BPP fields six parliamentary candidates

KOPANO OLESITSE
Correspondent | Friday September 25, 2009 00:00

BPP president and parliamentary candidate, Bernard Balikani said that even though they have fewer parliamentary candidates, they have more people contesting at council level. He said the BPP has fielded 40 council candidates. 'I am confident with this representation because even though we did not cover the whole country, our vision of taking power from the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in 2014 still stands,' said Balikani.

'You must remember that even though the BPP is one of the oldest political parties, we are a relatively small party. We also have the problem of financial constraints as well as that of resources,' he explained.

'We will have parliamentary candidates  in Francistown East, West and South constituencies. We will also be represented in Tati West and Ease respectively. The sixth constituency that we will contest is Tonota South,' he said.

Balikani added that they expect to win all the constituencies they will contest. 'As I am speaking to you, I am going to Gaborone to address a group of University of Botswana (UB) students on our manifesto. This follows a request made by the UB political society,' he said.

He stated that even though they will not take power in this year's general elections, they will ensure that they send strong representatives to Parliament. 'In our manifesto, we state how we will improve agriculture in this country. There is need for irrigation systems that will ensure that there is enough food for consumption as well as for export. The government must not give people money but should rather buy people tractors, seeds and fertilisers. In education, there must be a balance between theory and practical work through apprenticeship training,' said Balikani.

The sole councillor for BPP Motlatsi Molapisi who represents Boikhutso ward said that if re-elected, he will ensure that street lights, the tarring of roads, as well as the construction of drainage systems is done in the ward. 'There is need for a new comprehensive master plan for drainage systems. The other thing that I want to see changed is for the council to have complete power and control in development. There should be a system of autonomy where the council controls its affairs. In autonomy, we will be receiving a certain amount of money that we will use for different development projects. Look at the number of pending developments in the city and nationally. Most developments projects have been suspended until 2011,' said Molapisi.