BMD Southern region calls for special congress
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Tuesday May 24, 2016 11:39
The members made this call on Saturday in Kanye when the party vice president, Wynter Mmolotsi addressed them. The region consists of the Goodhope/Mabule, Lobatse, Mmathethe/Molapowabojang, Kanye South, Kanye North and Jwaneng/Mabule constituencies. Mmolotsi was addressing the members about the problems bedevilling the party and how the instability of the party began and how it has divided the national executive committee (NEC).
The NEC members who attended the meeting included Mmolotsi, party chairperson Nehemiah Modubule, national organising secretary Kabelo Mahupe, among others. Mmolotsi spoke about the controversial membership of Sidney Pilane, which he said did not go through the proper procedures.
“The problems began after Pilane applied for party membership. At first, he followed the party procedure by applying for membership at the Gaborone North constituency but the problem started immediately after Gaborone North rejected his membership. Procedurally, he was supposed to have appealed to the region but it was brought to a high committee. When it was referred back to the branch for them to take it to the region, we were surprised that it was handled by the Mochudi West constituency,” said Mmolotsi.
Mmolotsi said instead the Mochudi West constituency through party secretary general Gilbert Mangole approved Pilane’s membership without NEC or party president Ndaba Gaolathe’s input.
“The party chairperson Modubule supported what Mangole did. The president tried to advice that Pilane’s membership can be decided at the party congress in 2017 but they did not listen and decided to debate it on the radios,” he said.
Mmolotsi said those who want to change the party’s constitution could do so at the congress. He said the NEC is so divided and does not work together and therefore it is up to members to decide about the special congress so that the problems within the party can be solved. “Our party was under attack recently because of this issue. Some NEC members had even gone to the radios and claimed that the party president was not paying the monthly subscription fee when in fact they are the ones who were not doing so. Modubule is one of them. When the president is paying or buying equipment for the party it is not announced,” Mmolotsi said.
However, the majority of members who attended the meeting told Mmolotsi that their region would submit a letter calling for a special congress and that the membership of Pilane be suspended until the congress. “The issue of Pilane’s membership should be suspended until congress passes a resolution on it. Again some NEC members who don’t want to cooperate with the party president especially Modubule and Mangole should be suspended,” one member said.
Other members also shared the same sentiments except a few who were calling for reconciliation and for the party members to make peace with each other. Others told Mmolotsi to go around the country to inform members about the goings on in the BMD. For his part Modubule said Mmolotsi should have told them that NEC issues would be discussed so that he could bring minutes to support himself on Pilane’s matter. He said the truth would one day prevail.