09 Jun 2019

The leader of Alliance for Progressives party, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe has appealed to Batswana to vote for his party,  which he said was the only way a ‘new Botswana’ could be realised.

Speaking during the launch of Alliance for Progressives (AP) prospective parliamentary candidate and six prospective council candidates for Gaborone North, Mr  Gaolathe said the ‘new Botswana’ could only be realised if Batswana cast in their votes for the right leadership in the October general election.

 Mr Gaolathe described a true leader as someone who loathed corruption and strove for the betterment of their electorate’s lives.

He therefore encouraged people not to give up hope on voting, adding that AP was the hope for a new Botswana as it held leaders with integrity, who were experts in many fields and most importantly, feared God.

Mr Gaolathe reminded Batswana that there was no need to keep on voting the ruling party in power, saying it had long  failed to develop Botswana.

He said although the ruling party had changed its administration, it did not mean that the structures and strategy of the party had changed.

Mr Gaolathe said if BDP was voted into power, corruption would remain rife, adding that it was surprising that ‘millions of pula’  had not been accounted for and had gone missing in banks, at BCL, pensions money and petrol monies.

He said for that Batswana should realise the carelessness, clumsiness and irresponsibility, stress and depression the BDP had brought upon Batswana, saying for that reason it should not be voted into power.

“Now public hospitals are in a mess, there are no blankets, no tablets, because public money disappears and government seems unbothered,” said Mr Gaolathe.

Mr Gaolathe said that ‘leading a government required a leader who is surrounded and supported by people with values such as truth, people who would do things right regardless of the situation, and all these for the benefit of the nation.”

Therefore, he  said that AP had people who were trustworthy and reliable to move Batswana to another level without compromising their future.

Mr Gaolathe presented and launched the Gaborone North AP leadership, saying they were responsible persons, visionary, skilled and a knowledgeable bunch that sacrificed for the lives of Batswana to build a new Botswana.

He further stated that once they were elected into power, they would appoint MPs from the opposition parties to ministerial and assistant ministers positions as a form of true democracy and promotion of national unity.

Another speaker, Dr Margaret Nasha said they did not accept President Masisi’s apology  for the amendments of the Former Presidents Retirement Packages Act because it was him (President Masisi) who spearheaded the amendment of the law.

Dr Nasha cautioned Batswana to ‘wake up’, saying Botswana was at crossroads and that there was need to change government, adding that  if Batswana kept voting BDP into power ‘e santse e tlaa lo kabolola ditsebe’.
“There is no tolerance within the BDP, hence they continue locking others outside if they do not want them,” she said.

She therefore said the current government could not be trusted,  particularly when they start turning against even those of their own.

“This is to show that indeed they are hungry for power”.

In his acceptance speech, prospective MP candidate, Major Gaolatlhe Molefhi thanked the leadership of AP for giving him the opportunity to stand.

Major Molefhi said he was more excited about the vision of AP of a ‘new Botswana,’ saying that was a chance for them to build a new nation.

He said he would look into issues of unemployment, especially among the youth, adding that they would promote locals more than outsiders.

“Look at the BDP launch for today, the tent is from south Africa, the stage is from South Africa,” he said to the amusement of the crowd. ENDS