It seems that Duma Boko has always been involved in politics, since his time in university as a student leader. During his tenure in law school he was part of the student representative council and became president in his fourth year.
After graduating and moving into practicing law, Duma Boko kept a close ear to the political landscape. “It was during my term practicing law when the opposition was in almost complete disarray, especially at the Botswana National Front, the main opposition party which I had been member for all my life. At that time I decided to step into the fray and offer myself to lead, with a view to change the fortunes of the party and the political landscape of the country,” Duma Boko states.
Ultimately Duma Boko succeeded in becoming the president of the Botswana National Front (BNF) with an almost unanimous endorsement by the entire membership of the party. This is where Duma Boko began his mission to transform his party.
Forging unity among the opposition
Duma Boko’s big challenge was to deal with internal issues and to form a unity between all the opposition parties that were already in existence. With his help, a road map was made to allow the four opposition parties to work together and become united. At this point in time all the opposition parties are working together to make this a reality.
The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) is the beginning of that road map, a manifest encapsulating the spirit of unity. The UDC comprises of the Botswana National Front (BNF), the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) and the Botswana People’s Party (BPP).
“The 2014 elections played out extremely well,” states Duma Boko. “The only downside was that confidence developed only after the registration for voting had closed.”
Duma Boko feels that, in order for Botswana to diversify its economy, it should begin with larger infrastructure development. “The UDC has a very ambitious infrastructure plan to develop the transport sector in the short and medium term, especially the railroads, road network and the Botswana airports,” Duma Boko emphasises. This should generate more jobs and enable more foreign direct investment to participate in PPPs or outright funding.
“When it comes to energy, Botswana needs to focus on renewable energy like solar power. In order to develop the agriculture and livestock sector, Botswana needs to advance farming innovation and create competition when it comes to exporting beef,” states Duma Boko.
Duma Boko is a young political figure with forward-moving ideas, who has been making airwaves starting from his student career to becoming the head of the BNF & UDC.
