly a month later, the picture has completely changed and the BDP factions seem to be back to their pre-congress warfare. The only difference is that Parliament is now the principal battlefield, the occasion being the debate on Mmadinare MP, Ponatshego Kedikilwe’s motion seeking to abolish the power of the Minister of Local Government to nominate councillors. Thanks to this debate.
We now know from some BDP MPs that the party has abused the system of nominated councillors for many years. The abuse apparently dates back to 1965!
We also now have confirmation from a senior BDP MP that for many years, the party used the nomination of councillors to sabotage the opposition parties. This was achieved by nominating enough BDP councillors to neutralise the strength of opposition members of different councils. According to the MP, no one in the BDP was willing to take responsibility to put an end to the many problems associated with the nomination of councillors. This was why he wanted the system abolished.
Another MP who wanted the nomination of councillors discontinued revealed that the system was a significant fund-raiser for the BDP. Apparently, BDP councillors are required to contribute to the coffers of the party each month. This means that the more BDP nominated councillors, the more the party makes each month.
This particular MP also complained that the nomination of councillors increased tensions within the BDP.
In my view, this is probably the main reason Kedikilwe’s motion. It also provides the answer to Minister Margaret Nasha’s question, during her contribution to the debate, as to why the motion was only being tabled now, when the nomination of councilors is such a long-standing practice.
“If there is patronage in the system,” Nasha is reported to have said, “then it means patronage has been there for a very long time.” (Botswana Gazette 10 August 2005).
Many people wonder why, if the BDP’s factions have existed for so long without fighting publicly, they have suddenly turned against each other in such an open and vicious way. The explanation for this is that for the first time in the history of the party, one of the factions has been completely sidelined in the party’s power game. This is obvious in the composition of both the central committee of the party, and that of the cabinet.
The domination of the faction was also demonstrated in the election of the Speaker of the National Assembly and his deputy, the election of the specially elected Member of Parliament, and the nomination of councillors to the different district and city/town councils.
This is where the disadvantaged faction has been rubbed the wrong way. It knows that, as Nasha rightly argued in the parliamentary debate, during its time in power, it also used its position to promote its interests.
But it argues that it was never as selfish as its counterparts are now, and has therefore decided to take them on publicly, even if this undermines the stability and authority of the party. What this faction may not realise is that its rival is equally bitter about the long period that it was left out in the cold.
This suggests a future of bitter infighting and instability for the country’s governing party. Sadly, the main victim of this bitter power-struggle will not be either of the factions but the quality of service delivery by the BDP government.
We should therefore hope that the leadership of the BDP will not let the debilitating bickering inside their party go on much longer. They should be decisive and stop it forthwith. The future of their party and the quality of our democracy demands this.
