BCP embarks on membership drive
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday March 7, 2022 06:00
The purpose of the drive is to re-energise party structures, revive the love for the party, the spirit of work, and also for the public to feel the presence of the BCP as it used to.
The recruitment drive launch will be held on Sunday in the Gaborone Central constituency. “Remember, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected political parties a lot since they could not hold party activities. Therefore, the membership drive will help us grow and also locate our members. A lot has happened during COVID-19.
It is necessary for the party leadership to visit areas and to know our members challenges. Mind you, after the membership drive, as the party leadership, we will be able to know issues of our party at hand without relying on anyone’s information. For us to recruit new members, we have to be on the ground and be visible to Batswana,” the BCP spokesperson Mpho Pheko said on Tuesday.
Furthermore, she said they have also developed a membership app that will allow efficient online membership registration and target young people across the country. In addition, she pointed out that the membership drive will subsequently cover other constituencies and this year alone they wish to register 100,000 new members. Pheko said the primary objective of the membership drive is to grow the party. She added: “The stronger the party, the more it is ready to stand up against the current national challenges of the Botswana Democratic Party's (BDP) impunity and the declining democracy in Botswana. We are also readying ourselves for a change of government in the 2024 general election. "The BCP is an affiliate of Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), which means its growth could benefit it a lot, even winning elections. UDC needs a well-organised party that has active party structures for it to win. Before a party goes for elections, it has to gauge its membership in every constituency or ward level.
That is why at times a party does not field a candidate in other areas [that do not promise victory].” She further pointed out that it is important to ensure that the BCP grows in all areas of the country and people become familiar with what it believes in. She said they view membership recruitment as essential for the growth and survival of political parties.
The party spokesperson said after all, politics and democracy are 'about numbers'. Like most opposition political parties in Botswana, she said they are struggling with resources, primarily because of the absence of political party funding. She, however, said the members will not tire from funding Botswana’s democracy from their pockets. She said they do not want to neglect their members and structures in any constituency and wards. Again, some members must see the new executive committee members and the central committee members since the conference was virtual, she said. “That alone makes members appreciate the party leadership.
No party can survive without members. We need to appreciate the love and dedication of our members and their sacrifices. Some members in rural places work tirelessly for the party and they fund it from their pockets. Our parties survive by membership and people’s pledges,” she said. She revealed that the membership drive will help them to clean the database.
She said, currently the party has close to 200,000 members. The membership drive will be led by BCP president Dumelang Saleshando and his vice, Taolo Lucas. Mmegi has learnt that the BCP leadership will also have an opportunity to engage its members on the advantages and disadvantages they are encountering at the UDC level. On the party's commitment to the opposition coalition, she said the position of the BCP remains unwavering.