BDP youth factions headed for showdown

EPHRAIM KEORENG
Staff Writer | Wednesday February 24, 2010 00:00

 

The BDP youths aligned to the Barata-Phathi faction are said to have spent the past four weeks trying to come up with a list of candidates for the NYEC positions. However they failed, hence it was decided they will go and slug it out in the open. Unless something happens, the faction would go to the congress with two lobby-lists, one headed by current NYEC Chairman Armstrong Dikgafela and the other led by Bontsi Monare.

Dikgafela, who stood for a council seat at the Village ward in Gaborone Central during the 2009 general election, has said that he wants to continue as NYEC chairman to represent the voice of the youth on national issues. He said he would not be a lackey of the party leadership.

'At the moment the youth in the BDP are not empowered. It's only those loved by the leadership who are empowered. Training is important especially for youth. We need to send youth for training courses,' he said.

Dikgafela said that he is aligned to the Barata-Phathi faction because 'I have a lot in common with them - they are a principled lot,' he said.

Another Barata-Phathi member vying for the chairmanship of the youth league is Bontsi Monare in the South East South constituency. The aspirant, who was one of the 77 people selected by party president Ian Khama after the Kanye congress last year, is accused of being an A-team member sent to destabilise the youth in the other faction. They accuse him of being a mole planted by the other faction to wreak havoc among the Barata-Phathi youth.

'We don't know whether he is truly on our side or the A-team side. He is an outsider', said a source close to the faction. However, Monare insists that he is a bona fide Barata-Phathi member. He said that perhaps his critics are unsure because he has never openly declared which faction he supports.

'I also know that there is the issue of my election to the finance sub-committee by President Khama last year. I was simply retaining a position that I previously held,' he said.

Monare said that he enjoys a lot of support and has done a lot of  groundwork. He added that three populous regions (which he refused to name) had shown they would support him at the youth congress.

At the moment of going to press the duo were not ready to say who was on their lobby-lists

However, it has emerged that the secretary for the Gaborone Central region, Tsholofelo Mogotsi would be contesting the post of NYEC secretary general on Monare's list. He has since confirmed it to Mmegi.

On the other hand, the A-Team faction is also said to have more than one lobby-list with one headed by NYEC vice-president Dithapelo Tshotlego who wants to be chairman.