Masisi Reaches Out To Venson-Moitoi
Innocent Selatlhwa | Monday April 8, 2019 13:02
The Monitor is informed that Masisi has asked Venson-Moitoi for a meeting in order to iron out differences.
Making his acceptance speech after he was declared the presidential candidate on Friday, the president promised to reach out to her to discuss unity for the sake of the BDP.
Venson-Moitoi had fallen out with Masisi after she declared her intention to challenge him for party presidency, a move that led her to be dropped from Cabinet.
Venson-Moitoi withdrew from the contest after losing a court case in which she wanted the special congress to be postponed to July. Venson-Moitoi cited irregularities in the build-up to contentious congress, saying she would not want to participate in what she termed a “sham”. “The president called Venson-Moitoi on Friday evening and requested that they meet to make peace. Venson-Moitoi could not agree because she had to consult her team,” a source said.
“The other thing was that the president had made an announcement at the congress that he would be touring the country with Venson-Moitoi to unify democrats when he did not consult her first. That did not sit well with her. However, after consulting the team, they agreed to meet at Office of the President.”
The source added that Venson-Moitoi’s team advised her that she should hear out the president’s views first.
However, she should not commit to anything until the team meets and decide on what the president had proposed.
On Saturday during the BDP national council Masisi congratulated Venson-Moitoi for launching a spirited campaign for the presidency of the party.
“…… and I thank her supporters as I call upon all of you to appreciate the democratic processes that have shaped our party for a long time, and more importantly to unite and even harder to secure a BDP victory in the upcoming general elections,” he said. For her part, Venson-Moitoi confirmed that the president has called her and the meeting has been set up. “I cannot say much because I was not there at the congress. We will meet yes, but I do not have an agenda”, Venson-Moitoi said. “The president says the meeting is on Monday,” revealed BDP communication chairperson, Kagelelo Kentse.