I wish to thank members of the BNF, more especially those in my constituency, Kanye North who accepted my membership to their Party with much generosity and goodwill.
You will agree with me that the past months have been the most hectic in my political career. I have made decisions to move from the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) to the BNF and from the BNF to the BCP in less than one year. You will also probably agree with me that our politics have been characterised by unprecedented interminable party struggles, more especially at the BDP and BNF. We witnessed the split of the BDP that led to the formation of the Botswana Movement for Democracy, the collapse of negotiations on opposition parties' cooperation dubbed Umbrella 1, the decision by the BCP not to be part of Umbrella 2, the dismantling of the BNF Executive Committee and resignation of two members of Parliament and so forth. In this frenetic political atmosphere I made thoroughly thought out decisions that to some of you might seem irrational and erratic. I resigned from cabinet in May 2011 and thereafter resigned from the BDP in August 2011. I then joined the BNF at the height of the Umbrella talks. As at the time, I was cognisant of the precariousness and sensitivity of the negotiations and complications that my choice of party could cause. In my resolve to assist the opposition cooperation negotiations, I joined the party that was the most dominant in the constituency I represent; with the hope that such a move would reduce the potential for disagreement in the allocation of constituencies. I was painfully and consciously aware of the turbulent history of the BNF but needed to balance this with the interests of the bigger project being the Umbrella.
