BNF fires PUSO

RYDER GABATHUSE
Staff Writer | Tuesday May 27, 2008 00:00

The decision was taken last Saturday at a regional committee meeting held at Ipeleng Primary School in Lobatse.

A letter penned last Sunday and apparently delivered to the leader of PUSO, Nehemiah Modubule delivered the bad news to the party.

'Take note that your party has been suspended from its membership as a group member of the BNF for six months with effect from May 27. The suspension is an immediate result of the disruption of the BNF Lobatse constituency general membership meeting convened by the southern regional committee,' reads the suspension letter authored by one R.J Moyo who identified himself as the vice regional secretary.

The regional committee accuses PUSO members 'to have deliberately disrupted the weekend Lobatse meeting to the extent that we decided to cancel it to maintain peace and stability within the BNF'.

The agenda of the aborted meeting included the discussion on the leadership forum, discipline, group membership and conference.

PUSO members are alleged to have insisted that the agenda should start with election of the constituency interim committee, citing lack of confidence in the current committee.

'It was explained to them that procedurally this cannot happen since the ongoing meeting was not convened by the Lobatse constituency meeting, let alone for the purpose of electing an interim committee,' further reads the letter.

Moyo stressed that the concerns of the PUSO members could be listened to but it was apparent that their conduct was the main thing. 'Unfortunately, your members were intransigent and insisted that if their demand was not included as the first agenda item, the meeting would not continue. Recognising the fragility of the situation, the regional committee called off the meeting to a later date to be decided in due course because the current schedule to address the southern region constituencies on the same items mentioned would end on June 15'.

Moyo indicated that under normal circumstances, there should have been a disciplinary hearing, 'but this was deemed unnecessary because the disruption of the meeting itself and subsequent utter refusal by your members to adhere to order when requested to do so is adequate enough to warrant this reprimand'.

The other worry was that 'this unbecoming behaviour was also portrayed by your members during vice president, Olebile Gaborone's visit'. The regional committee strongly feels that the conduct of the PUSO members is unacceptable and contrary to policy and procedure as stipulated within the BNF constitution.

'The southern regional committee of the BNF is mandated by seven constituencies to carry out assignments of the organisation within its jurisdiction and this cannot be disrupted by the few denying the many the right to information by deliberately disrupting party conventions'. They, therefore, feel duty-bound to protect the organisation from any form of unruly behaviour including malpractice that could detrimentally tarnish the image of the organisation.

In a leaked response letter, PUSO has expressed shock at the latest developments. 'We are surprised that a regional committee, can, or is empowered to suspend a national organisation. As far as we are concerned our membership was granted by the BNF and therefore can be suspended or terminated by the BNF and not by any other lower structure,' reads in part a letter authored by PUSO's first secretary, Themba Setimela.

PUSO further argues that it did not have delegates to the said meeting and therefore, cannot be held responsible for any acts that took place at a properly convened BNF general meeting.

'We believe that those who took part did so in their own right as BNF members. We, therefore, call upon you to withdraw your suspension letter and/or report your grievances to the BNF central committee which is mandated to take appropriate action,' adds Setimela.

Just like his party, Modubule who was reluctant to talk to the press, expressed shock at the letter suspending the party that he leads.

'I am very much shocked. I have seen the copy of the group membership and I feel concerned that the BNF leadership does not adhere to its constitution. Look, they are obviously opening a can of worms in that anybody can do his wish,' said Modubule yesterday.

He feared that the way things are done could render the party ungovernable in the long term if people are not careful.

BNF publicity chief, Moeti Mohwasa, was yesterday cagey about the issue, preferring ignorance. 'I am not aware of any such a development in the party. Of course in a democratic set up people do differ on issues, but there is nothing that we have received as the central committee relating to the suspension of PUSO as a group member,' he claimed.