06 Aug 2014

Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Secretary General, Mr Mpho Balopi has appealed to the residents of Francistown East constituency to vote the party’s parliamentary candidate, Mr Buti Billy in the coming general elections.



Speaking at the launch of Mr Billy and the constituency’s council candidates on Saturday (August 2), Mr Balopi said there was still no alternative to the ruling BDP.



He said when BDP took power after independence in 1966, Botswana was among the 23 poor countries world-wide, but due to the party’s competency, the country has since risen from the status.



Furthermore, he said Botswana was not only a shining example of democracy and respect for human rights but offered competitive education quality.



Mr Balopi explained that most academic institutions abroad have never rejected Batswana students saying this was a clear indication that the country’s education was competitive.



On other issues, Mr Balopi informed democrats that the Court of Appeal (CoA) has ruled in favour of their party regarding the Francistown West bye-election case.

 BDP was barred from contesting the Francistown West bye-elections through a court ruling after one of its primary elections contestants, Mr Whyte Marobela approached the court about his displeasure of the outcome of the primaries.



On other issues, he said since the BDP government had the welfare of Batswana at heart, it has taken a decision to allow the churches that were facing relocation in some areas in Francistown to continue worshiping where they were until an amicable solution was sorted.  



The BDP national campaign manager, Mr Alec Seametso said his party was still the only party suitable to run the affairs of the country, citing that its capability was demonstrated by how it handled the economy during recession.

Mr Seametso implored the residents of Francistown East to vote for Mr Billy as he represented the party that still offered medical services free of charge.



He said the BDP had good programmes such as Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD) and Livestock Management and Infrastructure Development (LIMID) that were aimed at improving the lives of Batswana.



Francistown West parliamentary candidate, Mr Ignatius Moswaane urged voters to elect BDP representatives in large numbers as they would ensure creation of employment and continuous improvement on the quality of education.



Mr Moswaane appreciated that his government was aware of some problems in the education system and it was working to address them.

 He said Mr Billy should be voted because since 2004 when he was elected Satellite South councillor, he has proved to be a hard worker. 



Mr Moswaane called on democrats to unite in order to defeat the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) in the general elections.



Former Francistown Mayor, Mr Peter Ngoma implored voters to elect BDP into power as it has proved to be a visionary party, adding that it developed the country since independence when there were no developments.



Current Francistown Mayor, Councillor James Kgalajwe said Mr Billy’s hard work was proved by his involvement in the planning of the P1.2 billion Tonota- Francistown road. 

He said it was during the leadership of Mr Billy as the city mayor when the road was planned for.



Mr Kgalajwe refuted allegations that the BDP government condoned corruption, saying Botswana was the only country that had an anti-corruption institution and even anti-corruption committees at all government departments.



He lashed at the UDC for claiming hatred for corruption while its leaders continued to be involved in corruption, citing that recently the Gaborone city mayor, Mr Haskins Nkaigwa could not account for P30 000.

 BDP Francistown regional chairperson, Mr Ford Moiteela called upon democrats to ensure that all the five constituencies in the region were won by BDP during the general elections.



He said it was only through unity that BDP could win Tati East, Tonota, Francistown West, Francistown East and Francistown South constituencies.



Mr Billy said once he and his council candidates were voted into power, they will ensure they work in partnership with the constituents.

 He said he was aware that Francistown had problems such as lack of employment and high HIV/AIDS statistics, amongst others, and he will work with the community to come up with solutions to the problems.



Mr Billy noted that as a councillor in Francistown East, he already understood the challenges that the voters were faced with as opposed to his BCP and UDC competitors. 
ENDS