Enga, Mbulawa fight is for Parliamentary seats
Chakalisa Dube | Friday May 12, 2017 12:18
On Monday, Enga, backed by a sizeable number of BDP civic leaders as well as opposition councillors, contested and beat the caucus endorsed Reaboka Mbulawa.
It was initially thought BDP councillors against Vice President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s chairmanship bid connived with their opposition counterparts to oust Mbulawa who was eyeing a second term.
Mbulawa supports Masisi while the newly-elected council chair is said to be Nonofo Molefhi’s supporter.
It has now emerged that the real reason behind Enga’s surprise move is motivated by the fact that he has been eyeing the position of council chairperson for a longtime. Insiders yesterday said that Enga wanted the position in order to boost his parliamentary bid for 2019 general elections.
His confidantes have disclosed that the Maun businessman has made it no secret that he wants to contest the BDP 2019 parliamentary primaries in the Maun East constituency where he will possibly face incumbent Konstantinos Markus.
“Enga believes that the chairman position is a strategic one which he could use to improve his visibility in the constituency and Maun at large. That is why he did everything in his power to win the election. He mobilised very hard to win the elections.”
Insiders have also said that what aided Enga’s bid is that some councillors both from the ruling party and the opposition did not favour Mbulawa’s leadership style.
Enga refused to comment on the speculation surrounding his bid for the Maun East parliamentary constituency nor reasons why he defied a BDP caucus.
“I do not think this is the right time to comment,” he said when contacted this week. Those closer to Mbulawa have also indicated that he also wanted a second term in order to boost his bid to contest the Maun West constituency.
Mbulawa who is also a businessman contested the 2014 general elections and lost to Kgosi Tawana Moremi.
Yesterday he denied speculation that he wanted to use the position of chairperson to boost his parliamentary bid. He said that he contested the position to serve the people.
He also shot down talk that he did not enjoy a cordial working relationship with his colleagues.
“There are councillors who wanted me to do things that are unethical in order for them to gain political mileage and I refused. That is why they differed with me. At times they wanted me to go against the technical advice of the council workers which I believe was not appropriate,” he said.
The BDP North West region is expected to submit its report on the caucus election by today. The decisions of a BDP caucus are binding to all members.
It remains to be seen what action will be taken against Enga but one of the punitive measures taken against those who defy a party caucus is expulsion. The BDP constitution is silent on what action to take against those who defy a party caucus.
BDP secretary general, Botsalo Ntuane said that the central committee is the one tasked with taking action against those who defy a party caucus.
“Action is taken based on prevailing circumstances,” he said yesterday.