BOFEPUSU/UDC relationship on the rocks
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday August 25, 2017 16:24
A source close to BOFEPUSU said, “the leadership of UDC is ignoring BOFEPUSU, and the Federation is now feeling unwanted by the leadership of the UDC”. The fallout between the two follows failure by the UDC leadership to respond to letters by the federation on the BMD stand off. The federation has always made it clear that they were on the Ndaba Gaolathe faction something the UDC leadership was uncomfortable with choosing to remain neutral.
Mmegi has learnt that the federation is intending to consult its structures in connection with the issue. “It is said that since 2014 elections there has not been any meetings between UDC and BOFEPUSU for updating of progress on the party to push workers issues,” a source said. On the other side UDC leader Duma Boko has been clear that he wants people who did not take sides to help them on the matter.
BOFEPUSU president Johannes Tshukudu yesterday in an interview said: “We don’t think they are ignoring us. The federation was worried because UDC was not responding to our letters. I believe they were busy with the issue we want to discuss them with. We meet with our structures time and again and at times they do question us on political issues”.
UDC spokesperson Moeti Mohwasa said they have not ignored BOFEPUSU correspondence, but they had engagements on dates that they had proposed to meet them and they did communicate. “UDC and BOFEPUSU will meet soon to discuss any issue that they are concerned about,” he said.
The two organisations have a historical relationship from the massive 2011 public sector strike. During the strike, BOFEPUSU invited leadership of opposition parties to the striking points of workers such as GSS grounds in Gaborone, Chedu Choga in Francistown and many other points around the country. It later happened that BOFEPUSU met leaders of opposition parties and urged then to come together to form one umbrella party in the mould of BOFEPUSU model and UDC was born.
In essence, as they say, UDC was formed by BOFEPUSU. The relationship continued in the 2014 when BOFEPUSU made history by taking a political stand of supporting UDC, something that gave UDC a momentum and getting a good number of MPs and councillors. This led to a backlash on leaders of BOFEPUSU when some of them had their secondments withdrawn on account of politics, only to be saved by the Courts, while others were dismissed from work, and members of BOFEPUSU continued to suffer the consequences to this day as they were given a harsh treatment by government.
The decision by BOFEPUSU to engage in politics led to one of its affiliates Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) pulling out of the federation accusing their former comrades of dabbling in politics.