Opposition has learned from unity failure -Mpotokwane

EPHRAIM KEORENG
Staff Writer | Wednesday March 9, 2011 00:00

 

Mpotokwane, who has been reappointed convenor for the current talks, says he hopes this time around political parties will be able to avoid the problems of the past.

The founder member of the Committee for Strengthening Democracy in Botswana, Mpotokwane, will oversee the talks between Botswana National Front (BNF), the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), the Botswana Peoples' Party (BPP) and the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD).

In an interview with Mmegi yesterday, Mpotokwane said he was only waiting for the parties to instruct him to start work and that they were currently engaged in meetings to fine-tune some issues.

'They will then call me to start the work,' he said. He said as convenor, his job was simply to help conduct the talks while the bulk of the work lay with the political parties involved. 'I am a neutral outsider with no political party affiliation,' he said. Mpotokwane has played the role of convenor for opposition cooperation talks before. He was there when the talks collapsed in 2006 after the parties failed to agree on a model of cooperation.

'I hope this time around, there will be no problems and that the parties are ready to avoid past problems repeating themselves,' he concluded. The parties are set to officially launch the talks on Monday, with a signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between them.