New BDP youth leader claims he is a miracle worker

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Friday June 25, 2010 00:00

 

In an interview, Monare claims he made the BDP popular in Gaborone Central and the University of Botswana (UB) in the late '90s.

'E rile ke tsena kwa UB ke fitlhetse Ma-domi a iphitlhile, batho ba kopanela legapu ba le sebene ba re ke ma GS 26...But our team achieved amazing things in a small space of time.

'Now some people who benefited from our sweat have turned against the same party, they hate the Party, but I thrive in these harsh terrains. When I arrived at UB people were not proud of the party. I am proud to say I led the new revolution at the time'.

A businessman and avid reader of the famous Rich Dad Poor Dad book series by American motivational speaker, Robert Toru Kiyosaki, Monare says that he led the transformation that resulted in the BDP becoming the party of choice at Gaborone Central in the late '90s when he was a UB student.

The new chairman, who claims he has been a BDP supporter from his early secondary school days, says he has a master plan that will re-establish the BDP as the party of choice after the formation of the breakaway party, the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD).

As a businessman and politician, Monare says 'managing a business is like managing people.

'They are both about how you get the best out of people that you work with. The greatest lesson I have learnt is that if you want to succeed in anything, just mind your business, concentrate on being the best. 

'The same principle applies in family, business and in politics. We are going to concentrate on being the best, and you will see the results,' he says.

The BDP youth wing chair says he is going to ensure that his mentality and the way of thinking radiate right through the 18-member committee he leads.

'Before long all the BDP youth committee members will be thinking like me, and this inspiration will become a national bug, just watch how this Party is going to fair in 2014... I'm a very patient man.

'I have achieved things many thought were not achievable. Going to 2014, we are going to amaze people. But when people look back they will give credit to the youth wing.  When people continue to create mirage and hallucinations about the collapse of the BDP, we are determined to rebuild this ship through patience,' he says.  And he says he is no newcomer to BDP politics, having been a member of the finance and planning sub-committee of the party's central committee as well as serving as a member of the BDP youth wing's information board in the last two years.

He claims he transformed the BDP cell at UB, the GS 26, where he was secretary general. He used to work alongside the likes of Haskins Nkayigwa, the current Gaborone City deputy mayor and Fidelis Molao, of the Botswana National Youth Council who was GS 26's PRO at the time.

'Back then, we would repackage the party and sell it. If it was not working we would go back, repackage it and sell it again until the BDP won Gaborone Central from the opposition in 1999 through Margaret Nasha,' claims the youthful leader.

He says that in the midst of the current challenges that include having to survive the formation of the BDP splinter party, the BMD, his mission is to lead the revival through the youth wing.

'There is not a single house in Gaborone Central that I have not been to. In fact, I campaigned for all the BDP councilors in the area,' he boasts.

According to Nasha, 'That name, Bontsi rings a bell to me. He was at UB at the time. He really played a big role along with the likes of Fidelis (Molao). They did a marvelous job; yes, they worked tirelessly, along with the group, which was at the HIS at the time. He was in the same team with the likes of Lazarus Lekgoanyana, who recently won in one of Mahalapye by-elections, yes, that name rings a bell to me indeed, although it was more than 10 years ago, remember,' Nasha told Mmegi.

Reflecting on the recently held Youth Wing Congress, Monare says he has been inspired by the resolve of the young people.  'The youth have called for an end to factional wars. Have they ended factions? No, I'm not hallucinating, but we are going towards it; the youth say they want to be Ma-domi first, before they are associated with any faction. The challenge for the leadership is to bring about unity'.

The chairman, however, admits he also belongs to one of the two factions in the party, but admits this time factional differences have gone too far.  'Factions are traditionally issue-based, but they have never been our concentration and going forward we are Ma-domi before anything else'.

So what faction is the new youth chairman in?  'Nnyaa, itse fela gore ke na le faction e ke simphathaizang le  yone on issue and principle'.