Dorcas Makgato pledges to take BDP to former glory

Dorcas Makgato, a seasoned politician and diplomat, has thrown her candidacy for the Chairperson role for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in the upcoming internal elections.Makgato explained that she was inspired by fact that the BDP has lost elections and it is important for all democrats to stand up for the party and rebuild it to its former glory.She explained that it will take democrats to rebuild it and align it with the aspirations of Batswana.Makgato said that it is normal for any organ to reengineer itself as the environment is always changing and ideas and processes must be aligned to a moving demographic.Makgato said that when dealing with this, it is important to appeal to all demographics.She explained that any political party and its offering must make sense to voters. Further, that people must look at it and identify with its aspirations.She explained that it is the people that determine what they want and if "you don’t cater for their needs you become irrelevant."Her main vision is renewal in these changing times and she advocates for a mixture of young and experienced people, as experienced people rope in assurance to voters that they made the right decision.Makgato envisions a vibrant party, responsive to people's needs, a party that listens and resonates with the wishes of Batswana.She desires a party that changes the lives of Batswana in the long-term and a way that sustains them.She said that the BDP has to transform into a party that offer programmes that are in alignment with international standards.“The BDP has built this economy from nothing to upper middle class,” she noted.She said it is important to have a constitution that allows for functionality of all party structures not just the central committee, a constitution that encourages democracy, accountability within the party, one that represents the voice of the voiceless and that gives all people a fair chance to contribute to the party.As Chairperson of the BDP Women’s Wing, Makgato pushed for the adoption of the SADC Protocol on Gender Parity within the party.She said that she will push for the implementation of this Protocol within the party and at government level as it will allow for women participation in politics.She believes that political education among women is key above everything, people must be taught politics and understanding political ideologies.She said as Chairperson she will define what the role of a Chairperson is and ensure that the party is alive in all levels and going back to the roots is key to ensure that history does not repeat itself.“Batswana are not happy with us,” she said, adding that it is important for the BDP to go back to the drawing board to ascertain where they did not deliver and learn to choose what to do in the future to win over the nation.She said that Batswana are disappointed with the level of unemployment, and unhappy about the perceived corruption, the low performance of the education system, and about an array of issues as well as the performance of the economy.Malesu is confident that just as the BDP built a strong economy from scratch, they can do it again.

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Dorcas Makgato pledges to take BDP to former glory