- Says COVID-19 constrained its work
- Kentse says BDP cannot foretell what will happen in a year to come
FRANCISTOWN: The incumbent executive committee of Botswana Democratic Party Youth League (BDPYL) intends to ask its mother body to extend its tenure because it has been constrained by the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic in its work.
Its Chairman, Karabo Gomotsegang, told The Botswana Gazette this week that since assuming office last year, it has yet to start its work, thanks to rules and regulations of COVID-19.
“Since we were elected last year, we are yet to start our mandate due to COVID-19 protocols that prohibit political gatherings and encourage minimising movement, among other things,” said Gomotsegang. “There is only a year left before our term ends and we are not even sure what will happen concerning the Coronavirus.”
“With the little time left, it is going to be impossible to achieve our mandate, hence our decision to approach the mother party to seek a fresh mandate. We are hopeful that our leaders will heed our request.”
The BDP youth leader said a part of his committee’s mandate is revival of party structures countrywide and a membership recruitment drive.
Reached for comment, the Chairman of the BDP’s Communications and International Relations , Kagelelo Kentse, said the party’s central committee cannot foretell what will happen in a year’s time when the term of the current youth league committee will end. “The procedure is that whether the committee has succeeded or failed to execute its mandate by the time its term ends, a congress is called, provided the COVID-19 situation permits,” Kentse said. “If the situation does not permit, the central committee has the authority to make recommendations about the future of the committee.”
He added that another option would be for members of the current committee to seek re-election by telling the congress about their circumstances.