BDP cloak and dagger intrigues
Ryder Gabathuse | Friday February 26, 2016 17:01
The festering relations between the Gaborone region and the BDP youth leadership has troubled Khama. To people in the know, the warring parties are poles apart. At best, the Mosu youth council has exposed the weaknesses within the Khama-led BDP administration and his dying impact as a leader. The youth defiance also seems to suggest that Khama is reaching his lame duck years.
His stature and the so-called Khama magic are waning because, two days after his strong-worded address, the defiant Gaborone region youth repudiated his word. They slapped the BDP National Youth Executive Committee (NYEC) with a petition that opened a can of worms.
The BDP leadership cannot afford to ignore the defiance staged by nine Gaborone region youth as it continues to stir controversy. About 170 delegates attended the Mosu event from 57 constituencies.
Besides the defiance, the youth council disappointed the pro-Masisi camp that expected to use the event to consolidate his campaign to lead the BDP. A suggestion by Boatile for the youth to support the position that the party presidential elections be held early, that is, sometime next year, was rejected outright.
Political analysts say the elusive peace in the party youth wing since the elective congress in Masung last year could mean that Boatile has lost grip of the situation. At Mosu, one of the key issues that Khama shared with his party’s ‘political seedbed’ was unity of purpose among the youth ranks, regardless of what they believed in. Khama was irked by what some of the BDP correspondence on social media. He encouraged the young party diehards to refrain from attacking each other publicly as that would not build them as a team. Khama’s concern was that the party would not realise its objectives when its future leaders, the youth, fight in public.
Last week’s inaugural youth council has laid bare the deep infighting or differences between the Gaborone region youth and the BDPNYEC led by Boatile.
The Gaborone region does not trust its youth executive leadership whilst on the other hand, the NYEC chairperson, Boatile feels the Gaborone region youth have a wrong motive and are misguided.
In a meeting with the Gaborone youth structures, Boatile told the Gaborone youth region that he felt that they did not support him because they did not vote for him during the last elective congress. Insiders suggest that whilst the Mosu incident may have left the BDP bigwigs worried, something is being done to bring peace.
Monday last week, the Gaborone region youth delegates to the Mosu youth national council put a brave face and petitioned the BDPNYEC chairperson, Andy Boatile, and Minister of Youth Sport and Culture, Thapelo Olepeng for “ill-treating” them at the youth council. “On February 12 after the eloquent presentation by Minister Olopeng, a number of us raised some pertinent questions on the Youth Development Fund. It was our understanding that that was the entire objective of the council. We were very surprised to note that in his immediate response to the issues raised, instead of Olopeng answering the questions, rather wanted to know where the youth asking questions were from. On discovery that we were from Gaborone, he then retorted that he was not surprised it would come from Gaborone,” reads the petition letter in part.
Olopeng is alleged to have also said: “They know that we Gaborone youth are there to launch unwarranted attacks.” Olopeng’s response to the Gaborone region youth goes thus: “I hear you, but it was my duty to ascertain where all the speakers came from so that we weigh how we could intervene.”
“People ought to appreciate that I was addressing them from a very skewed position and every time I was forced to intervene and ask from which region the speaker came from and that’s all.”
The petitioners say they were saddened by the way Boatile conducted the proceedings, with bias against them. “At one point he even suggested that he had the right to kick us out of the national council. We fail to see or understand why we deserved to be singled out of the whole congress because we never showed any resistance or errant behaviour,” the petition reads. Signatories included Moses Mogaekwa, Thato Mothulwe, Bose Jerry, Lesego Masonya, Tefo Marumo, Kaisara Sejoe, Kagiso Mongwaketse, Lameck Mbaakanyi and Nonofo Ipotseng. Briefly, the petition says the Gaborone region emerged out of the Mosu indaba with unresolved issues.
“I cannot go to that length and agree that they are defiant to Khama and my leadership,” Boatile said about the petitioners. “We will have to make time and investigate the motive of the petition. If they have any complaints then we will see what to do.” Boatile is adamant that he would never allow people to do as they wish when directing the proceedings of the youth organ.
Political analyst, Anthony Morima, says the Gaborone region youth defiance is significant. “It shows that Khama is in his lame duck years and has lost his magic,” he said. “There was a lot in the holding of the inaugural youth council. One may have thought that the youth will prove themselves, that the council will not be used for divisive acts.” Morima says he was under the impression that Masisi’s support among the youth would show at the council meeting.