Barata-Phathi: transcending party affiliation

GREG KELEBONYE
Staff Writer | Friday April 23, 2010 00:00

Spokespersons of the prospective organisation say it is in the process of both briefing the public and constituents about what it is all about, and registering as a political party.

But the name has now transcended its very meaning, for Barata-Phathi initially meant members of the Botswana Democratic Party 9BDP) who were unhappy with the direction the party was taking. This is a group initially called the Kwelagobe-Kedikilwe faction.

From the time the assumed leaders of the new movement called a delegates' meeting in Mogoditshane, where the meeting unanimously decided to form a new party, it became apparent that the new party would not draw members only from the BDP.

Nay, the party was actually looking at getting more members from thousands of non-aligned voters, so they said at the Mogoditshane delegates' meeting.

So, even as they sang their anti-oppression anthems like 'Soulo o mpogisetsang' [Saul: why do you persecute me?]', as they danced and denounced the ruling BDP leadership style and the way the country was being run, they must have sensed that many people shared their bitterness: they want a review of the constitution and policies that have become outdated, and a new, more relevant type of democracy for the country.

This is not a new song, but perhaps because its melody pierced the midnight sky when the listeners' ears were least expecting it, it sounded louder.

It was a call to join hands and fight the common enemy, and many took it up. Not only did they take it up, they identified with this name that so much disturbed the sleeping giant.

And so, these people who have been non-aligned or have been members of the opposition and have now decided to join or be sympathetic to the new movement have also begun calling themselves Barata-Phathi.

Thus, while the name 'Barata-Phathi was coined out of dissatisfaction with(in) the BDP, it appears to serve the purpose - a 'vacuum filler', if you like in the absence of an official name. The name has created so much fanfare around it that many people many are keen to declare they know how to strike the chords. It has become a rallying cry against anomalies in the current government and has interestingly drawn supporters from across the political divide.

Curiously, these supporters have not really left their parties but, they simply want to be known as Barata-Phathi.So you find a BNF 'Morata-Phathi' and a BCP 'Morata Phathi'. This is not surprising considering the BCP and BNF have been dealing with similar issues that Barata Phathi are bringing up.

The existing official opposition parties thus find themselves sharing the same central platform with Barata Phathi. For example, one major concern encapsulating the 30 demands that they brought before President Ian Khama, that Barata-Phathi share with opposition parties is that the type of democracy that Batswana has always enjoyed is dying.

A summation of the Barata-Phathi demands is 'a call to consensus'.

'Our intention has always been to restore democracy. That is a cause we share with all the people  -politicians, the labour movement and all Batswana - for it is in our nature as Batswana to consult, talk things over and reach consensus. Even members of the A-team themselves want this to be done in this fashion,' says Barata-Phathi spokesperson, Sidney Pilane.

Perhaps Pilane's next words are well captured in a recent cartoon where the opposition, ostensibly represented by BCP's Dumelang Saleshando, welcomes Barata-Phathi home and calls them comrades: 'It should be clear that we are not fighting the other opposition parties as they share our concerns,' says Pilane.  In fact it is said that a councillor aligned to the A-team was told, upon entering a Sikwane bar, where there was an admixture of opposition and BDP supporters and sympathisers, some of them acquaintances of the man that, he is entering a bar full of Barata-Phathi.

Folks here were all united, even in conversation about 'borata-phathi' or love for the party. Such an enigma 'Barata-Phathi' has become. For how else do you describe a name that people, regardless of party affiliation, simply warm up to? The emotional affinity is not just with the guys who sit enjoying themselves in the bar. You hear the men at ditebelelo or night vigils asking each other how the party is coming up: 'Ahe, le wena monna o morata phathi? Nna kana ka re lona maforanta ga lo itse sepe ka dilo tse, ete malatsi a no lo didimetse thata,' - an old man teasing his peer at the vigil kgotla.

'Ke mang a go reileng a re borata phathi ke joo ra-Domkrag fela? Nna monna ke morata-phathi', counters his colleague with a drawl.

And so it is said, at small after-church interactions, trade union meetings and the noisy football meetings, and even in family gatherings, there is a 'borata-phathi' persistently drifting into the conversation. Artists have taken cue and are producing t-shirts with 'morata phathi' or 'Barata-Phathi' and 'PROUDLY MORATA PHATHI'.

The shirts are in the existing political party colors: Red, Green and Yellow, underlining the affinity from across the political spectrum.

As the party discusses its name, the Barata-Phathi leadership may find themselves faced with the difficulty of choosing a name. Do they carry 'Barata - Phathi' as a slogan or part of the name? Do they really need to keep it?

Throwing it away will probably look like such a loss, a waste really, a part of history that gets buried as a new, more official name takes over.

But then throwing the name away may be for the better. A much-cherished seed has to be buried to sprout into a lively, more life-bearing tree. Again shedding the name will essentially cut-off the umbilical cord that is still seen by some to be connecting the new party to the BDP. In this way the new party will be seen more and more as a different factor from the BDP, and thus a party that offers an alternative government. An altogether new name, but one that the ordinary person can easily warm up to will do, and may really be the best thing for the party. That name will necessarily translate into a likeable acronym.