Africa-Press – Botswana. Botswana Democratic Party outgoing president, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has urged democrats to start preparations towards reclaiming power in 2029.
Giving a key note address at the party’s 41st National Congress in Maun Saturday, Dr Masisi said the BDP stood a chance to bounce back in 2029, following last general elections’ defeat.
He called upon fellow democrats to unite and to work tirelessly for the betterment of their party.
“Together, we have to rebuild, we have to renew, and have to rise. The journey ahead is bright, and with unity and determination, there is no limit to what we can achieve,” said Dr Masisi, who is also the former president of the country.
He said the democrats’ task was to organise, to innovate and to uphold the values that had always defined them.
He admitted that the 2024 results were disappointing, but they were far from being the signal of the end of the BDP, which he said remained the country’s largest political movement, with roots that stretched deeper than any single election, a record of achievement no rival could match.
He pleaded with party members to treat the elective congress as the turning point that equipped them for a confident return to service in 2029 and beyond. Democrats were also motivated to leave the congress renewed, disciplined, and determined, ready to serve, ready to lead, and ready to ensure that every Motswana shared in the opportunities of the decades ahead.
As he laid down the responsibilities of the party president, Dr Masisi informed the congress that he was not withdrawing from the calling service, noting that he would return to his branch in Moshupa, lend his experience, and root himself once again in the soil from which all political authority ultimately grew, the community.
Democrats were also urged to elect a central committee that would demonstrate commitment to unity, inspiration, decisive action and clear-eyed strategy.
“I believe that every candidate stood for election because each one of us longs to see the BDP lead once more and lift the lives of all Batswana. If our members have decided that certain colleagues are best positioned to guide us forward at this moment, we must honour that collective wisdom by standing shoulder to shoulder”.
When sharing priorities for the road ahead, Dr Masisi said first, they must restore the discipline of grassroots dialogue and that every branch should become a listening post, capturing the concerns of citizens in real time.
Further, he said they must embed a culture of volunteerism in civic projects such as tutoring, environmental clean-ups, training workshops and health outreaches so as to rebuild the trust on which political legitimacy depended. Thirdly, he said the party must open doors wider to the next generation, adding that the digital age had transformed the way people organised, communicated, and created value.
“If our youth wing is not a laboratory of ideas on artificial intelligence, clean technology and creative industries, then we will have failed to prepare for the Botswana that is already emerging,” he added.
Dr Masisi also stated that the party must articulate a compelling vision of inclusive digital prosperity, noting that theirs could be a country where a young coder in Shakawe scaled an App globally, where green energy secured rural livelihoods, and where technology bridged rather than widened the gap between the rich and the poor.
That vision, he said, must sit at the heart of the party’s new manifesto. Further, he said democrats must model a style of politics that lifted the national conversation, explaining that facts, evidence and respect for opposing views strengthened democracy while misinformation corroded it.
“Let us, therefore, commit to a standard of engagement that befits a party with a proud history and an even greater future,” he said.
At the time of going to press the results were as follows: Meanwhile, Mr Mpho Balopi BDP President, Mr Karabo Gare takes the chairpersonship and Mr Kentse Rammidi becomes the new secretary general. Mr Bakani Thukuthe was elected deputy secretary general while Mr Kagiso Mmusi was elected the party’s treasurer.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
