BDP to retrench

• Central Committee consider cost cutting at Tsholetsa House
• BDP admits financial difficulties, deny retrenchment plans

BAKANG TIRO

editors@thepatriot.co.bw

The leadership of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) is contemplating cutting employees at the party headquarters -Tsholetsa House, as financial problems take a heavy toll on their resources, The Patriot on Sunday has learnt.

The Central Committee meeting this week discussed strategies for cost saving that included possible retrenchment of employees. Information gathered by this publication is that BDP is experiencing severe financial difficulties, and therefore believe a restructuring process is needed urgently. The downsizing could see staff being laid off starting February 2027. The central committee has tasked the party’s Executive Secretary, Ame Makoba and BDP regional chairpersons to draw a restructuring plan, a development that has thrown the employees into uncertainty.

Impeccable sources privy to details of the CC deliberations intimate that the possibility of retrenchments looms large. “The treasury has indicated decline in revenues hence need for organizational restructuring. When the BDP regional offices were closed, most of employees were absorbed at Tsholetsa and that resulted in an increase in staff. The thinking is that the growing financial constraints now mean that BDP will only needs more workers during election time only, “revealed the source at Tsholetsa.

Contacted for a comment on Friday, Makoba allayed fears and indicated that there is no restructuring underway at Tsholetsa House. He admitted that the party is facing financial challenges but said as far as they are concerned, the party is functioning and able to meet its obligations. “Revenues have inevitably reduced as, for instance, we have less Members of Parliament (MPs) and Councilors than before and so we collect less subscriptions from the few, we have now,” said Makoba.

He explained that the BDP has closed physical regional offices in Francistown, Maun and Kang in 2023, adding that it has been years without offices and the party’s leadership at the time cited budgetary implications for closures. However, he said BDP still has functional committees in the areas supplementing party headquarters.

Unusual position

Ever since being disposed from state power by the coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) in 2024, the BDP has been enduring financial constraints, a move that observers say can jeopardize its survival in the opposition terrain. The party is losing key well-wishers in the form of businessmen and companies who are now said to be aligning with the ruling UDC, hence the party’s consistent push for distribution of political party funding.

Political analyst, Kitso Morekisi said for the first time, BDP find itself in an unusual situation and not in the position of privilege that it has been used to for 58 years, i.e. being comfortably in the government. He noted that the BDP is adapting to be in the opposition and decline in financial power would make the situation more difficult going forward.

“Opposition politics are new to BDP and BDP has been losing from all fronts since it lost 2024 election to the UDC. First and foremost, the party is losing members to the UDC and this include those who have been sponsoring it. In politics, every member is an asset because of whatever money he or she adds to the party. So, for BDP to be continuously losing members is a serious regression on its survival,” he said.

In addition, Morekisi said BDP financial squeeze could be traced back towards the 2024 general election campaign as the party in certain instances failed to pull large crowds and credited that to Bulela Ditswe. He explained that the way BDP handled Bulela Ditswe the appeals in some constituencies deeply divided the party, resulting in some of members of its members deciding to vote the opposition parties.