17 Sep 2014

The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) deserves to be given another mandate to rule because it is committed to citizen empowerment and uplifting lives of its citizens, the party secretary general, Mr Mpho Balopi has said.

Mr Balopi said this when launching the party parliamentary and council candidates in Tlokweng on September 13.

He noted that the BDP had over the years pushed for job creation and citizen economic empowerment hence the party did not only promise during the election year but also fulfilled its promises.

From 2009 up to date, he said the county had under the BDP led government, created about 25 000 jobs, which benefitted mostly the youth. He added that the BDP government had also pushed for the economic diversification drive, through buying from local businesses.

Further, he said today, there were many Batswana entrepreneurs who had made huge chucks of money by making business dealings with the government.

In addition, he said from 2001 to date, another 4450 of Batswana have turned into business entrepreneurs after they were financed by the Citizen Economic Development Agency (CEDA) and about P9.6 billion was used in the process.

Mr Balopi also said under the minerals, energy and water resources, and the country has built dams that are able to supply the country with water.

He also said the Morupule B Power Station was also set up for the country to be self-sufficient in electricity and also sell surplus electricity.

Thus, he said such projects were among some of the reasons why the BDP lead government should be trusted to rule the country.

He also pointed that the BDP was committed to dealing with abject poverty in the country, adding that Botswana had graduated from being the 23 poorest countries in the world to middle income status under their leadership.

Mr Balopi also said the BDP did not tolerate corruption and that the government highly regarded the public service that has helped them achieve their milestones.

The party national campaign manager, Mr Alec Seametso implored the Tlokweng electorate to vote for his party as it had their interests at heart.

Mr Seametso said the opposition had done nothing for the country yet they wanted the electorate to trust them with their votes.

Further, he said the party campaign took long to start in the constituency but asked the democrats not to let their disagreements in the constituency derail it. The area parliamentary prospective candidate, Mr Olebile Gaborone stressed that the BDP had developed the country.

Mr Gaborone added that a lot, in terms of infrastructure development, had changed in the country since the BDP took over from colonial rule. ENDS