Will Masisi weather the BDP storm?
Siki Motshwari Johannes | Friday March 17, 2017 16:51
The BDP chairmanship is now up for grabs. Vice President and incumbent chairperson, Mokgweetsi Masisi is back in the trenches to defend his position against fellow Cabinet colleague, Nonofo Molefhi, the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development, and former MP for Gaborone West North, Robert Masitara.
Two years ago, Masisi took the crown after overwhelmingly defeating former Cabinet ministers Tebelelo Seretse, Ramedeluka Seretse and the then political newcomer Biggie Butale, in a bitterly contested election at the 36th BDP elective congress held in Mmadinare.
At this stage of his political career, the expectation was that Masisi would have done enough ground work to be declared the ‘undisputed party chairman and anointed successor’ to President Ian Khama.
Unfortunately, the political situation is still volatile and his struggle for survival continues. He has some unfinished business at hand to win the confidence and trust of all and sundry.
Unlike Masisi, it took President Ian Khama (vice president then) one single victory in 2003 to stamp his authority in the party. After dispensing with the revered BDP political heavy weight, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, no one ever summoned courage to challenge Khama for the chairmanship. It is a different ball game altogether for Masisi as he braces himself for another gruesome battle to dispose of and silence the remaining doubting Thomases.
How did Masisi find his way into politics? He cut his poitical teeth at the feet of his father, the late Edison Masisi who was MP for Moshupa. The old man was a role model for his sons who would later venture into politics, especially the late former Francistown West MP Tshelang and Mokgweetsi.
The late father inspired his sons to recognise their potential in politics and the duo never disappointed as they strongly believed in themselves.
Masisi is a former government employee who served as a school teacher and an officer at the curriculum department. He would later leave government to join UNICEF before he went into private sector as a consultant.
In a previous interview, Botsalo Ntuane, the BDP secretary general and formerly MP said about Masisi: “ He is an energetic and hardworking person from what I saw during our time in Parliament. Besides eloquence, he is also combative and takes the war to the opposition whenever he is on the floor of Parliament.”
Ntuane added: “As a Leader of the House, he will be more than a match for the opposition bench, many of whom are new to Parliament debate, which is very different from Freedom Square politics. The other positive is that he is relatively youthful and this will resonate with a large portion of the young populace.” Masisi is also credited to be having courage, conviction and speaks his mind, unlike many politicians who take cover in chorus politics and refrain from saying what they think.
It was early in his political career that Masisi left the nation stunned when he chose to lowly attribute to himself as, “Ke lelope. Ke ngwana wa lelope. Ke ngwana ngwana wa lelope.” When roughly translated this means, “I am a bootlicker. I am a child of a bootlicker. I am the grand child of a bootlicker.”
This left many wondering why such a hardworking, well connected politician whose rise in his political career was apparent, could ascribe to himself as a bootlicker, such a lowly placed attribute associated with poor performers.
The question in the minds of many is how Masisi fared during his two-year stint in the ‘hot seat’. And more importantly what makes him worthy of a second term?
Among the pressing challenges bedevilling the party at the time of Masisi’s assumption of the chairmanship were almost non-existent party structures, internal divisions and a series of resignations of party cadres.
As chairman, he was charged with the responsibility to restore normalcy and improve the party’s image. Of the three key challenges, Masisi paid more attention on recruiting and ‘poaching’ prominent opposition cadres to swell BDP ranks. He succeeded in bringing into the BDP fold some of its harshest critics. The list includes opposition Botswana Congress Party (BCP) activists Loti Manyapedza, Ditiro Majadibodu (BCP parliamentary hopeful for Nata-Gweta Constituency) and Anna Motlhagodi-Mokgethi (BCP parliamentary aspirant for Gaborone Bonnington North).
As if showing off the spoils of war, now growing in confidence, Masisi continued to make regular appearances on national television, Btv, to proudly parade the new recruits.
Although they may not openly admit it, Masisi’s robust recruitment drive must have sent shivers down the opposition’s spine. He was busy in the office keeping the opposition on its toes.
It is rumoured that even the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) vice president Ndaba Gaolatlhe is on Masisi’s radar. If the opposition were to be asked to name its tormentors, Masisi’s name will feature prominently. Will his relentless efforts of growing the party pay dividends in so far as the chairmanship race is concerned? His fate rests not with us but fellow democrats.
Not all BDP activists approved of Masisi’s recruitment plan. Some accused him of giving preferential treatment to the new arrivals while sidelining long serving activists. Others suspected that his recruitment drive was a self-serving strategy intended to consolidate his power. Loyalists, they alleged were being assembled to be deployed strategically around the country to weed out or replace real or imagined enemies.
This led to the big fallout between Masisi and certain Cabinet members and MPs. And now the knives are out, Masisi must fall. The question is whether he has assembled enough weapons to defend himself. Once again, those charged with the task of electing the next office bearers know better.
It was during his reign as chairman that BDP was to develop a proactive communication strategy characterised by a series of press conferences and releases. Though one cannot ascertain with certainty the effectiveness of the communication strategy, one can safely conclude that the party became more visible.
Not all BDP members support Masisi’s bid to have a second bite of the cherry. First it is argued that juggling the role of chairman with the demanding office of the Vice President is proving to be a daunting exercise and can render one less effective. Secondly, in the interest of party unity some quarters are advocating a power sharing deal in which Masisi could have his eyes fixated on securing the presidency while ceding the chairmanship to other players.
This deal they argue will get the warring factions together to rally behind Masisi’s presidential bid while bettering the party’s chances of facing the next election as a single and united entity.
*In the last instalment, we inadvertently reported that former Botswana National Front (BNF) president, Otsweletse Moupo lost Gaborone West North constituency to Masitara.
It was infact Maemo Bantsi who stood under the BNF ticket who lost to Masitara.