10 Jun 2019

 There is need for the nation to thoroughly assess and interrogate different political party candidates before the October general elections.

Alliance for Progressives (AP) vice president, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi said the country needed honest and trustworthy leaders, who are able to address challenges faced by the nation.

Speaking during the launch of AP Maun West prospective parliamentary candidate, Mr Moalosi Sebati and council hopefuls, Mr Mmolotsi said Batswana should shun dishonest, unreliable and untrustworthy candidates and vote for AP, which he said had fielded credible candidates.

He said it was advisable for voters to read and understand other parties’ manifestos because it was clear that some parties were capable of ‘selling’ the country.

Mr Mmolotsi took a swipe at the Umbrella for Democratic Change president, saying he had a ‘penchant for luxury lifestyle as evidenced by his hiring of a chopper from South Africa’.

As for Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), he said it lacked consistency in its agenda.
He said the fact that the country was running on a deficit budget was an indication that BDP was failing to meet the aspirations and interests of Batswana.

The AP, he said, was the only party with a clear manifesto that stated that if voted into power, it would grow the economy by 10 per cent in six years.
Mr Mmolotsi pleaded with Maun West residents to vote for Mr Sebati and the AP council hopefuls because they were capable of bringing change to the constituency by addressing issues faced by the community.

He said AP had good initiatives in place such as borehole drilling scheme whereby the land board would allocate 10 hectares of land to an applicant, after which the individual would be assisted with drilling a borehole.

Another initiative, he said, was the farming implement subsidy scheme, where government would meet farmers half way when purchasing machinery.

Mr Mmolotsi said those were aimed at promoting integrated farming, adding that AP promised basic services such as water, electricity and roads infrastructure at farms.

Okavango prospective parliamentary candidate and also the party’s policy director, Mr Kabelo Mahupe said other political candidates were unpredictable and appealed for the AP to be given a chance to lead.

He said AP candidates were eager to represent them well and therefore Batswana should not waste their vote on people who did not have their interest at heart.

Mr Mahupe said AP had potential to transform the agriculture and tourism sectors in Ngamiland and ensure communities fully benefitted from natural resources.

He said currently beef from Ngamiland was struggling with market while locals were not benefiting from tourism despite being the custodians.

The AP secretary general, Dr Phenyo Butale also stressed the need to vote credible, honest and loyal candidates, who were capable of coming up with solutions.

He said AP preached clean politics and believed in straight talk.

For his part, Mr Sebati said he was the right candidate for Maun West because he understood the history of the constituency.

He said given the chance, he would continue where the current MP, Mr Tawana Moremi left off.

Mr Moremi, he said, represented them well on issues of land.

Mr Sebati promised to address issues such as human/wildlife conflict, beef industry and livestock diseases. ENDS