14 May 2018

Vice President and chairperson of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Mr Slumber Tsogwane has appealed to electorate in Moselewapula council ward in the Francistown constituency to vote for the BDP council candidate, Mr Gilbert Boikhutso in the May 19  bye-election.

The council ward fell vacant after the death of Councillor Lechedzani Mudenga early this year.

Launching Mr Boikhutso as the BDP council candidate on Saturday, Mr Tsogwane asked fellow democrats to make sure that the party retained the seat, which it won in the 2014 general elections with large numbers.

He said fellow democrats could only achieve the victory if they worked hand in hand with the party leadership and party structures in place.

Mr Tsogwane further stated that there was still no alternative to the BDP because opposition parties had proved to be incapable as they had no policies and programmes.

The Vice President described BDP as the only party in Botswana which had good and sound policies as well as programmes geared towards uplifting the lives of Batswana.

Mr Tsogwane cited among those policies and programmes, poverty eradication, the fight against HIV/AIDS and youth empowerment schemes.

Mr Tsogwane further told the rally that government continued to invest heavily on the education system, hence the allocation of the lion’s share in the national budget to the education sector.

In addition, the BDP chairperson informed the rally that the BDP-led government would continue to build more health facilities across the country to help improve the health of Batswana.

On the other hand, Mr Tsogwane said government shunned corruption, hence it had established oversight institutions in all government ministries and departments as well as the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC).

Mr Tsogwane stated that all those programmes and policies were a track record of the BDP-led government since independence and appealed to Batswana to continue voting for the party in order to improve their lives.

Speaking at the same rally, BDP secretary general, Mr Mpho Balopi appealed to electorate to reject opposition parties because they had failed Batswana and continued to promise them heavens.
Voting for the BDP, he noted, would ensure continued stability, peace and tranquility, as well as freedom as the country continued to be a shining example of democracy, not only in Africa, but across the world.

He hinted that voting for opposition parties would be tantamount to releasing the government into the hands of gangsters.

For his part, Mr Boikhutso promised the electorate that he would deliver on his promises in order to improve their living standard.

He said he had a lot of initiatives such as advocating for a secondary school in the area, installation of street lighting and improvement of dusty roads in particular at Moselewapula ward.

He said most of his programmes and initiatives would be geared towards uplifting the lives of the youth as evidenced by the formation of a traditional group called Chilenge in the area.

Three political parties are contesting for this ward namely Umbrella for Democratic Change represented by Mr Rueben Ketlhoilwe while Alliance for Progressives has fielded Mr Odirile Ditshotlo. Ends