16 Jul 2014

Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), parliamentary candidate for Thamaga-Kumakwane constituency, Mr Kopano Rannatshe has promised to prioritise the voters’ interests if voted to parliament in this year’s general elections.

Speaking during UDC parliamentary and council candidates launch on July 12 in Thamaga, Mr Rannatshe said if voted to parliament, he would advocate for proportional representation as opposed to first pass the post system which is being used in this country’s electoral system.

He said he believed that as a united opposition front, they could make reasonable progress through advocacy in parliament. Mr Rannatshe said the alarming crime rate in Thamaga was a direct result of unemployment and called upon voters to vote for his party to enable it to create job opportunites for Batswana. 

Creating industries in villages such as Thamaga will help curb high crime rates, he said. For her part, Ms Binkie Kerileng told voters that it is time for change, adding that their manifesto ideals are also intended to free the nation from economic bondage, something she claimed the current government has failed to achieve.

UDC parliamentary candidate for Selebi Phikwe East, Mr Dimpho Mashaba urged voters to accept change, as his party advocates for a clean corrupt free government.

On the issue of education, he said his party proposes a ratio of one teacher to 25 pupils instead of the current system where one teacher teaches 40 pupils. 

He stated that a decline in the quality of academic results is propagated by what he termed maladministration by the current government. For his part, Maj. Gen. Piuss Mokgware told voters that voting is a constitutional right. 

He appealed to voters to go and vote in large numbers as their vote will decide their future for the next five years.

He cautioned voters that every responsible citizen should exercise their right to vote and not wait for other people to decide a government for them. He also urged them to read and understand the parties’ manifestos.

Another speaker, UDC secretary general, Mr Gomolemo Mtswaledi stated that UDC believes that every human being has a sense of dignity and that their individual efforts can take this country forward. 

Therefore he called on the electorate saying they are agents of change and should inform the change they need.

On the party manifesto, he said that his party advocates for a government that will work closely with the electorate. 

It also proposes a governing system where there will be governors in each district working closely with people because they believe in a democracy in which the electorate will inform governing processes.  ENDS