06 Oct 2014

The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has an excellent and traceable record, says President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama.

Addressing BDP star rallies in Kanye North and South constituencies on October 4, President Khama said the BDP had been in power for a long time and thus demonstrated the ability to rule. He said the BDP government had shown great aptitude in crisis handling and management in various sectors of the economy.

He added that it could have been a disaster if opposition parties were in power during the world economic recession because they did not have the experience to deal with such difficult situations. 

He noted that during the world economic crisis, some projects were deferred in order to focus on social protection programmes that impacted positively on people’s lives. President Khama said the ruling party had a pool of people with prudent resource management skills and initiatives hence the sound economy of the country.

He said the BDP-led government introduced programmes such as Ipelegeng and ISPAAD to ease the burden on Batswana who could not meet their daily needs. He noted that the Ipelegeng programme had helped to build kgotla shelters and houses throughout the country.

President Khama implored Kanye north and south constituency residents to vote for BDP parliamentary candidates, Mr Patrick Ralotsia and Dr Lemogang Kwape respectively. He added that he was banking on their expertise to drive the development agenda after the October 24 general elections. 

President Khama expressed optimism that the BDP would win both Kanye south and north constituencies in the upcoming elections. He said the BDP had to be commended for eradicating factions within the party.

He assured voters that there was no possibility of the BDP rigging elections as opposition parties alleged, adding that ballot boxes were not in BDP’s possession, but in the hands of those mandated by the constitution to conduct elections.

He said such claims were made by opposition parties because they could foresee a loss in the upcoming elections.  He said opposition parties had tried to discredit him and the party, but expressed optimism that his party would continue to rule as it had done since independence.

President Khama implored Kanye residents to safeguard their identity and registration cards as well as to ensure that their identity cards were valid.  He noted that everybody’s vote was critical to determine the future of the country.

He said he was the President of the people and not the “office,” hence the need to traverse the country to get first-hand information on how best he could assist Batswana.

For his part, BDP stalwart and former cabinet minister, Mr Michael Tshipinare urged the electorate to vote for the ruling party. He said President Khama revived culture and wanted to see artistes benefit from their talent.

He said during elections people should remember the bumper harvest they had because of the ISPAAD programme. ends