Region defies BDP Central Committee
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday October 30, 2020 15:40
The region is expected to make its final submission today (Friday). On Wednesday the region called nine branch members who were complaining against Tsuba to hear their stories, but Tsuba did not attend the meeting held at Dihutso Primary School.
A letter written by BDP executive secretary Rebaone Merafhe dated October 28, 2020 read: “We have a letter from Mogoditshane branch committee addressed to the secretary general and copied to party President, party chairperson, member of central committee for Kweneng East, secretary of Kweneng region and branch secretary of Mogoditshane dated 20th October 2020.
The subject being urgent intervention: destabilising of Mogoditshane constituency by the regional committee and area Member of Parliament. Subsequent to receiving this letter, today 28 October 2020, a delegation of 12 members from Mogoditshane branch (including four councilors) came to Tsholetsa House to inform us about an alleged meeting to be held by the Kweneng East region at 1630hrsOctober 28, 2020 with agenda being “recommendation for the removal of branch chairperson”.
The letter further advised the region that the matter has been referred to the party president, chairperson and secretary general.
“The party secretary general will schedule a meeting with the concerned parties at a date and time which will be communicated to you in due course. You are therefore directed not to hold any meetings regarding the above matter.”
However, Kweneng East regional secretary Obakeng Kgabo in an interview on Wednesday confirmed that they would make recommendations to party Central Committee on the issue before them.
“Indeed we have received the letter from party office, but we were in the middle of the meeting. We had to continue because the matter has been pending for long and our responsibility as the region is to try to build peace amongst members.
Branch committee is one of the most important structures that the party needs and if the structure is not functional or polariszed then it cannot work efficiently. The main objective of this meeting was to hear both sides of story from the concerned members and those who are being accused.
Unfortunately, Tsuba did not come for the meeting.
We do not know his reasons, but on Friday meeting which we will invite all four MPs in this region, we will explain the problem and our findings to them,” Kgabo said.
On the issue of failure to take instruction as mother body had said in its October 28, 2020 letter, he said the committee would explain why it acted that way.
The region secretary said he could not state their reasons to the media.
In a letter written by some branch committee members complaining against Tsuba to the region early this year, they accused him of issues ranging from misappropriation of party funds, arranging committee agendas alone, making oppressive and regressive decisions, claiming popularity with the hierarchy, treating Mogoditshane as an opposition-held constituency amongst others.
On the contrary, some councillors had earlier complained about the area legislator, Tumiso Rakgare and some members of the branch committee accusing them of favouring some members over others and also recruiting members of the opposition to come and contest in their area.
Efforts by the MP to try to build peace with some of his councillors have hit a hard rock and it is now in the open that Mogoditshane has no peace within BDP, sources say.
It is also clear that the Mogoditshane branch committee is divided into two because the letter written to the region complaining against branch chairperson was signed by nine members out of 13 and this newspaper has names of members who had signed.
According to a source, the nine branch members want a motion of no confidence in Tsuba, which is not provided for in the party’s constitution.