Reality dawns on BNF
Ryder Gabathuse | Monday January 30, 2023 06:00
With a serious demeanour, BNF and UDC president 53-year-old Advocate Boko told his story for the first time openly to the party’s multitudes perhaps as a take home about somewhat unpalatable developments in the two parties that he leads.
His eyes were wide opened that trouble was on its way.
The UDC has been troubled by the impending exit and the flak at which the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) has been articulating its growing concerns about Boko’s leadership style, which they described as autocratic with tendencies of unilateralism.
Boko acknowledged that he had for long “neglected” his party.
There has always been talk also that the BNF was struggling with dysfunctional structures or was surviving on ‘makeshift’ structures in many constituencies in the north of the country.
The party head honchos especially Boko have always been blamed for concentrating attention on building the UDC and neglecting the BNF.
“We have twice fallen victim to the coalition arrangement after the general elections,” Boko had said.
It was at the BNF elective congress last year that Boko broke his silence indicating that the BNF had compromised a lot for the sake of unity. That the BNF had worked tirelessly since 2012 and even worked harder to make sure that the coalition remained intact.
This was a loaded statement coming from the leader whose party has ‘sacrificed’ a lot in the name of unity of purpose for the opposition parties geared at democratically unseating the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). At some stage he indicated that the BNF had suffered the consequences. However, his address was like the proverbial, “closing the stable door after the horse has bolted” as the BCP had already made up its mind to quit the UDC. He was particularly worried that in the National Assembly, the BNF has gone on a downward spiral since joining the UDC. In the 2014 General Elections, the BNF had eight Members of Parliament while one of the UDC founding partners, the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), had nine parliamentary seats of the 17 that the UDC won. In 2019, the BNF only won four out of the 15 that the UDC won.
He lamented reality that at some point or another, the BNF had worked for other parties in the coalition more than their own.
Sometimes when the BNF assisted coalition partners they get the needed help because the party put its strength and resources into aiding them. The BNF’s focus would be mainly to build unity and unfortunately, as Boko saw it, “most of the time after crossing the bridge issues start to unfold. Partners start to become full of themselves and arrogant”. After winning the general election under one ticket, coalition partners started dividing the UDC by boasting about the number of legislators and councillors they have.
Boko’s major trepidation was that, “some of them go around belittling the same people who uplifted them. We have seen these challenges both in 2014 and 2019.”
Boko’s speech was more like a ‘premonition’ of the current fracas as the BCP would later declare at its conference in Mahalapye last year that it was giving the process only six months and would vacate the coalition. The party has lately announced that by end of this month it will be quitting the UDC coalition.
This is not good for opposition unity and it is more like working towards ensuring that the BDP stays in power.
At some point, Boko compared the BMD situation after 2014 General Elections to the current situation happening with the BCP.
At some stage, the BNF’s coalition partner and splinter party, the BCP, had 11 MPs and this was a historic feat for the party, which was formed in 1998.
Before they joined the UDC, the BCP was not doing well on its own and in 2004 it only had one MP in Saleshando. Sometime last year, the BCP fired four MPs whom they felt ‘betrayed’ them at a time when the UDC/BCP were engrossed in a controversy that resulted in the suspension of BCP president Saleshando and secretary-general Goretetse Kekgonegile.
Despite accusations of ‘Big Brother’ mentality, Boko maintained that the BNF is the backbone of the UDC because it respects how opposition parties’ unity should operate. From its inception, the BNF was best described as a multi-organisational united front, which other organisations should join. Its diehard operatives also see the party as a mass democratic organisation.
By its nature, the BNF unite people from all walks of life with one mission of unity, although unity efforts often ended acrimoniously like in the BCP case.
The BNF influence in the north of Botswana has for a long time been affected by the previous pacts it had with other parties. This is because some agreements it had with the parties in contesting in certain areas and not in others could have turned off some party diehards.
There can be no denying that the BNF leadership has been distressed by the party’s dwindling fortunes. Once a formidable force, the BNF now will look more like a shadow of itself as the BCP across some northern constituencies exits the coalition and uprooting with it what it had built under the UDC in terms of structures. In Botswana like elsewhere, a united and strong opposition is key as it provides the requisite checks and balances. It is perhaps, time the BNF chooses reliable coalition partners to avoid future regrets, as it is the case now.
The BNF secretary-general, Ketlhalefile Motshegwa this week presented a brighter picture of the BNF despite what the party was going through. He indicated that the BNF ideological orientation and values are based on, inter alia, pursuit of liberty, promotion of civil rights, economic empowerment of the people. “The central focus of the policy framework of the party is to address socio-economic disparities in communities for equality and social justice.
“This is clearly outlined in the BNF Social Democratic Programme (SDP). We remain committed to the second phase of the African Revolution,” he said this week.
Indicative of the BNF setting the pace as a formidable organisation, Motshegwa indicated that on November 12, 2022, the BNF central committee convened a successful and impactful leadership forum, which was attended by the central committee itself, Women’s League, Youth League, Members of Parliament, councillors, regional and constituency secretaries.
The strategic plan analysis the political environment and how the BNF and partners should operate towards regime change. It further outlines the BNF vision, mission, strategic goals, values and a plan for accomplishing such or implementation. It is a blueprint for organisational transformation of the BNF to attain growth, prosperity and vibrancy.
As per the strategic plan, the vision statement is, “the BNF is a political vanguard for socio-economic transformation and prosperity for all.”
The BNF’s strategic goals are; to improve and build accountable leadership in BNF; to drive growth in the BNF through membership recruitment drive; to mobilise financial resources and ensure effective use of the BNF highly skilled, technical and professional members; to use political education to develop a culture of sustained peace, discipline and inner democracy; to develop a more robust and multifaceted communications and marketing strategy and to mobilise and organise opposition parties into a strong and formidable UDC. Motshegwa is adamant that the structures of the BNF are active and functional in all the constituencies and wards. This is the task bestowed on the regional and constituency leaders for the vibrancy of the party. He explained: “The secretary-general and the national organising secretary are currently touring all constituencies to give them courage and inspiration for recruitment drive, liaison with communities, to spread the message of the BNF and the UDC. We have an effective, credible and reputable central committee, Youth League and Women ‘s League.”
He was steadfast that the BNF remains dedicated to opposition unity to expedite and consolidate a programme of regime change for the economic, liberation and empowerment of Batswana.
“That is why our focus is on the BDP, because we want state power from them, and we won’t waste time competing with or attacking other opposition parties because they don’t have what we want, which is state power.”
Further adding his voice to the BNF case, party publicity secretary, Justin Hunyepa dismissed reports that they did not perform well in the constituencies south of Dibete.
He explained: “Firstly we have to correct a recurring misinformation that the UDC represented by BNF performed badly in the south during the 2019 General Elections.
“The BDP massively rigged and stole the elections and all the evidence we had was credible, but the High Court Judges were instructed to throw out the cases without hearing the merits,” he added. Hunyepa cited a number of incidents that he feels vindicate the UDC and the BNF.
“The Judge Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe and Kgosi Mosadi Seboko cases are classic examples of the Office of the President interfering with the judiciary. The media should help explain this issue. The UDC won the 2019 General Elections, but the BDP stole them.”
He stressed that the BNF has vibrant structures north of Dibete and the UDC won Shoshong, Mahalapye East and Tonota constituencies in 2019, which were under its management. It also has several councillors north of Dibete from Mahalapye, Boteti, Marobela up to Maun and Ngamiland.
“The BNF is today capable of fielding candidates in all wards and constituencies if asked to do so by the UDC. The party has long recovered from the 1998 split,” Hunyepa was insistent.