BCP MPs, Cllrs convert to UDC
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The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) meeting held this week has resolved that all Members of Parliament and Councilors of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) cross the floor to join the UDC with immediate effect. The President of the BCP, Dumelang Saleshando is expected to write a letter to the all constituencies informing them of the decision.
The decision to shift BCP MPs and Councilors was taken at a UDC meeting which was originally aimed at addressing the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) crisis but this could not happen after one of the contracting partners the Botswana People’s Party (BPP) absconded. Following this decision, the Botswana People’s Party (BPP) Youth League released a scathing statement in which they refer to BCP as a “third party” that does not belong to the UDC NEC.
Only matters that the BNF and the BCP could resolve conclusively at the meeting were addressed. BPP leader, Motlatsi Molapise supports Gaolathe and holds him in high regard, speculation is that he deliberately handicapped the UDC meeting. As per the UDC agreement, each party has been given one slot for an additional member to the UDC Executive Committee. BCP has two Members of Parliament, Dithapelo Keorapetse of Selibe Phikwe West and Samuel Rantuana of Ramotswa as well 57 councillors across the country.
Contracting partners of the UDC are Botswana National Front (BNF), Botswana Peoples Party (BPP), Botswana Movement for Democracy and Botswana Congress Party (BCP). At the Wednesday meeting held at Oasis Hotel in Tlokweng to discuss among others, the problems afflicting the BMD, it was agreed that a follow up meeting be held in Francistown on August 12th. The Francistown meeting is expected to be the final test that could spell the direction of Botswana’s opposition politics. The Wednesday meeting was attended by among others BNF President Duma Boko and Secretary General Moeti Mohwasa, BCP President Dumelang Saleshando and UDC’s Treasurer Dennis Alexander and Taolo Lucas who is UDC’s additional member from the BCP.
The BMD is currently divided and reconciliation has failed after the party held parallel elective congresses in Bobonong where two different National Executive Committees were elected. This has put the UDC, especially its leadership in a precarious situation with the supporters of the two BMD factions seeking legitimacy and endorsement by the UDC. A Nehemiah Modubule led BMD National Executive Committee laid charges that led to the expulsion of Gaolathe, his deputy Wynter Mmolotsi and others from the party. This is what led to a chaotic congress after Gaolathe and Co refused to appear before the Disciplinary committee and were expelled from the party. It is understood that the Gaolathe faction met on Tuesday night in Gaborone at Falcon Crest and agreed with BPP to snub Wednesday’s UDC meeting.
They also discussed the option of forming a new party but chose to wait for the UDC to deliberate on the matter and take a decision. The court route was also discussed but it is not favoured by many. The majority agreed that they should wait for the outcome of the UDC leadership hence the decision of the August 12th meeting could have ramifications. Meanwhile the UDC NEC has written a letter to the Sidney Pilane faction of the BMD informing them of the Ndaba Gaolathe led BMD’s demand for a fresh congress to resolve the impasse. In the said letter the Pilane faction has been asked to respond and state their position as far the demand is concerned.
BPP says BCP is not a UDC NEC member
On another subject the BPP has distanced itself from the UDC meeting that took place at Oasis Motel in Tlokweng. “The BPP is not aware of any legitimate nor a properly constituted meeting of the UDC which took place recently. A meeting between President Duma Boko and friends from the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) cannot be taken to be an official meeting of the UDC executive committee. Therefore the meeting being referred to was not a meeting of the UDC executive committee.
The BCP is a third party and does not have rights to attend and participate in official meetings of the UDC executive committee. Those rights are conferred on members of the UDC who are in good standing. The membership of the BCP to the UDC has not been granted. It would not be granted until such time when all the disagreements and concerns registered during the negotiations have been resolved,” wrote the BPPYL President Takula Lenyatso.
According to Lenyatso, the meeting is said to have had intentions to discuss the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) and its problems. He stated that discussing positions, issues and problems affecting members of the UDC is a sensitive matter and cannot be done in the presence of third parties, therefore the BPP will not participate in such discussion in the presence of the BCP and/or any other third party unless reasonable grounds can be advanced for that to be done. “The BPPYL and the BPP have not taken any well formed positions concerning issues within the BMD. It should be noted however that the BPP believes in a strict application of the law to maintain order and progress,” he wrote.
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Local tennis team upbeat ahead of Billie Jean King cup
With almost two weeks until the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup, which will be staged in Kenya from June 12-17, 2023, the Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) ladies’ team coach, Ernest Seleke, is optimistic about reaching greater heights.
Billie Jean King Cup, or the BJK Cup, is a premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched as the Federation Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The BJK Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
The finals will feature 12 teams (Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) competing in the four round-robin groups of three. The four group winners will qualify for the semifinals, and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup will be crowned after the completion of the knockout phase.
Closer to home, the BW Tennis team is comprised of Thato Madikwe, Leungo Monnayoo, Chelsea Chakanyuka, and Kelebogile Monnayoo. However, according to Seleke, they have not assembled the team yet as some of the players are still engaged.
“At the moment, we are depending on the players and their respective coaches in terms of training. However, I will meet up with Botswana-based players in the coming week, while the United States of America (USA) based player Madikwe will probably meet us in Kenya. Furthermore, Ekua Youri and Naledi Raguin, who are based in Spain and France respectively, will not be joining us as they will be writing their examinations,” said Seleke.
Seleke further highlighted the significance of this competition and how competitive it is. “It is a massive platform for our players to showcase their talent in tennis, and it is very competitive as countries target to get promoted to the world categories where they get to face big nations such as Spain, France, USA, and Italy. Though we are going to this tournament as underdogs because it is our second time participating, I’m confident that the girls will put in a good showing and emerge with results despite the odds,” highlighted Seleke.
Quizzed about their debut performance at the BJK Cup, he said, “I think our performance was fair considering the fact that we were newbies. We came third in our group after losing to North Macedonia and South Africa. We went on to beat Uganda, then Kenya in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play Burundi due to heavy rainfall and settled for the position 9/10,” he said.
For her part, team representative Leungo Monnayoo said they are working hard as they aim to do well at the tourney. “The preparations for the tourney have long begun because we practice each and every day. We want to do well, hence we need to be motivated. Furthermore, I believe in my team as we have set ourselves a big target of coming home with the trophy,” she said.
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Pep Stores donates sanitary towels to Popagano JSS
The Guidance and Counseling unit at Popagano Junior Secondary School received a donation of 790 sanitary towels from Pep stores on Thursday.
When presenting the donation, Mareledi Thebeng, the Dinokaneng Area Manager, highlighted their belief in giving back to the community, as their existence depends on the communities they serve. Thebeng pointed out that research indicates one in four girls miss school every day due to the lack of basic necessities like sanitary towels. Therefore, as a company, they strive to assist in alleviating this situation. She expressed hope that this donation would help ensure uninterrupted learning for girls.
Upon receiving the donation on behalf of the students, Charity Sambire, the President of the Student Representative Council, expressed her gratitude. Sambire specifically thanked Pep Store for their generous gift, speaking on behalf of the students, especially the girl child.
She conveyed their sincere appreciation for Pep Store’s compassion and quoted the adage, “Blessed is the hand that gives.” Sambire expressed the students’ hope for Pep Stores’ prosperity, enabling them to continue supporting the students. As a gesture of gratitude, the students pledged to excel academically.
During her speech, Motlalepula Madome, the Senior Teacher in Guidance and Counseling, highlighted that many students at the school come from disadvantaged backgrounds where parents struggle to provide basic necessities. Consequently, some students miss school when they experience menstruation due to this lack.
Madome emphasized the significance of the donation in preventing the girl child from missing lessons and its potential to improve the school’s overall results. She expressed the school’s gratitude and expressed a desire for continued support from Pep Stores.
Popagano Junior Secondary School, situated in the Okavango District, holds the second position academically in the North West region. Despite its location, the school has been dedicated to achieving excellence since 2017
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Botswana misses out critical PAP committee meeting
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) committee on gender, family, youth and people with disability in its sitting considered, adopted and recommended to the plenary session the preliminary report on the framework for the model law on gender equality.
According to the last week’s media release from PAP which is sitting with its various committees until June 2nd, the committee is following up the PAP initiative to draw up a model law on gender equality to enable national governments to harmonize, modernize and standardize their legislations to address local needs is set to be discussed in Plenary.
However, what is concerning is the fact that Botswana which is a member state missed the deliberations. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko who sat in the committee representing Botswana has since been ejected by parliament and this is a huge blow for a nation that is still battling equity and gender balance.
“Although PAP has no legislative powers it makes model laws for member states to adopt. PAP also develops protocols to be ratified by countries. The input of countries at Committee state is extremely critical. It now means the voice of Botswana is missing the discussions leading up to development of protocols or model laws,” said one of Botswana’s representative at PAP Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang who is attending the current session.
While Botswana is missing, the committee meeting took place on the sidelines of the Sixth PAP second ordinary Session being held under the African Union Theme of the Year for 2023, “The Year of AfCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area” in Midrand, South Africa and will run up to 2 June 2023. Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala expressed satisfaction with preliminary processes undertaken so far towards the formulation of the Model Law,” a release from the PAP website reads.
“The law should be suitable to all countries whatever the predominant culture or religion is. The aim is to give an opportunity to women to participate in the economic, political and social development of the continent. Women are not well positioned and face a lot of obstacles. We are introducing the idea of equity in the Law because we cannot talk about equality without equity,” said Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala in the press statement.
The release has stated that among issues to be covered by the Model Law is the migratory movements of women. The Committee proffered that this has to be addressed at the continental level to ensure that migrant women enjoy all their rights and live with dignity in their destination country. The members of the Gender Committee undertook consultations to consolidate the contributions of the various stakeholders that will be the logical framework format for the Model Law.