The party convened a strategic retreat, Saturday in Palapye, themed: Reconstruction After the Storm- Empowering Structures to Revive the Spirit of Self- Reliance and Unity of Purpose.

It followed the party’s defeat in the 2024 general elections and was meant for the leadership and party members to reflect on the outcome.

The BDP leader, Mr Mpho Balopi, challenged member to play a role in reconstructing the party.

He said the theme was a reminder that as members, they needed honesty, love, kindness, forgiveness, and selflessness, to forge ahead.

“We need the bricks to build, not bricks to throw at one another. I can assure you that, in this re-construction exercise, I, for one, have no intention of throwing a brick at any party member with the intention of harming them,” he said.

Mr Balopi said their forefathers left them a rich heritage and a solid legacy, a party built on the enduring bricks of democracy, development, self-reliance and unity as the bedrock for Kagisano as well as Botho, and these pillars formed the foundation that must firmly anchor the BDP.

The core values Mr Balopi said would also serve as a constant reminder to Batswana that the BDP was the party of choice.

Its appeal lies in these timeless values, and in the principle of therisanyo, the building blocks of their reconstruction, Mr Balopi said and expressed confidence that the pessimistic predictions by some about the party’s demise stemmed from innocent ignorance rather than malice.

“The fact is we are the BDP, we are united, and we are formidable,” he said.

He said as Botswana celebrated its 60th anniversary of independence this year, he trusted that Batswana would heed Sir Seretse Khama’s words and remember the legacy of their past 58 years as a ruling party, during which, achieved significant progress in economic transformation, education, health facilities and services, infrastructure development, sound economic management, and poverty alleviation, in collaboration with Batswana.

Mr Balopi said that going forward, they must continually remind Batswana of the strong union that they formed with them and ensure that they did not forget their shared achievements because investing time and energy in this area was crucial in positioning the party for a return to its best shape.

The retreat he said, was not about individual pursuit but rather, achieving a collective goal of becoming a formidable and leading political force, as outlined in the party’s founding preamble. “We owe it to this party to leave it in the state our forefathers left it for us in order to continue their legacy of service, so that future generations may inherit a party in good shape,” said Mr Balopi.

He said membership of the party was a heavy responsibility demanding selflessness and sacrifice for the collective good hence thanked Sir Seretse and Sir Ketumile who demonstrated that carrying such a burden was achievable. “They accomplished it in the 1960s under vastly different circumstances, so we can succeed now under much better circumstances than theirs,” said Mr Balopi, reminding members that party membership was voluntary and those who joined accepted the responsibility of embarking on a democratic journey guided by their shared values. ENDS