BMD needs professional mediation

Mmegi Editor | Wednesday August 9, 2017 11:52

The movement is divided between Ndaba Gaolathe and Advocate Sydney Pilane. The two factions do not see eye to eye, but they need each other. Pilane and company has the constitution of the party and Gaolathe’s group believes they have the masses.

The question that we will ask is what is the point of having the masses without a brand? It has been reported that Gaolathe’s faction was busy thinking of forming a new political party. We submit that that is not an option, because Batswana are tired of the mushrooming of briefcase parties. Batswana want a regime change not a new political movement of people who failed to resolve political differences in their previous political homes.

That is why we believe that the two warring factions should smoke a peace pipe. They need each other hence the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) should help them build a relationship. They need professionals on conflict resolution to help them resolve their differences. These former comrades or Bakaulengwe, to borrow the vernacular title commonly used in BMD circles, have many things in common but they cannot see it. Their common goal is regime change. Period.

There is no need for cultism that is taking shape around Gaolathe. Stone throwing, dogs, snakes and catapults should not be allowed to divide Bakaulengwe. The BMD factions should not forget the struggle that Batswana envisioned when they voted the UDC in large numbers in 2014 general elections. That was a clear sign that Batswana want a united opposition and not Mickey Mouse movements that cannot survive after elections. It is worth noting that the UDC is all about sharing a vision not personal friendship.

Belonging to any political party is not about friendship with certain leaders. What is it that Gaolathe and company despises so much about Pilane? Pilane as an individual cannot fundamentally change the UDC. It is alleged that he has been sent to destroy the UDC, but the UDC is a formidable force to reckon with.

Nobody can succeed in destroying the UDC. The BMD differences are more to do with perceptions about each other and not ideology. Hence we submit that the two factions need assistance to help them resolve their problems. 

Today’s thought 

“An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” 

- Mahatma Gandhi