BCP kicked out of Gaborone
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The ongoing opposition talks are far from over, but there are certain elements of the discussion that are not contestable or have been agreed upon at the moment.
With an all inclusive name of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC+) having been adopted, the criteria for constituency allocation has made it easy for partners to spread constituencies evenly safe for two being Lentsweletau-Mmopane and Lerala-Maunatlala.
However, the adopted criterion presents a dilemma for one of the negotiating partners, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP).
Before his shock loss to the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD)’s Dr Phenyo Butale in the 2014 general election, BCP president, Dumelang Saleshando had represented Gaborone Central as Member of Parliament for two terms – 2004-2009 and 2009 – 2014. Now he finds himself without a constituency.
The BCP is said to have decided to demonstrate commitment to the talks by not contesting or putting pressure on other partners to secure at least one constituency in Gaborone for its president – something that they had wanted. Insiders point out that the BCP knew from the onset that the criteria will not favour them in Gaborone constituencies where they were convincingly vanquished in the 2014 general election. “But we had assumed that Dumelang Saleshando as President of the negotiating partner could be given a special treatment and negotiate a package for him in Gaborone, but it was never to be,” said an insider.
Indications are that the BCP had also tried to lobby for Gaborone South which is currently under the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), but they lost out because the Botswana National Front (BNF) had come out second best in that constituency in the 2014 general election. The criteria is very clear, negotiating teams consider incumbency – which favours the BMD of the UDC+ in Gaborone Central; and second best performing party – which favours the BNF of the UDC+ in Gaborone South.
“As the BCP, we are not going to allow this to distract us from the main goal, that is opposition unity because that is the only way we can wrestle power from the ruling BDP,” said a BCP insider. The BCP is currently searching for a constituency for Dumelang Saleshando. This publication gathers that it is going to be a long process because it will involve reaching a compromise with party members who have been contesting in the constituency to be identified. “We are determined to make sure that our President goes to Parliament,” the BCP elder said.
Weekend Post has been informed that the BCP fears are also grounded on the fact that a Vice President of the country must have a constituency according to the constitution. Although the BMD is opposed to the BCP being given the Vice Presidency, the BCP is said to be fighting tooth and nail to ensure that Saleshando gets a constituency and wins it in 2019.
It is understood that Selibe Phikwe East, which is currently held by Nonofo Molefhi of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) appears to be the most likely constituency that will welcome Saleshando. BCP came second in the 2014 general election through Kgoberego Nkawana who polled 3134 votes to BDP’s 3376. The UDC attracted 979 votes through Dimpho Mashaba while an Independent candidate, Oarabile Tshenyego was voted by 818 people. Selibe Phikwe East is one of the 17 constituencies that the BCP hopes to clinch based on the agreed criteria of the ongoing negotiating teams.
Saleshando is not a stranger to Selibe Phikwe because his family is domiciled in the mining town and he grew up there. The ongoing challenges facing Seilbe Phikwe also present a fertile campaign platform for the opposition to denounce the ruling party and its representatives.
This week at a Panel Discussion organized by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) at Masa Centre, BCP deputy leader responsible for policy, Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang told the audience that “we are in a situation of urgency, something must be done to wrestle the BDP out of power, the urgency we are talking about supersedes any other factors.
We made a mistake by not being part of the Umbrella in the 2014 general election,” he said. While he pointed out directly that his party had more solid policy positions and a well structured manifesto, the UDC appealed more to the emotions of the voters. “It was not much about the mind in 2014, it was about the heart. In 2019, it should be about the mind and the heart,” he said.
The only two constituencies that are currently on the table for further negotiations is Lentsweletau-Mmopane and Lerala-Maunatlala. The BCP wants Lentsweletau-Mmopane because they came out second best to the BDP. Phagenyana Phage was voted by 3150 people against Vincent Seretse’s 7170 votes. Moeng Pheto, an independent candidate than attracted 3120 votes while the UDC got 2999 voters.
The BMD also wants a cut because their recruit who came after contesting the general election as an independent, Moeng Pheto got good numbers. Another independent candidate from the 2014 general election in the Lerala-Maunatlala constituency, Setlhabelo Modukanele, has since joined the BMD and he had 4115 votes against Prince Maele’s 6356 votes. The BMD’s argument of second best performing is being questioned by other partners. The BCP represented by Montwedi Mokhurutshe was voted by 1147.
Weekend Post is informed that the BCP is concerned that factors are conspiring against their president – first the Vice Presidency is hotly contested; and then he has no chance to stand for elections in the capital city.
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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.