Gaborone mayor roots for opposition unity
Isaiah Morewagae | Tuesday May 6, 2014 15:44
Speaking at the launch of his campaign for Gaborone North parliamentary seat, he reiterated that the collapse of the opposition cooperation talks was a blow not only to parties involved but to the nation.
Nkaigwa said leaders who were involved in the talks should have looked beyond the allocation of the five-contested constituencies that were the bone of contention.
“The bigger picture was to deliver Batswana from the current regime.
I mean out of the 57 constituencies, 52 were agreed upon and that constitutes over 91 percent.
They should have looked at the bigger picture and not only those five constituencies,” Nkaigwa said. The mayor is going to contest the Gaborone North constituency under the banner of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
The UDC is a partnership between the Botswana National Front (BNF), Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) and Botswana Peoples Party (BPP).
Nkaigwa became Gaborone mayor after defecting from BDP to BMD. Over the weekend, he stressed that he ascended to the seat after the opposition parties formed a coalition against the BDP. He said the cooperation between the UDC and the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) in the GCC was a step in the right direction. “Failure to do the same at a higher level was a draw back to the opposition politics,” he said.
Nkaigwa was unveiled together with seven councillors who will be representing the UDC in the upcoming general elections in October. Candidates promised to work hard to ensure that they win all the wards and the constituency.
Nkaigwa said some of the challenges the constituency is facing are water shortages, bad roads, criminal activities and poor accommodation for Sebele residents. He promised to ensure that all these problems are sorted out.
The UDC campaign manager for Gaborone North, Fredric Kololo said the constituency is a large area, which includes Block 8, Block 10, Sebele, Gaborone North, Ledumang, Tsholofelo and Phakalane.
He said that, as the constituency comprises low-income locations and the middle class, they are forced to change their political strategies in a bid to appeal to both classes.
He promised to work hard to deliver the constituency and its wards to the UDC. Nkaigwa will be battling it out with the incumbent and Assistant Minister of Education, Keletso Rakhudu and the chairperson of the BCP, Motsei Rapelana.