07 Jul 2019

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has described Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Tati West prospective parliamentary candidate, Mr Simon Mavange, as a visionary young leader.

Speaking at launch of the BDP prospective parliamentary candidate and councillors in Masunga on Saturday, President Masisi said Mr Mavange had proven his leadership capabilities by advocating for the Kalanga language to be incorporated into the education system.

He stated that Mr Mavange was one of the BDP youths who believed that Botswana indigenous languages should be included in the syllabus.

President Masisi said for Mr Mavange to be the BDP youth league president was an indication that the party trusted his capabilities, adding that for him to be elected to Parliament would cement his vision of becoming a young parliamentary leader.

He asked councillors to support and respect the parliamentary candidate and continue to uphold the party values of ruling democratically with dignity.

President Masisi urged democrats to respect their leaders and vice versa, adding that if anyone felt offended by a leader, they should approach them to resolve the issue instead of taking party issues to the public.

He further stressed that they should visit and interact with constituents so that they appreciate challenges they faced.

For his part,  Mr Mavange appealed to the Tati West constituents  to vote for him because he was well versed with key issues in Tati West.

He said unemployment, water crisis and poor roads needed a respectable leader of his caliber to address them.

Mr Mavange expressed his gratitude to President Masisi for the  launch and further pleaded with people to vote the nine councillors so that BDP structures would remain intact in Tati West.

Former MP, Mr Charles Tibone, said BDP believed in democracy, hence asking prospective candidates to continue this legacy.

He said Tati West people were hardworking especially women noting that all they needed were good leaders to drive them.

He further indicated that Tati West was fortunate to have a young person standing for a parliamentary seat because he would bring developments and innovation.

When welcoming guests, Kgosi Maruje III applauded BDP for building a strong brand.

He said 2019 was a critical year for Botswana because Batswana would go to polls to vote for leaders of their choice.

He said if people decided to send Mr Mavange to parliamentary he wished to congratulate him in advance and called on him to take issues of shortage of land seriously.

Kgosi Maruje said Batswana needed leaders that could lead with dignity and put the people’s needs first. ENDS