Dingake deserves State Funeral – Kekgonegile

The president of Botswana Congress Party Dumelang Saleshando says he is spoilt for choice on who should serve in his cabinet when he assumes State Presidency after the 2024 general elections.

Addressing journalists on Thursday, Saleshando said that the party has identified a minimum of 31 constituencies that it is confident to win come rain or sunshine.

The president would however not disclose his shadow cabinet.

“We will see what to do when we arrive there. But what I can tell you is that the BCP has people with a lot of skills and experience, and even better than the ruling party. I can say that I will be spoilt for choice,” he said.

Saleshando expressed confidence that the recent series of events in which the party rolled out its manifesto exposed the good quality of the candidates who will be contesting for Parliament and councils in 2024.

According to Saleshando, the party is the best prepared compared to its competitors who are still struggling to identify suitable candidates just six months before the election, whilst his launch as a presidential candidate is scheduled for this Saturday in Gaborone.

Saleshando said President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi seems lost as to what direction he should lead the country, adding that he is aware that a model of Direct Election of the President will send him to the streets.

He noted that political funding should be exercised diligently, but those who decide to disempower their opponents should be punished at the ballot.

Meanwhile, the party will also hold a memorial service for its departed founding president Michael Dingake who passed on over the weekend aged 96.

Dingake took part in the struggle against apartheid government in South Africa for several decades before returning to Botswana to join the Botswana National Front (BNF) and eventually form BCP with other MPs in 1998.

The BCP Secretary General Goretetse Kekgonegile said under normal circumstances, Dingake would be afforded a State Funeral to recognise his contribution to the political and economical empowerment of Batswana.

So far, the African National Congress has issued a statement in honour of Dingake, but it is not clear whether it would be sending a representative to the funeral.