Battle for BDP soul hots up
Ryder Gabathuse | Saturday August 27, 2022 11:55
It will be interesting to appreciate what could have motivated Molefhi’s sudden return to contest the BDP positions. He has been conspicuously absent from party activities.
The towering politician is surely exercising his party's constitutional right to challenge Tsogwane. In his own admission, he is also driven by the desire to serve his party that he has also loyally served over the years. He and his team would work hard to help the party recover in terms of its losses in recent by-elections if elected.
Interestingly, Molefhi is not alone as he leads a team of other veterans who want to play a key role in the leadership of the ruling party and bring changes that they feel will take the party to greater heights. On his lobby list, there are former Cabinet colleagues, Shaw Kgathi who vies for the position of secretary-general, Unity Dow for the party deputy chairperson and Tebelelo Seretse trying her luck again for the position of deputy treasurer. Additional members include Bridget Mavuma, Tekolo Gosego, Julia Miranda, and Falaki Mononi. President Masisi, though not running for office, and party treasurer, Satar Dada appear on both lobby lists.
Molefhi’s abrupt return to hands-on political activity after a long absence from the trenches was another wonder as the journey to Tsabong for the party’s elective congress commenced in earnest. His bravery is a sure sign that this time around he has set his priorities right to face the challenges against the incumbent Tsogwane.
Molefhi lost emphatically to the current State and party leader, President Mokgweetsi Masisi in the fight for the party chairperson position in 2017. In his last bid to challenge for the party chairperson, Molefhi garnered only 261 votes to Masisi’s 769 votes.
As hundreds of BDP diehards descend on the Kalahari Desert village of Tsabong, the party will be seized with the elections for a stronger chairperson who will take the party to the 2024 General Election.
The BDP has not been at its very best though as depicted by its performance in the recent by-elections. By far, out of a total of 14 by-elections since the 2019 General Election, the ruling party has won only three wards with the rest in opposition hands. The party leadership has been worried about its dwindling fortunes.
In its journey to the impending 2024 General Election, the BDP needs a chairperson who will inspire confidence and reverse the intensifying gains of the opposition and set the BDP on a recovery path.
With the BDP fortunes incessantly taking a downward trajectory, the party has more work to do to regain ground and in that respect, it needs a streetwise chairperson to win back what it has lost in recent times.
For Molefhi, his victory will announce his grand return to party politics. He lost the party chairpersonship race ahead of the 2019 General Elections and would later lose most importantly, the party ticket to defend the Selebi-Phikwe East parliamentary seat.
His was a double whammy, hence he has been for some time out of politics leaving speculation that he might have defected to the BDP’s breakaway party, the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), which was formed in 2019. He vehemently dismissed reports of interest in the Central District-based BPF as unfounded and misleading. There was speculation that he was preferred for the BPF presidency after the incessant suspension of Biggie Butale. Team Tsogwane includes VP himself for the position of chairperson; Kavis Kario for secretary-general, Lemogang Kwape contests deputy secretary-general, Satar Dada is unopposed for party treasurer, whilst Jagdish Shah defends the position of deputy treasurer. Machana Shamukuni, Oabile Regoeng, Angelinah Sengalo and Neo Kealotswe are available as additional members.
Tsogwane and his challenger Molefhi are age mates, both born in 1959 with Tsogwane taking a slight edge as he was born in September whilst Molefhi came on earth two months later. A towering Molefhi enjoys the height advantage over a storky Tsogwane.
Pound for pound, Molefhi is more charismatic than the man he is challenging. He is also an orator who speaks official languages Setswana and English well compared to the VP whose speeches have been characterised by unnecessary stutters.
It is unfortunate for Molefhi because he came late in the day in his endeavour to challenge Tsogwane whose stay in office was extended by the advent of COVID-19. Tsogwane was appointed the BDP chairperson when President Masisi ascended to the highest office in the land in 2018.
He has been touching base with the hoi-polloi and to his advantage is the requisite resources that permit him to traverse the length and breadth of the country feeling the pulse of the people. For the longest time, he has been the face of the BDP making him one of the most accessible party executives.
Besides at party level, Tsogwane has many other roles including VP, Chancellor at Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN), MP for Boteti-West as well Leader of the House in Parliament.
It will definitely be good for Tsogwane to win because if he loses, this could have devastating effects on his political career, which is also dependent upon his ability to do well in contested elections.
If he succumbs to last-minute pressure mounted by Molefhi and his team he will be the first VP to lose since former president Ian Khama’s emphatic win in 2003 in Gantsi during the BDP elective congress that saw Ponatshego Kedikilwe, another party stalwart, losing.
In his assessment of the strengths of the two contestants for the key position of chairperson, University of Botswana (UB) lecturer in politics and administrative studies, Adam Mfundisi’s considered view is that the VP is a weakling within the BDP structures and government.
“He has rarely shown strategic leadership in government and Parliament. In the latter, he is erroneously called the Leader of the House, which he has shown a lack of ethical and accountable leadership,” Mfundisi told Mmegi this week. He described the VP as, “a loose cannon unable to measure his words. He does not promote harmony, cooperation and collaboration among MPs. Even the VP's performance as a Minister has not been satisfactory.”
On the other hand, he considers Molefhi as having been an excellent Minister and MP in the previous administrations.
“He is emotionally intelligent and imbued with visionary leadership, which he displayed in many ministerial portfolios he held in the previous administrations. His articulation of socio-economic and political issues is reflective of the dynamics of Botswana's political landscape,” he posited. He added: “Molefhi is well vested with knowledge, skills and experience on the prevailing circumstances and situations in the Republic. He is a better devil to reform the BDP even if it is beyond reform. But the deep state will not allow the latter to be the chairperson of the moribund BDP.” He feels strongly that without Molefhi, the BDP will not redeem itself.
“Members of the Executive are liabilities in the management of political parties. They are heavily conflicted in people and government relationships," concluded the UB academic.
In his assessment of the party preparations, the BDP spokesperson Kagelelo Kentse was upbeat that the mood in the BDP is extremely well.
“The elective congress comes five years later. We could not hold it for many reasons including the year of the general elections and then the advent of COVID-19,” Kentse declared this week indicating that his party was at an advanced stage.
The BDP has a full list of about 1,300 delegates who are expected to throng the Tsabong elective congress. Kentse describes the atmosphere as harmonious and peaceful.