The lieutenant general still in control!
Michael Dingake | Tuesday July 7, 2015 15:33
The emphatic victory by his anointed Vice President His Honour Mokgweetsi Masisi shows without any doubt that the man continues to call the shots in the BDP stable. His demeanour on the eve and the day of the big-do at Mmadinare speaks volumes of his unshakeable Domkrag leadership amid all the speculation that Domi was on auto-pilot. After opening the Congress, HE flew to neighbouring South Africa to attend the meeting of the SADC Politics, Defence and Security organ Indaba, on the crisis looming in the mountain Kingdom of Lesotho sparked by the daylight assassination of armed forces commander, Maaparankoe Mahao, by suspected army faction close to the ruling coalition.
Previously, obviously disinterested in international palavers, including that of the regional Southern African Development Community (SADC), since his accession to the Deputy Chairmanship of the organisation, it seems the promotion has ignited an interest in the regional affairs, particularly that it was a repeat Lesotho crisis ruffling the stability of the region once more. I know him to be sensitive about Lesotho and regional peace. The last time the mutinous-inclined Lesotho army tickled his military buds was in 1999 when the naughty army invited invasion from a joint SANDF and the BDF forces, to return the mountain Kingdom army to expected behavior by big brothers. I also remember how when in debate, I condemned the uncalled for invasion of Lesotho in the Seventh Parliament, His Honour then, stood up without recognition by the Speaker, to bring me to order authoritatively, retorting that BDF intervention will be repeated, were the same situation to arise in the future! I knew the LT General wouldn’t hesitate to honour his pledge now that the assassination of Mahao had presented the opportunity. I wasn’t surprised that shortly after officially opening the momentous BDP congress on a confident note of gratitude to the delegates for having helped rid the party of factions, he flew to Pretoria to help midwife the omen-pregnant Lesotho to deliver a healthy baby following threats of miscarriage!
One can see the unwavering hand of HE in the strong decision to return Lesotho to normalcy. I bet you, if it might come to pass that another military intervention is decided upon, Botswana will be the first to commit troops to the mission!
President Khama came back in time to cast his vote for “Dumelang” as he responded when he was asked who he had voted for. The joke of casting a vote for Dums at the elective congress expected to be heated and controversial, was a cynical cocking of a snook at those who wished the BDP to fall apart!
In spite of all the confidence, LT General Khama exuded the BDP faithful ensconced in a half-century of unassailable power, cannot conceal the straws in the wind predicting a rickety Domkrag future. It isn’t the poor showing alone at the 24 October General Elections of reduced parliamentary seats, it’s the unmistakable fact that the BDP is an undeniable minority government, kept in power by the un-propitious First-Past-The-Post electoral system. The majority of Batswana don’t want the BDP as their government, they have rejected it. Period. Batswana now appreciate why the BDP persistence against a more democratic electoral system of proportional representation (PR)! It’s been Domi’s instinct that to continue in government forever was unnatural, besides being ungodly, given its ant-people policies. As scales fall gradually from Batswana eyes , it dawns on more and more of them, Domkrag as well, that its perpetual reign is untenable. Government for a few, the elite, the well-connected, the propertied, the unproductive, the tricksters, the pseudo-democrats was undemocratic, un-destined to survive in a dynamic world! After these many years on the saddle Domkrag is punctured, without spare-wheel, distant from the nearest air-pump station, at sunset.
One must admit that the overwhelming support for the reformist secretary general maintains hope in the wounded BDP. It probably keeps some opposition pessimists, pessimistic! The new BDP reforming secretary general comes to the position with a strong reform programme in an attempt to steal the thunder from the opposition. What is it that Ntuane suggests to the BDP that isn’t in the opposition plate? Political Party funding, state media converted into an independent public media, dumping the First-Past-The-Post for a mixed PR system, addressing the escalating corruption issue through appropriate legislation! Will the ‘stolen goods’ by the new SG be acceptable to the out-going commander of the BDP political forces? The overwhelming support for the new SG in the voting, appears to leave the big man in a quandary. Anybody in his position will view the membership support as leaving him no option. A decisive factor is of course the inclination of the new Chairperson, VP and President-in-waiting. How much is His Honour ready to embrace Ntuane’s vision? He doesn’t appear to have an option either, except to traipse behind the prodigal one. Not to do so could result in a tug-of-war for the soul of ‘our Domi…’
The critical question is, can this attempt to steal the thunder from the opposition succeed? It depends on how the opposition as individuals and as independent parties responds. An off-hand flippant and dismissive reaction may be dangerous and shortsighted. The reforms by the new SG must be viewed seriously and frustrated by lifting the bar for pro-people demands. If BDP concedes to demands long tabooed by it, it doesn’t mean it’s receptive to all progressive demands. Try them with 50 percent women MPs! Why not? Genocidal Rwanda has done better with 55 percent plus!