20 Aug 2014

Former president, Dr Festus Mogae, has urged electorates to vote Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) back into power on October 24 general elections.

Launching the Molepolole South parliamentary candidate, Mr Daniel 'DK' Kwelagobe and councillors in Molepolole on August 16, Dr Mogae took a swipe at BDP detractors who said that Mr Kwelagobe was too old for the job.  

"The man still has stamina for another marathon", said Dr Mogae. He described Mr Kwelagobe as a ‘son of the National Assembly’ who grew up to become its father with experience and persuasive skills spanning over 35 years since joining Parliament in 1969.

The vast knowledge he possessed, he said, should be tapped into to develop Molepolole South and the nation at large. Dr Mogae said they had achieved so much for Botswana over the years with Mr Kwelegobe as an MP and he had become a living legend, still with vigour to ensure that the interests and needs of people he represented were met

He attributed the success of the Arable Land Development Programme (ALDEP) to Mr Kwelegobe whom he said drove it with passion. Under the programme, government used to assist small farmers by ploughing fields for them freely.

The former president urged constituents to vote Mr Kwelagobe and his team of councilors, as he had shown to be a true servant and advised BDP supporters not to take it for granted that Mr Kwelagobe would win without them casting their votes. 

He said BDP should campaign vigorously and sell itself to the masses.  For his part, council candidate for Loologa, Mr Mothophi Leo said under Mr Kwelagobe and the BDP, Molepolole had enjoyed a stable leadership of a man who cared for his people, a visionary leader who had influenced and advocated for the development of Molepolole.

He said Molepolole now had a college of education, Institute of Health Sciences, schools, improved water reticulation and other projects. He urged electorates to vote BDP back into power to usher more development.

Another parliamentary candidate for Molepolole North, Mr Gaotlhaetse Matlhabaphiri said Mr Kwelagobe’s wealth of experience was still relevant to Botswana politics and urged electorates to ensure that BDP retained power and that the two Molepolole MPs and their team of councilors were voted for to continue speaking in one voice for development of Molepolole.

For his part, Mr Kwelagobe said BDP detractors spoke as if BDP had done nothing for the country in terms of development and assisting Batswana. He said when it took over there was nothing and had committed itself to ensuring that Batswana led a dignified life.

Mr Kwelagobe said the opposition and BDP critics whom he described as “born free generation” thought Botswana had always been like this in the past, not knowing that tremendous developments had been achieved after independence under the BDP rule.

He said though what had been achieved was not enough, it was pleasing to note that some improvements had been made following the 2008 economic recession which stalled development across the country.

Mr Kwelagobe said when voted into power, BDP would work hard to ensure that development such as power reticulation to areas not previously on Botswana Power Corporation map and construction of the sewage system. ENDS