Dodgy characters like Morwaeng cannot revive BDP

 Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) is at the deep end of a political hole it must urgently and desperately retrieve itself. For it to do so, it urgently requires untainted men and women to turn its fortunes around because the stakes have not been higher than they are. For all intents and purposes and because the stakes are so high, the BDP requires a new broom to sweep clean. I don’t believe Rre Kabo Morwaeng is one such broom. The sentiment expressed by some BDP members is that those who were in government and in the Central Committee have individually and collectively contributed to the BDP’s dismal performance in the 2024 general and should as a consequence, not be elected to any party position in the upcoming elective congress. A good number of BDP members in party positions resigned en masse after the party lost the elections. They have been roundly applauded for such action because they took responsibility for letting the party down. 

So that we are on the same page, Merriam-Webster describes a dodgy person as ‘evasive, tricky’ while Cambridge dictionary describes such a person as ‘bad, or not to be trusted.’ These definitions bring me to Morwaeng who seeks to be elected the Secretary General of the BDP following his press conference on Wednesday. He believes he is the right person to resurrect the BDP and in the process, render it electable in the 2029 general election. I beg to differ. 

Morwaeng is one of the BDP leaders who contributed in no small measure to the catastrophic electoral collapse of the party particularly through his position as Minister for State President. It is this position that made him the front and centre of how the BDP operated. He is vividly remembered for his theatrics in parliament where he will contemptuously call on his fellow party members to reject every Motion brought by the opposition. He would be so dismissive to the point of reminding all and sundry that the BDP was not co-governing with the opposition. That was Morwaeng for you when he held the third most senior position in government as Minister for State President. It did not end there. 

He is remembered to have tried to influence the Chief Justice Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe to rule against former Member of Parliament for Lobatse Dr Thapelo Matsheka when he was arbitrarily arrested by the Directorate of Intelligence Service (DIS) over a fabricated case of having participated in the murder of a Lobatse pupil. To be fair to him, he vehemently denied such accusation. Morwaeng passionately championed the failed introduction of the former Presidents pension benefits where even their family members would benefit handsomely. When the pressure from civil society and Batswana grew unbearable on the Bill on the former Presidents’ pension, he rushed to Botswana Television on that fateful Saturday evening to withdraw the Bill under the false pretext that consultation on the same was going to be undertaken. The fact of the matter is that Batswana felt it was greedy for the former Presidents and their families to handsomely benefit from public funds when they languished in abject poverty. A planned demonstration against the Bill was planned for the following Monday. He also championed the failed and flawed Constitution Review process where he was adamant it was properly undertaken because no law was violated in that regard. He even went further to discredit the proposal from Batswana that the President of the Republic be directly elected. These issues amongst others, would have irked the majority of Batswana that long before parliament was dissolved, they would have decided the BDP had reached its sell-by date. During his press conference, Morwaeng claimed albeit embarrassingly that he did not know the circumstances leading to the procurement of Tautona Lodge. He claims he cannot be compelled to take us into his confidence on the procurement when the current Minister for State President Moeti Mohwasa cannot do so. This is dishonesty of the highest order. It can only emanate from a dodgy character afraid of his own shadow. By virtue of his ministerial position at the time, he would know the full circumstances pertaining to the procurement of the lodge. When questions on the circumstances leading to the procurement of the lodge were asked in parliament, Morwaeng was always evasive, bordering on sheer arrogance arising from his powerful position in government with regards to providing cogent and believable reasons. To this point, only himself, the former President know the whole story about the Tautona Lodge story. 

With the foregoing in mind, it should be reasonable to suggest BDP leaders who were in influential positions both in government and the party will not bring any cure to the debilitating conundrum the party faces. Such leaders did not act when it was clear the party was facing electoral defeat because they were in their comfort zones consumed by the false belief that in their personal capacities, they were immune from electoral defeat. They were complicit in their omission or commission to the present difficult circumstances of the party. For Morwaeng to portray himself as a possible BDP saviour is condescending to the BDP as a political party and to the general membership. For the BDP to appeal to the public and its general membership, a brand new leadership devoid of having contributed to the BDP’s present circumstances in any form or shape is desirable. In my humble view, Morwaeng has done more harm than good to the BDP to deserve any leadership role. The harm is still fresh in the minds of Batswana on one hand and BDP members on the other. The BDP does not deserve dodgy characters given what they have subjected it to. Losing an election so miserably is no small matter. I am prepared to be persuaded otherwise as always. Judge for Yourself! 

Adamphetlhe08@gmail.com