The Alliance for Progressives (AP) and the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) informs their memberships and the nation that they held a bilateral meeting of their Executive Committees on the 5th of June 2022 in Palapye.
It must be recalled that this bilateral meeting is in line with a resolution of the meeting of all opposition Party Presidents that was held on 15 March, 2022 attended by Duma Boko representing the Botswana National Front (BNF), Dumelang Saleshando (BCP), Ndaba Gaolathe (AP), Caroline Lesang (Botswana Patriotic Front) and Professor Philip Bulawa (Botswana Peoples Party).
The Presidents encouraged all the Parties to hold bilateral discussions with each other as a way of shortening the actual negotiations. The Presidents further agreed that each party represented at that meeting should submit their position paper on Cooperation as well as three (3) names of Negotiators. To this end, AP and BCP have submitted both position papers and names of Negotiators.
The AP and BCP would like to encourage other Parties to submit their position papers and list of Negotiators as agreed.
The bilateral meeting sanctioned the Negotiators from the two parties to compare notes on the position papers in line with the resolution of March 15, 2022, meeting.
The two Parties also resolved to hold their next bilateral in July with the hope that, by then, other opposition Parties would have made their submissions.
We reiterate our commitment to opposition cooperation and remind our colleagues of the need to move with speed to free Batswana from the now moribund BDP.
Phenyo Butale
Secretary-General, AP
Mpho M. Pheko
Publicity and Information Secretary