Lack of BCP-UDC unity gives BOFEPUSU a headache

EDWARD MPOLOKA
Correspondent | Friday April 19, 2013 00:00

Not intending to give up its mission to unite the opposition parties into a collective, BOFEPUSU will be meeting in Tsetsebjwe to discuss, among other things, mechanisms to have the BCP and UDC talking cooperation again, BOFEPUSU secretary general Ketlhalefile Motshegwa has told Mmegi.This time around the union is not going to plead with the parties. 'The mood is such that instead of pleading with the BCP and UDC to work together we might have to give them an ultimatum. This certainly is not the time for the two parties to be teaching each other a lesson,' said Motshegwa.

The BOFEPUSU firebrand, whose union will be celebrating Labour Day under the theme: 'Protecting Workers Rights and Unleashing A Progressive Labour Agenda' on Labour Day (May 1) insists that it is in the interest of the workers to ensure cooperation between the two opposition parties. Motshegwa's view is that the workers must play a central role in effecting a change of government. 'The time has come for a change of government. As for the opposition politicians, they have to appreciate that nothing will happen as long as they refuse to embrace transformative politics,' he warns.In 2010, the Botswana Peoples' Party (BPP), the Botswana National Front (BNF), the BCP and Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) set around the table with the view to coming up with a united front against the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) ahead of the 2014 general elections. BOFEPUSU actively supported the project hailing it as the bulwark of the workers.

After some two years of hard bargaining and intense talking, the four could not agree on the allocation of constituencies leading to a collapse of the talks. After the collapse of Umbrella One, the BPP, BNF and BMD, resumed the talks codenamed Umbrella Two without the BCP whom the three considered a difficult partner.At the beginning of the talks, BOFEPUSU had made it clear that it would only support the parties that would work together ahead of the 2014 general elections. Reality on the ground though is that supporting UDC, which is without the BCP, may not yield the desired results because the party has the numbers. For example, while the BNF got 21.94 of the popular vote in 2009, the BCP pulled 19.15. The figures go to 23.33 percent and 21.77 percent if you add the BPP's 1.39 percent and Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM) 2.27 percent to the BNF and BCP respectively. BAM, a splinter of the BPP, has since been de-registerd after joining the BCP.

According to Motshegwa, BOFEPUSU will determine the strength of the two opposition blocks either by using the 2009 election figures 'or engaging in our own scientific research per constituency to decide which between the BCP and UDC to support there,' he said, adding that the process to help decide which party they would back and where 'will have to be concluded' before the concerned parties field their candidates for the 2014 general elections.