Support candidate, not the party-Ntsie
Lekopanye Mooketsi | Wednesday May 21, 2014 11:57
The BOMU constitution clearly stipulates that the association should not align itself with any political party. But BOMU has indicated that it is going to rally its support behind the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) parliamentary candidate for Gaborone North, Keletso Rakhudu currently the MP for the constituency.
Rakhudu is also the Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development. BOMU has called on local musicians to support Rakhudu in his election campaign and to vote for him. Rakhudu who plays the guitar, is also a patron of BOMU.
BOMU has also appealed to musicians to support fellow artists who are contesting for the general elections from the political divide.
Speaking in an interview with Showbiz, BOMU secretary general Pagson Ntsie revealed that their constitution states that they should not affiliate to any political movement.
This implies that the organisation should not take political sides. However, he does not see anything wrong with supporting candidates who are contesting the general elections.
Ntsie said they do not support political parties but are rallying behind certain candidates. He claimed that this was not contrary to the BOMU constitution, which stipulates that the association should not take part in politics.
He said they decided to support certain candidates who are going to advocate for musicians. To him, this will not divide the association. Ntsie said they support candidates not considering their political parties.
“We are not affiliated to any party,” he said.
He said there are some artists who are going to contest for council elections in Gaborone and they are also going to support those candidates. However, he said BOMU would not be allocating resources to the candidates. He said they are just going to lobby their members to rally behind their lot.
Ntsie said the controversial move is not the same as what South African artist Dr Malinga did when he declared his support for the African National Congress (ANC). He said in their case, they support individuals and not their political parties.
On the other hand, Ntsie has called on artists not to join any political party because they would jeopardise their chances of getting jobs from rival organisations.