17 Jul 2018

Despite contending challenges, Botswana National Front (BNF) president, Mr Duma Boko says the opposition unity project is a vital component in their primary quest of changing government.

Addressing the BNF national conference in Rakops on Sunday, Mr Boko said the party remained firm and committed to opposition unity, saying “It is the only and the best way to enhance our prospects for regime change in 2019.”

However, Mr Boko acknowledged that the opposition unity project was encountering challenges.

He said the project, therefore must be handled with some element of maturity in order to remain solid and deliver the ideal of regime change.

He said the UDC was never immune to challenges, taking into account that it was a project made up of four political parties with different ideologies.

Despite the diverse ideologies, Mr Boko said opposition parties must unite as they were all focused on regime change.

“We need each other desperately and therefore we are going to make the UDC project work,” he said.

Mr Boko said those who had been pronouncing the UDC project as dead and dysfunctional must do so at their own demise.

Notwithstanding the challenges, Mr Boko said the UDC remained the only tool that would win big for opposition parties.

Mr Boko was therefore optimistic that opposition coalition would deliver their primary goal of changing government in 2019.

Mr Boko said under the UDC project, each member party was allocated a number of constituencies to manage.

“It must be understood that each party manages these constituencies for and on behalf of the UDC,” he said.

He said UDC member parties were mandated to deliver success and victory in all the constituencies they had been entrusted to manage.

Therefore, he said despite allocating member parties constituencies to manage, the constituencies were liable to some rigorous examination by the collective in any manner it may determine, to establish and satisfy itself that whoever was assigned to represent the project was capable of delivering nothing less than victory.

“The proposition means, the UDC will have the final say on the candidates and the conditions required for our collective success in each of the constituencies.

It means we must scrutinise each constituency and examine carefully every fact and circumstance to enable us to objectively assess our prospects in each and agree on what it must take for us to win,” he said.

Mr Boko said the conference offered the BNF a platform to examine itself and be in a position to deliver positively in the success of the UDC project.

“We must engage in this exercise openly, honestly and fairly to ensure that the interests of the UDC and the people guide the project, said Boko.

All the solutions we deploy must preserve the UDC and improve it in order for it to better discharge its mandate,” he added.

Meanwhile, BNF has resolved for joint primary elections at the constituencies allocated to the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD).

Briefing the media at the conclusion of the national conference, the party secretary general, Mr Moeti Mohwasa said the focus will be on the constituencies which are not currently in the hands of the BMD.

Mr Mohwasa said in a situation where the BMD did not accede to their request, the UDC would arbitrate on the issue.

He said some members of the UDC have already aired their dissatisfaction on how some wards were allocated and therefore calling for the decision to be re-visited.

“We should address all concerns in a case where some UDC members are not satisfied, he said.

He also stated that the UDC had resolved that where the concerned parties failed to resolve their differences in relation to allocation of constituencies and wards, joint primary elections must be held.

“We have all the confidence in the UDC project and do not want to see it collapse.” ENDS