Masisi's SG choice
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday January 24, 2020 16:43
This time around the party will have its congress that is likely to be held in Gaborone and a hot contest is brewing for Secretary General (SG)’s office.
BDP will hold its elective congress in July after it was postponed last year due to the general elections. President Mokgweetsi Masisi is said to have developed a criterion on who he wants for the position. The President is said to be looking to preach peace and unity within the party. Coupled with that he wants someone who will have ample time to tour the country and revive party structures with emphasis on winning back the Central District for the party.
Mmegi has learnt that the SG to be elected would be the one that the President prefers and knows that he could work well with.
“The members and the leadership want someone who could be able to tour the country in order to revive the party structures especially in areas where the party did not perform well in the last general elections. Again, the person should be able to dedicate his time to the party when the need arises. It is not a secret; there have been some divisions within the party hence the need to build party unity.
Some of the names of the people who might contest for SG position to replace the incumbent Mpho Balopi include Alfred Madigele, Kagelelo Kentse, Shaw Kgathi and Tebelelo Seretse.
Madigele confirmed that he would be contesting.
“I believe I am a suitable to be the SG of BDP. I believe in the ideals of the party and it’s a versatile organisation, which has the aspirations and version of Batswana and Botswana. I have the energy and experience at party and government level. As BDP, we have to continue to deliver on our manifesto, through the leadership at secretariat level. We have to continue to deliver on our manifesto, through the leadership of our President Masisi, and the secretariat as the heartbeat of the party, has to be adaptable to the challenges of now and the future to sustain BDP as the governing party,” Madigele said.
However Kentse said he would not comment on the matter but admitted that some members have been asking him to contest but he has not thought about the issue.
Efforts to get comment from Kgathi and Seretse were unsuccessful, as they were not answering their phones.