UDC, BCP talks draft report out
Chakalisa Dube | Tuesday December 20, 2016 15:29
Although Saleshando was reluctant to share the contents with Mmegi, he confirmed receiving it.
The BCP leader stated that he will study the report and discuss it with the president of the UDC, Duma Boko before they make a final decision as to whether it should be endorsed or not.
“I have just received the report now. Talks have been completed. The negotiating teams have done their job. We (BCP and UDC presidents) will study the report and see if there is anything that needs to be refined. If at all there is an issue we feel is pending, we will deal with it.”
Saleshando noted that he expects to have met Boko by late yesterday or today.
The second layer of negotiating team that is made up of the executive committee members of the BCP and the UDC completed the coalition talks last week.
The main mandate of the second stream was to refine what has been agreed upon by the first negotiating team and look into other ways that could enhance the partnership of the two parties, and then submit a report to both Boko and Saleshando for endorsement.
They were also given the role of mediators in case of dispute between the negotiating parties.
The first negotiating stream, which was tasked with working on the constitution, constituencies, governance and policies, completed its task a few weeks ago.
BCP vice president, Kesitegile Gobotswang headed the team from his party while UDC’s International relations secretary, Reverend Prince Dibeela led the UDC team.
Saleshando added that an announcement on the outcomes of the talks will be made sometimes this week. “If we (Boko and Saleshando) do not give a detailed outcome of the negotiations then we will issue a press statement articulating our position based on our interpretation of the draft report,” he said.
Reverend Dibeela also confirmed yesterday that they have handed the report on the coalition talks to both Boko and Saleshando. “I cannot say much about the report because I anticipate that the presidents of the UDC and BCP will make a formal announcement about the outcomes of the talks in the next two days. They will definitely call a press conference to make an announcement,” said Dibeela.
Dibeela did not specify when Boko received the draft report but last week the parties had indicated that the report would have been completed by December 17 (last Saturday).