11 Aug 2019

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has implored Good Hope/Mabule constituents to vote for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) prospective parliamentary candidate, Mr Eric Molale and the nine council hopefuls to enable them to pull together in the same direction as a team.

Speaking during the launch of Good Hope/Mabule BDP prospective candidates on Saturday, President Masisi said voting for a mix of BDP and opposition candidates could undermine his party’s good intentions for the area.

President Masisi explained that politics was a game of numbers,  therefore having a popular vote both at district councils and Parliament could give his party a firm ground to implement its vision for the constituency and the nation at large.

The leader of the ruling party said his party’s vision for the area was to resuscitate farming, adding that the latter used to be the bread basket of the nation.

Dr Masisi said plans to reticulate water, develop road infrastructure and communication networks were underway to actualise the vision. The case in point, he shared, was the Kgoro/Good Hope gravel road, which would soon be tar-macked,  thanks to the recent P680 million donation from China.

Contrary to what some detractors suggested, he explained that the donation was given out of benevolence and had no attachments whatsoever.

He stressed that his government believed in transparency and accountability. He also reiterated that the nation would do nothing to harm its mutually beneficial friendship with the people of China.

President Masisi further said government would continue to come  up with fresh policies, programmes and interventions, underpinned by love and consultation, with a view to renew Batswana’s hope, strength and outlook on life.

Regarding the youth, he said government would explore endless opportunities presented by artificial intelligence to create sustainable employment opportunities for the former, who happened to constitute the highest percentage of the population.

To this end, Dr Masisi shared the telecommunications tycoon he met abroad, Dr Strive Masiyiwa was already training 600 young Batswana for free on coding, a highly sought after skill across the globe. About 3 000 jobs will arise from the training, he said.

President Masisi has meanwhile warned constituents to be wary of those who would come to them with empty promises during the campaign trail. He said the area was inherently a BDP stronghold and implored them not to be deceived into voting for opposition.

The BDP leader said there was no one denying that there were still some challenges ahead like water shortage and unemployment, but argued that his government would leave no stone unturned to better the lives of Batswana.

He said BDP was still the only party they could entrust with their future because it represented the best interests of all Batswana and has laid a solid foundation to that effect thus far.

President Masisi further advised BDP candidates to value and treat every constituent with dignity and respect. He also urged his party members to respect members of the opposition and ensure the party remained appealing to all. He said he was particularly happy in the knowledge that former MP, Mr Kitso Mokaila and Mr Molale were working hand-in-hand to get the constituency out of the clutch of the opposition.

For his part, Mr Molale said there was no better time than the present to support the BDP. He said only the BDP truly had the people’s best interests at heart. He said voting for his party would enable it to continue exploring opportunities to improve Batswana. ENDS