18 Mar 2019

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has urged Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) members to respect the party’s founding customs and traditions.

Giving a keynote address at the Kweneng East Region special congress in Gabane on March 16, Dr Masisi said those not in sync with the party’s principles, culture and customs had to introspect and ask for advice.

“You should be able to provide solutions for any wrongdoings if anything bad happened in the past. If you play games with a ruling party you are equally playing games with Botswana. You should draw lessons from the Setswana traditional kgotla setup which is based on the democratic principle of therisanyo, “he said.

Dr Masisi urged party members to build strongly on the principle of consultation which formed the bedrock of the ruling party.

He pleaded with BDP members to respect the party’s constitution.

Dr Masisi said he would not be distracted by stumbling blocks as his mandate was to lead the party to victory in the next general elections.

He said the BDP’s dismal election performance in 2014 compelled him to come up with a solution to change the outcomes.

“This was the first compulsion of change. The media relations was in a sour state and I had to take this into consideration. The civil service was in disarray and all this became part of my responsibility as a leader,” he added.

He said with Botswana having a young population, employment opportunities for the youth remained a priority for him.

“We have already started the process of transforming the economy from a resource based to a knowledge based economy. There is a growing demand for new skills and new mind-set,” he said.

Dr Masisi said one of his achievements was the signing of an agreement to trade in knowledge and expertise.

Noting that Botswana was growing in research and development through the engagement of institutions such as BITRI and BUAN, he urged them to patent and copyright ideas to establish Batswana-owned multi-million dollar industries.

Batswana, he said,  must enjoy the benefits that their country had to offer, adding that he intended to give every citizen an opportunity in the tourism space.

Dr Masisi said he detested corruption in all its manifestations.

“I will do all in my power as democratically provided for to fight corruption. I have always said this, if anybody has sticky fingers, go and wash them. Corruption is expensive, it promotes inequality. I want to unite this nation across all tribal lines,” he said.

Dr Masisi said the oncoming Kang BDP elective congress was to be conducted in a fair and free manner.

He said election observers would be engaged and free media access provided as well as live streaming.

The regiona’s chairperson Major Driver Motlokwa assured Dr Masisi of its  nomination ahead of the Kang congress saying they were impressed by the level of commitment he had shown since assumption office last year.

He advised the President to continue upholding the rule of law and respect for the party’s founding customs.

For his part, Kgosi Seeletso Pule of Gabane said it was important for leadership to work together for the benefit of the nation and expressed the hope that Dr Masisi would lead the country to unity.

He advised him to uphold democratic principles and urged those around him to advise him accordingly. Ends