BDP youth denies sabotaging Ramotswa campaign

Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Youth Wing has been accused of sabotaging the South East Region by holding its 50 years’ commemoration activities in Palapye instead of Ramotswa.

BDP Youth Wing National Executive Committee Chairman, Andy Boatile told this publication on the sidelines of the commemoration over the weekend that the event was a national activity. He said it was too late to have the event moved from Palapye to Ramotswa because it was long planned for.“This event (Palapye rally) was not in any way meant to sabotage the party or our colleagues in Ramotswa; that is why we understood that they could not make it to this event. We are going to work with them and ensure that next week we win the Kelemogile Ward by-election.”

Some members of the party believe that the energy exerted in Palapye was best suited for Ramotswa where there is a by-election that the party is so eager to win. The activity drew in multitudes of people, something many democrats believe would have worked wonders for the party if it was staged for Ramotswa. BDP goes head to head with combined opposition in a by-election slated for next weekend. The vacant seat has been held by Botswana Congress Party, which will now be backed by Umbrella for Democratic Change. The combined opposition youth dedicated the past weekend to Ramotswa where they held house-to-house campaigns and public rallies.

“We started planning for this thing in March this year, long before the vacancy for the by-election. It was initially to happen in April but we had to postpone. It would not have been fair to the people of Palapye and surrounding areas after they had contributed towards the event. Almost 80 percent of the resources for the event were contributed by party members within this region,” said Boatile.

He revealed that 45 constituencies managed to attend. Boatile stated that his committee has decided to make it an annual event for the party so as to be able to interact with young people of this country. “As part of my initiatives, I am also planning to have regional rallies and the first one we plan to have will be in Maun. I want to leave a legacy that those who come after me will be able to tap on.”