Opposition Leader Dumelang Saleshando has accused the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) government of “motivation-speech politics” and failing to deliver on its grand promises of transformation.
Responding to President Duma Boko’s 2025 State of the Nation Address, Saleshando said the country was “frustrated and stagnant,” and that despite the new administration’s rhetoric of progress, “not much has changed.”
“The State of the Nation should focus on the true state of affairs and what the government will do to address challenges,” he told Parliament. “It’s not a time for motivational speaking, people need results.”
Saleshando accused the UDC of struggling to transition from opposition activism to responsible governance. “It seems a lot of the UDC MPs are either still in shock or have not transitioned from the mindset of activists to decision makers in government,” he said.
Saleshando accused the UDC of struggling to transition from opposition activism to responsible governance. “It seems a lot of the UDC MPs are either still in shock or have not transitioned from the mindset of activists to decision makers in government,” he said.
The BCP leader listed a catalogue of failures, from medicine shortages in hospitals and rising unemployment to stalled land reform and poor transparency in public procurement. “People are still dying because they cannot access hypertension or diabetes medication,” he said. “Farmers cannot till their fields because there is no government programme to support them.”
He also took aim at the government’s spending priorities. “If the coffers are indeed empty, and your first move is to increase the payroll rather than fix the health sector, that is deeply concerning,” he said.
Saleshando said the UDC’s unfulfilled 2024 pledges, including a P4 000 minimum wage, 100 000 jobs, and free sanitary pads had “collapsed under their own arithmetic.”
“A year later, the excuse that you inherited an imperfect government is tired and must be retired,” he said. “You were hired because the previous person failed, you cannot use that failure as your excuse.”
He urged the government to embrace accountability through a mid-term review to measure progress against promises. “Campaign pledges are sacred covenants with the people,” he said. “When broken, they corrode public trust.”
The UDC won power in 2024 on a platform promising a “new dawn” of economic revival and social justice after nearly six decades of BDP rule. But Saleshando warned that the government’s early missteps were eroding hope. “Hope remains alive,” he said, “but patience is running out.”
