20 Sep 2020

Francistown West Member of Parliament, Mr Ignatius Moswaane has joined the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Phandu Skelemani announced on Friday.

Mr Skelemani notified the last sitting of the Winter session that subsequent to being notified by Mr Moswaane of his decision to join the UDC, the legislator would now sit among MPs of the official opposition in Parliament.

Mr Moswaane, who was briefly an independent MP after recently defecting from the governing Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), said in an interview that he joined the UDC after consultations with his constituents.

“After I left the BDP I used the period I spent as an independent MP to consult within the six wards of my constituency, among the elderly as well as the youth, before deciding on my next political move.

The majority felt the UDC was the best move, as they are a political movement serving to unite opposition parties with a view of changing government in order to improve the lives of Batswana,” Mr Moswaane said.

He said he would be joining the UDC coalition directly instead of being a member of one of its constituent political parties, the Botswana National Front (BNF), Botswana Congress Party (BCP) or the Botswana People’s Party (BPP).

Leader of Opposition, Mr Dumelang Saleshando said they welcomed Mr Moswaane’s decision to join their organisation.

“We are pleased to welcome Mr Moswaane, he is a seasoned public representative who has previously served as a councillor at the Francistown City Council, and is serving his second term as an MP. We believe he will help us enhance the weight of the issues the UDC caucus presents before Parliament,” Mr Saleshando said.

The move brings the number of UDC MPs to 16, with the governing BDP retaining a majority of 43 MPs, among them 37 constituency representatives and six Specially Elected MPs, with the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) having three MPs and the Alliance for Progressives (AP) one legislator.

Meanwhile, Mr Saleshando announced to the National Assembly that the UDC parliamentary caucus had decided to relieve Tonota MP, Mr Pono Moatlhodi of his responsibilities as the official opposition chief whip pending the conclusion of a criminal matter that involves him before courts of law.

Mr Saleshando said it was in the public domain that Mr Moatlhodi was facing criminal charges in a case that involves a minor. He said their decision should not be construed as an act of prejudgement. “The principles of equality before the law and being innocent until proven guilty apply to all members of society.”

He announced that Shoshong MP, Mr Aubrey Lesaso, had been designated by the UDC caucus to take up the position of opposition whip pending the conclusion of Mr Moatlhodi’s case. ENDS