It was the silence of the Umbrella for Democratic Change ( UDC) and the indifference of the Civil Society to Real Alternative Party ( RAP)’ s cry for recognition that ultimately led Gaontebale Mokgosi, its founder, to tone down from politics of socialism to become a reformist.

None of the potential partners including Trade Unions, opposition political parties, professionals and academia were willing to join forces, save for the ruling BDP that accepted him and he joined last week.

Mokgosi is the first to admit that RAP did not have the power to effectively pursue its revolutionary path. He says after registering the party, they tried to solicit for some relationship with Trade Unions because socialism has interest in the working class.

“We thought since we have a significant number of workers, therefore Unions’ leadership would be attracted to our politics, but unfortunately we hit a snag.

“They did not have any interest despite us having given them literature, as well as writing them letters,” Mokgosi said, adding that their expectation was that whenever Unions had conferences they would invite them to address their membership.

Mokgosi told Botswana Guardian in an interview that he believes that the Unions betrayed them. “Yes RAP is a socialist party. Its politics are directly linked to the conditions of the working class, and this is the membership for the Trade Unions, but, for Trade Unions to be resistant is sabotage.”

Commenting on what his take is on those who say he is practising politics of the stomach when he joins the BDP, Mokgosi says he regrets that Batswana generally are not good listeners because all political parties speak for the poor and for policies and programmes that aim to end hunger.

“For anyone to say I am joining politics of the stomach shows clearly that they do not understand. I think politics is entirely embedded in addressing issues concerning improvement of lives,” he said.

To buttress this assertion, he quoted scholar Dr. Cornel West who said, ‘ Politicians will never forget that when they embark on a political course, it is about two things; improvement of their lives, as well as improvement of people’s lives.’

Mokgosi does not know why people think politicians go into politics for total sacrifice, negligence and annihilation of their own personal lives. He asserts that to a certain extent politicians are concerned about their own well- being.

He joined the BDP believing that he can be able to influence

change from his experience and the initiation of RAP. He says the BDP often consulted RAP whenever they wanted to come up with some initiatives.

“I remember during the State of Public Emergency, they consulted us regarding help that was to be offered to the informal sector. They had knowledge, they had read our Manifesto and acknowledged our potential. I think such a gesture showed me that the BDP is a mature party that treats its opponents as development partners”.

He is happy to be placed in any structure of the party, or its programmes. “Being a development practitioner with a passion I think I will be able to fit anywhere,” he said.

Mokgosi also appreciates the BDP for their culture of internal structures, that he believes gives the party an advantage over others. These structure of leadership makes critical decisions on who to engage and work with, he says.

According to Mokgosi, he has already started meeting some young people who have intentions to come up with some initiatives that can help build the character of young people so that they are taken away from delinquency.

“I have done that for over 15 years. Whether I am given a position or not, I will continue to volunteer my services because the overall goal is to see myself having contributed to the development of this country,” Mokgosi says.

Mokgosi says a number of reasons informed his decision to close shop at RAP. Realising that they were getting more isolated, they decided to approach UDC for membership, however they were met with a loud silence.

“I did a thorough conscious assessment about the whole situation surrounding my political affairs and what was happening on the ground.

“I took a conclusion that having a burning passion for development and an understanding that a true politician cannot allow himself to sit in limbo, I believed that perhaps the BDP as a ruling party would give me a better opportunity in terms of having to continue with my passion of selling ideas and bringing development in the country.”

Although there are those who have remained with RAP, a significant number said they would also be following him to BDP.

“I think socialism in Botswana is not that much welcomed, maybe it would be after 200 years. I do not see RAP making it having been there.

“You see even those people who claim to be sympathisers of socialism; they have never wanted to be identified with RAP. These are just what you call blackboard socialists, those who are just interested in collecting the literature and hypnotising about Marxism and Leninism.”

Mokgosi said when RAP came up with the component of introducing think tanks, they were thinking of various publics including; academia, public opinion leaders, and people concerned about development in their communities.

Unfortunately, according to Mokgosi, RAP never attracted such. He realised that academia and civil society in Botswana unlike in other countries, are docile and do not produce journals about development.

“I think the academia in this country just like the broad society of Botswana are passive. They are more interested in furthering their professions and getting their salaries.”

He says the BDP to a relative extent subscribes to supporting the poor. He adds that since its rule, the BDP has always had pro- poor programmes.

He believes that the BDP is a social welfare party, having recently set aside over P5 billion from the national budget for implementation of programmes that are targeted towards the poor, including women in rural areas, young people and the destitute.

“With my experience from civil society, I have realised that part of the problem is that the public service is not doing enough to implement the budget,” Mokgosi said.