Factionalism rocking BCP
Oarabile Mosikare | Friday May 8, 2015 16:26
The current secretary general, Kesitegile Gobotswang, and secretary for information and publicity Taolo Lucas are likely to battle it out for the position of vice president. It is said that backed by the vocal so-called Ditimamolelo and Tumiso ‘Chillyboy’ Rakgare’s BCP Youth League committee, Lucas has already kicked off his campaign. Those who support Gobotswang are moving with caution because they were hoping that the party could bring in new faces who could also bring fresh ideas into the leadership.
Specifically, they are targeting a prominent person who is currently a high profile chief executive officer of one of the public institutions. Mmegi has leant that the CEO, whose name is withheld for now, is seen as a compromise candidate who could save the party from a bloody contest between Gobotswang and Lucas.
“The general feeling is that Gobotswang and Lucas should be relieved of demanding leadership responsibilities but should rather concentrate on winning the marginal constituencies of Bobonong and Sefhare-Ramokgonami. Insiders are confident that if Ditimamolelo insist on pushing for Lucas, supporters of Gobotswang will ask him to contest the position of vice president. Besides the two comrades have been in leadership positions for decades. It is time to try new faces,” said a high profile source.
The issue to inject the BCP leadership with new blood is gaining ground. It reached a fever pitch this week when Nevah Tshabang, who was the party’s candidate for Nkange constituency in the 2014 general elections, pleaded with BCP members to stop recycling leaders into the central committee. Tshabang, who declared his candidature for deputy secretary general position, wrote of Facebook page that people who have been serving the BCP for close to two decades should give way to others.
“The likes of Kesitegile Gobotswang, Taolo Lucas, Motsei Rapelana, Batisani Maswibilili should pave way for many of us to try it out and see if we can not take the party forward,” wrote Tshabang.
“With due respect, I thought they have done their part and its time for others,” he wrote, further wondering, “What else can they offer in the next decade that they could not deliver in the last 20 years. They have done well in all respect, save for the 2014 general elections which they as a crop, failed to deliver. They have been changing positions of the executive committee amongst themselves so many times that you wonder when are they going stop this furniture shifting method. I think its time for change! It may sound hard, but time has come that they should take stock of themselves, their leadership and get ready to exit. It is all with due respect to the hard work they have put in the last 20 years, but there comes a time when one has to give others the race to run, for the good of the organisation.”
Many contributed to the debate and it seemed Tshabang’s suggestions rubbed the founding BCP president Michael Dingake the wrong way. In his diatribe, Dingake took Tshabang, a University of Botswana (UB) don to task and asked him what progress he has made to deserve a place in the central committee. “You don’t say what progress you have to deserve better than comrades you wish to have purged. You seem to think BCP should engage in some gambling, trial and error method. Naked ambition 4 party status, isn’t criterion 4 promotion in party ranks; BCP would be ridiculous to grab any member who wants to engage in dice throwing,” said the elderly Dingake.
He added that prospective leaders of the party should have impressive record in leadership in lower structures and community organisation amongst others. “If you have the record, fear not, members will certainly know and reward your ambition. I doubt you have such support that’s why your desperate try through Facebook! BCP members should desist from system of canvassing support by simply shouting cheap slogans we see in rivals. But comrade, if you have some masterstroke to take the party forward, reveal it. Don’t let BCP members speculate where your vaulting ambition comes from,” wrote Dingake.
Another source said the contest is simply between the BCP and Ditimamolelo. In the recently contested BCPYL elective congress, Ditimamolelo successfully supported Team Rakgare. “They then went for the head of the BCP president Dumelang Saleshando only to develop cold feet after failing to find a suitable candidate. Their next strategy was to target leaders who are considered to be his loyalists. These included the current Chairperson Motsei Rapelana, Gobotswang and Dithapelo Keorapetse who is eying the position of Information and Publicity, among others,” said the source. Initially, Ditimamolelo unsuccessfully peddled the propaganda saying that Gobotswang was leading a group that has hatched a plan to topple Saleshando. The BCP Kweneng region chairperson Phagenyana Phage revealed part of the plan when he was lobbying BCP Women’s League Team Daisy Bathusi at Mochudi over the past weekend. Phage is a prominent member of Ditimamolelo and the principal ringleader. Other prominent Ditimamolelo are Philip Monowe, former youth leader Lotty Manyepeza and Rakgare. Most of them are against the envisaged cooperation with the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) after the July Congress.
The party is going to debate the issue of opposition cooperation but, Rakgare’s youth league and Ditimamolelo have been touring the country telling BCP supporters that they are against unity with the UDC. Those who are against Rakgare have seen a naked ambition to try his luck again during the 2019 general elections. He contested the Mogoditshane parliamentary elections and came second to UDC’s Sedirwa Kgoroba.
“It is clear that Rakgare wants to contest the general elections and that might be a problem if the party goes into cooperation with the UDC. He is placing his ambition before anything and he is failing to see a bigger picture,” said the source. Others describe the move by Ditimamolelo as a bloodless coup d’état. “As the party foot soldiers they have now turned against the BCP and its leaders and now want to mount a hostile takeover,” said the source.
Besides the position of the vice president, other positions that would be hotly contested are that of secretary general as former Kanye North Member of Parliament Kentse Rammidi squares up with Philip Monowe. The national chairperson Motsei Rapelana would faces James Olesitse again.
In the last elective congress Rapelana comfortably defeated Olesitse. So far, only president, Saleshando and treasurer, Dennis Alexander, remain unopposed so far.
BCP insiders say the general concern is that Ditimamolelo are increasingly becoming a faction, a move that is viewed as undesirable to the party.
“Issues of deployment or what others call lobbying is an internal matter. Discussions on who is available and who is not are ongoing. We have limited human resources at our disposal and that requires meticulous strategic deployment,” said Gobotswang in response to Mmegi enquiries.
If Ditimamolelo’s plans to be king makers succeeds Saleshando will be reduced to a lame duck president.