Chief Whip warns Domkrag MPs against supporting Anti-Masisi Motion

Another BDP caucus to ensure a bulwark around the President is to be called, failing which voting on an opposition motion of no confidence in him will be by open ballot in order to ascertain who the fifth columnists inside are

GAZETTE REPORTER

The Chief Whip of the Botswana Democratic Party in Parliament, Liakat Kablay, has warned some of his party’s MPs who reportedly intend to support a motion to be tabled by the Leader of the Opposition in the next sitting of Parliament against doing so.

Dumelang Salehsando, who is primarily the MP for Maun West, plans to table a motion of no confidence on President Mokweetsi Masisi, and thus oust him from office if the motion passes.

Kablay says the BDP has noted with concern a growing tendency of certain MPs of the BDP to support motions sponsored by the opposition even after a recent warning for them not to do so.

“We recently held a meeting with the party’s MPs to warn them against supporting opposition motions and we want to believe that they clearly understood us because some of them have a tendency of voting against the party caucus,” Kablay said in an interview.

He added that even though some of the MPs seem hell-bent on supporting opposition motions, the majority of the party’s MPs will not support Saleshando’s motion. “We will try by all means to ensure that voting on the motion is by open ballot so that we see who is against the President,” the Chief Whip said. “But then again, they should know that once the motion passes, the party will have no confidence in them.”

Kablay, who is the MP for Letlhakeng-Lephephe, said they will call all MPs of the BDP to a caucus before the motion is presented to give them an opportunity to state their reasons for wanting to support it. “This will be the right time for us to know who our enemies from within are,” he emphasized.

“I want to tell you that whoever goes against us, we will definitely ensure that we do not support their motions own in Parliament. We have warned them that we have been watching them because they never support caucus decisions.”

In spite of this, the MP for Molepolole North, Oabile Regoeng, says he will give opposition MPs an ear about their motion because although he does not agree with it, he is interested to know why it is being brought back.

“They should first clarify why they are bringing the motion back before anyone decides what to do because in a democratic setup, we listen to all ideas,” Regoeng said in an interview. “I will not approve of it until I am convinced by their reasoning.”

Two MPs of the Botswana Democratic Party have indicated their intention to back the parliamentary opposition’s motion of no confidence in President Masisi in the next sitting of the House in November.

It will not be the first time that the opposition tables such a motion, the first time having been in 2018 when it failed, thanks to 35 MPs voting against it against 11 for it while three abstained.

Tabling the motion on a matter of urgency, the Leader of the Opposition then, who was also the MP for Bonnington North Duma Boko, argued that was since coming to office President Masisi had overlooked certain competent and qualified people for appointment to key government positions because of their regional and ethnic origins and had handled national issues poorly.