Botswana Congress Party (BCP) Councillor for Selemela ward under the Gaborone South constituency, Jackson Koko has expressed his ambition to one day become president of the BCP.The 40-year-old former spokesperson of the BCP Youth League and a University of Botswana graduate in Economics and Political Science, says his experience and political journey have prepared him enough to face the challenges that come with the higher office. The Voice staffer,DANIEL CHIDAcaught up with the outspoken councilor, who spent three years studying the BCP before officially joining the lime movement in 2004, inspired by the leadership and politics of Dumelang Saleshando. You rose to become the BCPYL spokesperson.
How was the experience? My reign as BCPYL spokesperson was a political initiation. That’s where I truly learned a lot about the organisation, its culture and its leadership.
I did my best; some still use me as reference for a quintessential Youth Spokesperson. I raised the issues that leadership was petrifying of touching and contributed immensely to BCP pulling out of the UDC, a decision I still avow was correct. We should have never joined UDC in the first place.
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However, I also made a lot of enemies, experienced systematic sabotage, was frustrated by some leaders and even almost resigned from the party. I can confidently say, I became the politician I am thanks to my tenure as BCPYL spokesperson. After losing 2019, you were visibly devastated, what brought you back stronger?
Well, Barack Obama lost his first election for the state senate seat of Illinois and rose to become President of the United States. I hope losing in 2019 will have a similar trajectory. The 2019 election was my initiation at electioneering.
The experience I gleaned from that defeat propelled me to victory in 2024. I learned the political dynamics of elections. I was armed and ready in 2024.
I ran a unique campaign which simply hoodwinked my opponents. It was time to win. I was not losing this one.
GCC has been a terribly frustrating experience. You get to such positions armed with alacrity to enforce change and bring tangible developments to our people only to realise that as a councillor you don’t even have a budget for your ward. Botswana needs a decentralization law to grant local authorities real power and authority.
As it stands, councillors are just glorified Ward Development Committee chairpersons. It’s very frustrating. But I’m hopeful as the decentralization bill is looming.
I brought a motion, in line with the government’s Human Rights posture, seeking GCC to allow beneficiaries of the orphan and destitute program to be given the right to purchase food baskets at their preferred stores. The aim was to preserve their dignity and also a consumer is rational. The motion passed. In the December sitting we did not finish, so my motion which read: “That the annual constituency development allocations of P10 million for each of Gaborone’s five constituencies be consolidated into a single pooled fund amounting to P50 million per financial year and such pooled P50 million annual allocation be directed to one constituency per financial year, on a rotational basis, so that each constituency receives a consolidated allocation once in every five-year Council term,” will be heard in the impending Special Full Council.
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