BLP DISAPPOINTED BY AP’s DECISION TO WITHDRAW FROM NEW COALITION

…. party has resolved to continue with talks with BCP

The Central Committee of the Botswana Labour Party met yesterday; 30th April 2023, to receive and consider a report on the meeting of the Presidents of AP, BCP and BLP regarding the withdrawal of the AP from the Cooperation Talks. The meeting had been convened as part of efforts to persuade the AP to reconsider their decision to withdraw from the Talks. Unfortunately, this intervention failed to produce the desired results as the AP President insisted on proceeding with his Party decision and underlined that it was a decision that coincided with  his own personal convictions. 

Whilst we view the withdrawal of the AP from the talks as regrettable, the BLP Central Committee has resolved to accept and respect this decision, and to move on. To this end the BLP Central Committee further resolved to continue with talks with the Botswana Congress Party and has mandated its representatives at the Negotiations to contact their BCP counterparts and Convenors to arrange future meetings. 

The BLP is alive to the reality that in any revolutionary struggle it is common cause for sectarian or even individual interests to come into conflict with national interests and that when such clashes are not resolved realignment of political forces ensues . In this context, BLP Central Committee notes that while the AP withdrawal is a major setback, all is not lost as a lot of good could still be realized from Talks between the BCP and BLP.

The BLP notes with regret that most, if not all efforts at opposition party cooperation and organic growth in our country tend to be run down into the ground by partisan interests such as allocation of constituencies and wards, party positions, cronyism, naked opportunism and other such trivialities that have no bearing on the improvement of the lot of our people. In fact BLP condemns such tendencies as very reactionary and counter revolutionary machinations that  should be resisted by all patriots of this country. 

The Botswana Labour Party intends to continue negotiations with the Botswana Congress Party with a very clear vision for Botswana and well defined priorities. We are not worried about constituencies and wards. Our primary concern centers around the emancipation and social upliftment programme that the cooperation entity will deliver. In this regard, our team is hard at work developing this envisaged political programme for presentation and discussion with our negotiating partners in the near future.

In line with the Party’s principle of Collective Leadership, the BLP Central Committee has further resolved to convene a Leadership Forum on  the 27th May 2023 to report back to members on the latest developments and to seek their buy-in into the proposed course of action.

Signed:

Kgakgamatso M Kebiditswe

Secretary General