Five reasons the BNF is falling apart

| Wednesday April 25, 2012 00:00

The parties that broke away from the BNF include Botswana Workers Front (BWF), Social Democratic Party (SDP), New Democratic Front (NDF), PUSO and Botswana Congress Party (BCP), among others. Each of these splits robbed the BNF of mature and experienced leaders, progressively bankrupting the party of capable leadership.The result was that after the departure of Kenneth Koma, the party was left with no option but to scavenge for a leader who could at least match the icon.

There was none. Moupo the lawyer was tried and was found wanting. The man was a good Marxist but his leadership qualities were zero. To his credit, he was honest and he remained humble until the end.Duma Boko was fished from the woods and he was catapulted to the presidency of the party. The man had never held a position of leadership in the party but was rumoured only to have served in the executive of the NDF, which he vociferously refuted. Without the NDF, the man could only boast of the SRC leadership that he abandoned. BNF under the leadership of Boko is now chasing away any remnants of competent leadership.

Mabiletsa is out, Bantsi is suspended, Magama is in the lurch and Rammidi is hounded out by some freakish lurkies of the leader. The disintegration of the BNF cannot be explained as a problem of indiscipline of the members as Mohwasa seems to suggest in the Matlho-a-Phage programme of Botswana Television. In this article, five reasons are chronicled to explain the current headlong tumble of the BNF into oblivion. First is the leadership of Boko. Boko is inexperienced to lead a complex organisation like the BNF. He is new and does not appreciate the tendencies, characters and relationships in the party. He treats the BNF as only a legal entity and forgets that a party has a deep and entrenched social and political dimension that at times supercedes the sections of the constitution that he is so fond of quoting.

Boko is such a novice in politics that it will be almost impossible for him to exercise the dexterity required to stabilise a party that prides itself in what some could term belligerents. Boko does not know that when you injure Mabiletsa, Reatile, Bantsi or Magama, you upset a lot more people than just them.  There are people in the BNF who see politics through the eyes of the men and women that are currently sidelined by the party. Many of the BNF activists have never seen Boko in their villages, cattle-posts and settlements but they have seen, dined and worked with the likes of Mabiletsa in the battle trenches.  Such activists will never understand why their heroes are shamed and embarrassed. Boko does not seem to appreciate these dynamics and this will harm the BNF really badly.

The second reason that explains the BNF’s free fall is the absence of a solid, avuncular and respected crop of elders in the party. The BNF leadership does not seem to take seriously people with experience in politics who can advise them. Unlike the BCP that has Michael Dingake, Gobe Matenge, Motsamai Mpho, Ephraim Setshwaelo, Tlale, Mokgosana and many others who are held high in esteem in the party, the BNF has no such calibre of advisors.

Instead the BNF leader has elected to be advised by a ragbag of malcontents who are ready to insult fellow comrades at the slightest disagreement. The BNF is further imperilled by the attitude of its spokesperson who lacks the diplomacy to navigate a sinking titanic. Without good advisors, the BNF is left to the whims of fundamentalists and mischief peddlers.

Third, the BNF is in a state of denial that is worse than that of an alcoholic. Instead of admitting that they have a problem, they blame the BCP, the BDP and journalists. The party has misdiagnosed its problem and as such the remedies prescribed are of a wrong problem.

Until the BNF acknowledges that its problems are internal, they will know no peace. Mohwasa blames their problems on secret meetings between some BNF leaders and the BCP at one point and on the other he blames journalists who are supposedly working with the BCP and the BDP. Mohwasa’s blame game destroyed Moupo and it is likely to finish off Boko and the BNF if the party does not wisen up and confront its leader as he is the major source of their problems.

Fourth, the BNF has failed to transform into a modern organisation that has clear strategic direction. The party is muddling through without a clear sense of the future.  The party relies more on its past achievements which came as a result of the activism of many people who have now left to form the BCP more than its ability to negotiate the future.  We are told the party is without a strategic plan and some of its leaders still rely on Phamphlet No. 1 for direction and guidance. This is moribund. The BNF will not be able to keep dynamic individuals as many will find it archaic and uninteresting.

Fifth and last, the BNF has an inferior level of ambition. They have set their targets too low. For instance, one of the greatest targets of Boko’s leadership is to oust Dumelang Saleshando from Gaborone Central. A lot of energy is pumped into sponsoring anonymous articles in newspapers to discredit and insult Saleshando with the hope of ousting him. Countless calories are pumped into trying to create a wedge between Saleshando and his leadership colleagues like Gobotswanag, Lucas and Setshwaelo. It is hoped that this childish approach will help grow the BNF as an organisation. The BNF is unable to raise the bar a little and engage the BDP on issues of national life. The BNF has degenerated to a level where it accepts petty talk as official ideology.  Whilst the BNF chasesSaleshando’s shadow, the BCP is busy holding the BDP government accountable and speaking for Batswana. The BNF’s ambition should be bigger than Saleshando and Gaborone Central.  Serious-minded people are leaving the BNF because it is not serious and does not seem to care about ruling Botswana.

As the BNF warms up for its Mahalapye meeting, it should reflect deeply on the issues raised herein. If they decide to waste time on bashing Saleshando and Isaac Mabiletsa, then their party will die. If they spend time hatching schemes to pit BCP leaders against one another, they will be headed in only one direction - the political graveyard. If they spend time heaping praise on Boko rather than providing him with counsel, there will be another BPP at the next elections. The BNF must grow up and be real.

Marshall Dimpho BusangGaborone