BCP, GCC campaign tensions reignite

Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Wednesday September 17, 2014 13:29

 

Last week the BCP and the GCC settled out-of-court after the local authority conceded it had no defence in the case in which the opposition party was suing for the right to place its campaign material across the city.

 The council agreed to pay the BCP’s legal costs of P13,000 as part of the settlement, and the party in turn, withdraw the counter-suit.

But on Monday, BCP president, Dumelang Saleshando, told a press briefing that they planned another lawsuit as the GCC had failed to honour the agreement.

Saleshando said while the parties had agreed on certain terms out-of-court, the local authority had “gone behind our backs” and reneged on the deal.

As part of the settlement, the BCP had agreed to the removal of its posters from traffic light poles.

“Our agreement has been clear. GCC was supposed to remove all posters for every party from traffic light poles but now they are only removing our posters and also in areas of the city we have not agreed upon.

“It’s clear that the GCC has a political agenda because it is not removing the BDP (Botswana Democratic Party) and UDC (Umbrella for Democratic Change) posters,” Saleshando said.

He said the party had tried to engage the council on the matter “but they keep on dodging us”.  The City Clerk, Mpho Mathe, told Mmegi that he was not aware that council employees were removing BCP posters from streetlights.

“What I know is that we have been taking out posters from traffic lights but not streetlights. We have 101 traffic lights that we monitor, so it is easy for us to know if a party has placed an advert on these,” he said.

He said it would be a mistake if council workers were indeed taking down BCP posters from streetlights.

“It could also be a communication breakdown,” he said.

Earlier this year, the GCC wrote to BCP chairman Motsei Rapelana and Saleshando ordering them to remove their campaign posters around Gaborone.

In July, on the eve of the BCP manifesto launch, the council applied for an urgent application in the High Court, demanding the party remove, forthwith the posters on traffic interjections. The party later countersued.