SONNY SERITE
The opposition Alliance of Progressives (AP) has devised an unconventional approach towards political campaign ahead of the general elections in 2019. While political parties are known to concentrate their campaigns on public rallies where the main agenda is always to attack and ridicule political opponents, the AP has decided to place their focus on instilling political education to their candidates and their general membership through a training programme dubbed ‘Planting the seed of leadership for harvest in the new Botswana’.
The training exercise was launched by AP President Ndaba Gaolathe this past Saturday at Mphuthe Secondary School in Letlhakeng with AP Special Advisor Dr Margaret Nasha as the host. The training programme is scheduled to spread across various constituencies in the country until the first week of February 2019.
Nasha explained that the training takes candidates through the party’s principles, core values and policies. ‘‘We want our campaign to focus on our promises to Batswana and how we intend to change Botswana into a progressive country’’, Nasha said. She said their focus is on job creation, constitutional rewriting and education, among others.
‘’We want to concentrate on the ‘how’ part of all that we envisage for this great nation. We want our candidates to talk issues instead of people. We empower them with essential campaign tips and strategies. Gone are the days of holding rallies just to lambast the ruling party or speak ill of other politicians without offering an alternative to how we intend to tackle problems besieging our nation. We want to do things differently. The norm isn’t normal anymore’’, she said.