BCP youth demand respect from the party
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Thursday February 4, 2016 15:41
The youth league president was recently involved in a public spat with the party’s spokesman and Selebi Phikwe West legislator, Dithapelo Keorapetse, over remarks Rakgare made in a media interview.
After a brief back and forth in the media, the two announced that they had resolved their differences and made up.
“The attacks on our youth league started immediately after we made a statement that we support our former president Gilson Saleshando that the Umbrella for Democratic Change should release the late Gomolemo Motswaledi’s report,” Rakgare said.
“This youth league must be respected. It is one of the party structures voted for by party members.”
He said their stand, as the BCPYL was that they supported cooperation with the UDC, but there was also nothing wrong with asking the UDC leadership to release Motswaledi’s report.
In 2014, the UDC, through support from its members and sympathisers, commissioned an investigation into the motor vehicle death of Motswaledi, who at the time was the UDC’s secretary general.
The UDC said his death was suspicious and various officials in the party publicly pointed an accusing finger at government and state security organs for the death.
“Our party has been accounting for some of the things it promised to its members. The reason why we want UDC to release the report is because it had asked for donations from the people,” he said. Rakgare further stated that they would start to work hand-in-hand with the UDC youth league on matters that affect the nation.
He said they had engaged the UDC youth league to hold an unemployment demonstration in April, as a way of sensitising government on rising youth unemployment.
“I had a few meetings with the UDC youth league president and we are going to join hands on issues that we feel need to be addressed jointly. Our intention is to give each other support,” he said.