BPF on the rampage in the CDC
Koketso Kgoboge | Friday December 18, 2020 13:40
The one-year-old party, a splinter from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has remained unambiguous in its mission to dethrone the latter at the next national polls in 2024. However, the attempts fell short during the 2019 general elections.
BPF remained focused on its principal mission since closing the 2019 elections chapter. It won three parliamentary and 17 council seats at the general elections. The party has been, visibly, the most energised political institution since then. Earlier in the year, the party had embarked on a robust recruitment drive that is shifting the political landscape in the northern part of the country, particularly in the Central District Council (CDC). The BPF has already attracted civic leaders, renowned politicians and masses of ordinary members from both opposition and the ruling BDP. The party president, Biggie Butale said they intend to depopulate the ruling party in preparations for 2024. “We are doing well in the north.
Now our focus is penetrating the south in the same robustness as we are doing in the north. To that, we are holding a number of our activities in the south. When we reach the elections we want to be miles clear off the BDP,” Butale said. BPF is experiencing an unrivalled growth in the CDC since dethroning BDP in the district council’s capital, Serowe. The village was a renowned untouchable base of the latter until the BPF won all three Serowe constituencies convincingly.
BDP’s control of the Serowe Administration Authority (SAA) sub-district council is also hanging by a thread with the unabated defection of sitting councillors. Folloowing the defections, BPF is at par with the ruling party in the administrative structure with 12 councillors in the SAA.
Six of the 12 BDP councillors are specially elected. After the elections, BDP had 14 before two later crossed the floor. One defection from the ruling party would see the BPF seize the entire administration. Through the influence of party patron and former State president Ian Khama, BPF undoubtedly helped the opposition coalition; Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) usurps Palapye, Bobonong, Sefhare/Ramokgonami, Shoshong, and Tonota and Mahalapye constituencies from the ruling party. After the elections, the party’s numbers of sitting civic leaders has grown, as defections spread outside Serowe to Palapye, and other areas of the CDC. So far, the party has welcomed 10 civic leaders that defected from others and one Member of Parliament (MP) into its fold. In total, the party has four MP’s and 27 councillors to date. Mephato Reatile, MP for Jwaneng-Mabutsane is the latest biggest catch. The legislator dumped the BDP to join BPF last week.
The defection of civic leaders into the BPF fold has grown common lately.
The BPF president said they were expecting some more councilors that they had been recruiting to join the party in the near future.
In a total of 10 councillors that joined the BPF movement by far, two councillors came from the opposition and eight from BDP. It is unprecedented that the BDP has lost so many sitting councillors in an entire period of elections to opposition since its formation. Members from the BDP structures in the CDC have also been resigning. In under two weeks, five councillors have jumped the BDP ship for BPF.
One notable is Pini Morupisi, the wife to former permanent secretary to the president, Carter Morupisi. When contacted this week, the Lecheng/Malaka ward councillor was reluctant to discuss her move to BPF. “I have got nothing to say. These are two parties very close to my heart, and there is nothing I can discuss,” she briefly said in a hushed tone.
Leatile Ganetsang of Damuchejenaa ward in Mmadinare and Victor Mphee of Motlhabaneng/Lentswelemoriti ward in Bobonong also defected to the BPF this week.
They join Thatayaone Kehitile of Dukwi in the Nata/Gweta constituency and Jeremiah Frenzel of Majana Ward in Shashe West that moved to BPF last week. By far, only Jordan Makhura of Morupule Ward in Palapye defected from the BCP to BDP.
With the developing trend of defections, opposition would have a solid voice in the CDC house. They account for 72 councillors of the 172 in CDC. BDP has 100 councillors, 68 of which are elected councillors and 32 special nominations. Outspoken councillor Solomon Dikgang of Tidimane ward who is in his fourth term in the CDC confirmed they were progressive and the opposition motions were finally seeing light of the day.
Dikgang was a BDP councillor for three terms before he defected at the formation of the BPF. He said in the past, BDP dominance suffocated opposition. In a term before the current, opposition accounted for 23 members.
“These days opposition has a voice. We can convince others to support our motions, hence some of our motions have passed already. Our colleagues at the BDP are also under pressure from their constituents who in most cases are with us (at BPF),” said Dikgang.
He added: “We expect that when we return for a next council seating in February collective advocating for our people in the district would have improved.”