BPF goes digital
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Thursday October 14, 2021 14:44
The BPF secretary-general, Tshekedi Khama said communication is demographic and as such, they will be able to reach their members through WhatsApp and Facebook. “One of the reasons why we have launched this digital platform is for us to stop relying on coverage from Botswana Television (Btv) or other media platforms. We want our members to be able to see party activities that are ongoing. Again, it will be easy for us to communicate with members whenever they have challenges in their areas and also to know the progress the party is making. Even our structures will be able to share information that the members need to know about on these platforms,” Khama said in an interview on Wednesday.
He said the platform will help them to reach out to some of the people who want to join the party as it has ways in which one could apply online for the membership cards. In addition, he said one does not need to go to the BPF office to apply for membership since the online platforms have everything that is needed to complete the required process. He continued: “COVID-19 pandemic has taught us to do things differently in a cheap way for voters. It is easy for us to address members through these platforms without necessarily having to hold a rally which we are used to.
We want to recruit and get people’s ideas through our platforms.” He said they have since realised that things will never be back to normal any time soon but the 2024 general election are not far, therefore, they are forced to work hard to recruit members and also to revive structures.
Khama said people should know that their party is still new and the pandemic has affected them since they could not visit other areas in the country to introduce the party. Still, on the matter, he said the way their system is working, will help them to easily make voters rolls when there is an election without struggle. “We do not want a system where there is trafficking in our primary elections like what was happening during Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) primary elections.
We were simply showing our members how some of the things are different from other parties and how one can engage a member and an ordinary person using one of the platforms,” he said. On another issue, Khama said his party has taken a decision to help some of the unemployed youth where possible with business ideas and also on how to apply for government programmes.
Meanwhile, University of Botswana political science lecturer Mokaloba Mokaloba said this is a positive step by the BPF and it is going to work for the BPF. "Anyone who embraces technology in this era is in the right direction because that is where one could get people. Even debates are now on Twitter, Facebook amongst others. It will be easy for one to access their manifesto and any other relevant information regarding their party.
Other political parties should benchmark on them. It will help them even to recruit members,” said Mokaloba.
He said political parties should accept that things are no longer going to be done the way they used to be especially in areas like towns and big villages. He added that technology could help parties to reduce costs as they could continue holding online meetings.