The Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) Vice President , Wynter Mmolotsi has stated that they will wait for the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) to heal from their loss of the 2014 General election before engaging them. Speaking yesterday (Monday) Mmolotsi said as part of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), they will be patient with the BCP before they can invite them to join the umbrella. “We want to give them time to think and heal from their loss; they need that space and we respect that,” he said.
The Francistown South legislator said they are of the view that if the BCP joins UDC, “they would have made it faster and easier to take over from the Botswana Democratic Party. Together we can rescue Batswana from the current sad situation caused by the BDP.”
Mmolotsi further said they have positioned themselves in such a way that will be easy for the BCP to approach them when ready to engage. “ If they do not do that, we will then approach them, but that will only be after we are certain that they have indeed healed.”
Hoping for negotiations with the BCP in future, he said they will not have a big brother mentality where they dictate terms, but that each party will be given a platform and listened to. “ The models and policies of the Umbrella were not disputed at the time when we parted ways so we are ready to listen to them and they listen to us on outstanding issues.”
Furthermore, he discouraged conflicts usually displayed on social media by members of his party and the BCP , saying they see the BCP as a potential partner. “We should guard against our utterances even when they on the other hand attack us. They are our potential partner in taking Botswana forward and we need them.”
Meanwhile, BMD Secretary General Gilbert Mangole has also urged the youth of the party to actively get involved in campaigning for the party as they prepare to take over government in 2019 and desist from attacking each other on social media. “We have instances where camps within our party attack each other, dragging the name of the party in the mud. That is very bad for us and we have had to call members of both camps to order. We don’t expect to have any of that behaviour anymore; we should be concerned about building our party.”