27 Oct 2024

Okavango West constituents have been urged to vote for Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) as it is the only political formation with time-tested manifestos and a solid foundation.

Vice President Slumber Tsogwane said this during the launch of Parliamentary hopeful, Mr Sekwaya Pikinini and his team of council candidates in Shakawe on Friday.

He said the BDP remained the only party which could advance the interests of Batswana and safeguard the country’s economic prosperity.

Mr Tsogwane, who is also the party chairperson said under the BDP-led government, Batswana had opportunities to venture into any sector of the economy through abundant government programmes.

“The BDP-led government is committed to allow citizens to participate in the growth of the country’s economy,” he observed.

He criticised opposition parties for the empty promises, saying that in most cases, they failed to explain how they would achieve those promises.

Unlike the BDP, Mr Tsogwane said opposition parties were against self-reliance, a panacea to sustainable economic growth.

He said BDP was promoting local economic development as a way of empowering Batswana to sustain themselves through resources found in their environment. Mr Tsogwane informed all that the BDP led government was committed to move Botswana from middle to upper class income hence encouraged the people to embrace mind-set change to attain this.

“We must change how we do things because it can no longer be business as usual if we want to move forward,” quipped Mr Tsogwane.

He the BDP intention was to see an ordinary Motswana operating concessions in the prestine Okavango delta and other sectors of the economy such as agriculture and mining, producing quality products and services that could be exported to other countries.

Mr Tsogwane said government was also promoting value chain development as a way of diversifying the country’s economy and adding value to locally produced products.

He said through his external trips, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi was seeking to attract investors to Botswana and looking for diversified markets for locally produced goods.

Furthemore , Mr Tsogwane said it was the intention of government to move the economy from resource to knowledge-based hence three per cent of the country’s budget went to research and development, the aim of which was to grow the economy.

On other issues, Mr Tsogwane said government had also increased the value of tribal land with the introduction of secure land tittle, a process that required plot holders to register their land rights with the registrar of deeds through the land board.

He said with secure land title, Batswana were now directly using it as security or collateral to access financial assistance from financial institutions.

The Vice President said government was further assisting Batswana with programmes such as Chema Chema and Temo Letlotlo among others.

All these were BDP-led government initiatives meant to develop Batswana, noted Mr Tsogwane. He encouraged Okavango West constituents to vote for Mr Pikinini and his council candidates as this would give BDP government a chance to further develop the country and its people.

For his part Mr Pikinini said if voted in power, he would assist the party in its mission to improve the life of an ordinary Motswana. Ends