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DISCIPLINE AND DIGNITY ON THE PRESIDENTIAL 5D ROADMAP!

My humble assessment is that the presidential 5D roadmap is on slippery ground and rapidly collapsing despite the assertion by Dr. Jeff Ramsay, the government spokesperson, that ‘the roadmap is intact and still relevant’. Relevant yes, intact definitely not!  According to many commentators and my own observations as stated in my previous submission, Democracy in our country has regressed in many areas since 2008. There have been no notable efforts by the administration to improve our Democracy and one wonders why this was part of the roadmap in the first place. 

Although some efforts were made in the Development arena, no meaningful results have been achieved. Developments that do not result in improving the living standards of the people are meaningless. Unemployment and poverty rates have remained high in the past eight years. The same period is littered with a litany of failed projects that have drained millions, if not billions Pulas from the national coffers.

This week, I want to look at the Discipline and Dignity components of the roadmap. I want first to understand what these words mean and see if we have made any notable and worthy improvements in these two aspects of the roadmap.

What is discipline? I have searched for the meaning of this word and found the following interesting definitions; Control gained by requiring that rules and orders be obeyed and punishment for bad behaviour; a way of behaving that shows willingness to obey rules and orders; behavior that is judged by how well that behaviour follows rules and orders; training that corrects, molds or perfects mental faculties or moral conduct or character; orderly or prescribed pattern of behaviour; self control.

How then do you as a government enforce and measure national discipline? Has the president perhaps set himself a lofty, fuzzy and immeasurable objective here?  I do not believe so.  This could have been broken down into discreet measurable components starting perhaps with the government workforce. For example, all employees have a starting and finishing time at work that could be measured and controlled.   There are systems that can be deployed to do that. What systems have been put in place to ensure that all employees start and finish their work on time? And what measures are in place and enforced to ensure compliance? Each employee could have a productivity measure i.e. what is each employee expected to achieve in a given time?  Further, are there any specific objectives in place for each employee and are there systems in place to monitor and control achievements of these objectives?  In fact this must have started with parliament, cabinet and the president himself to set the tone for the rest of the work force.  If such systems and measures do not exist or only exist on paper, then Discipline will continue to be elusive thus impacting negatively on the other Ds on the roadmap.

Moving further, it is now common knowledge that this country is festering with deep wounds of corruption, institutionalised rampant corruption that is stifling development in every area of the economy; corruption that is denying the country of much needed foreign direct investment; corruption that is denying meaningful participation in the economy by independently minded, well meaning and corrupt free nationals.   Well, if we had Discipline as a nation would we have such rampart corruption and obvious mal-administration that has led to so many collapsed projects?  If we had Discipline would we have had so many projects that grossly exceeded their budgets, their time schedules and compromised end product quality?  

What about discipline on our roads? The president has dramatically increased road traffic offences fines.  It is believed these are just punitive measures that have not really improved road discipline.  We continue to have many of our road users disobeying road signs and rules. We continue to have unnecessary road accidents.  So what is the real root cause of this indiscipline?  Does it not start at a family level, at school, at the training centre, at work and at all social and community engagement activities?  What is the excepted level of discipline in our society?  How do we enforce national discipline as a country? Is it possible for the president to enforce national Discipline?   If you look at the definition of Discipline, the ultimate end result is self control. But this self control comes from a number of systems that includes teaching, training, molding, correcting and appropriate punishment as an enforcement tool.  If the punishment is inappropriate it could be counter productive resulting in more inDiscipline.

I believe Discipline is very important in any society that wants to achieve great national goals. Any society that wants to develop and become leader in any field must have some measure of Discipline. Discipline is import in attracting foreign direct investment.  Discipline is crucial in project procurement and implementation.  Our education system will fail if our students do not have Discipline, if our teachers do not have Discipline, if the maintenance and service staff lacks Discipline, if officials at the education ministry do not have Discipline, if the responsible minister lacks Discipline. It is a chain reaction with a root that must be identified and corrected.  This applies that in all areas of our economy and society in general. InDiscipline is like a disease, the good doctor will tell you that you cannot cure a disease by treating the symptoms.

The solution will start at a family level. But with families that are informed, empowered and supported to provide a moral upright and Disciplined child. This will not happen if the parents are themselves not Disciplined.  Now who Disciplines the family? It is a chicken and egg situation, it is a rock and a hard place situation; it is a catch 22 situation; it is a difficult situation that requires the entire nation to address. The President cannot do it alone but can set the tone and agenda for this to happen. The president must meaningfully engage the society and allow the society to come up with possible solutions. The president role should be to empower and incentivise the people to manage Discipline in their own communities and their areas of responsibilities.  It cannot be done overnight by one person.

Dignity is another component of the roadmap I want to discuss. I will start by establishing what Dignity is all about and what it implies.  The Dignity we are talking about is not the one about rank or position in society but the state of being worthy of esteem and respect. This is the Dignity that every member of society deserves and must have not the shallow one of inherent nobility and worthiness that is bestowed by society to individuals regardless of their input. The question is how then do we measure this Dignity that everyone deserves and must have?  Who assesses and assigns an individual a mark on a Dignity measuring stick? As a nation do we have Dignity? How do we know that?  Is Dignity measured by what we have as individuals, the jobs we have, the cars we drive, the houses we live in, the schools our children attend?  Is it not possible that you can have all the material possessions that the world can offer and still remain without Dignity?  

These are many questions to help us think through what the president had in mind when he included Dignity on his roadmap.  With the unemployment rate that we have in the country can our people have dignity? With the poverty levels throughout the country can our people have dignity? With the starving wages many of our employed people earn can Dignity be attained? With the shortage of land and lack of decent accommodation for most of our people can we have Dignity?  With my plum job, driving my Mercedes Benz, living in Phakalane and my mother, father and siblings living in squalid conditions in ‘Nowhere’ can I have Dignity and peace of mind?  With the level of corruption in the country where many jobs are gotten through corrupt practices, where tenders are bought, where wealth is accumulated through corrupt practices, where is Dignity in all these?

As I end, I would like to believe that the president 5D roadmap was relevant but it has unfortunately failed. It has failed mainly because the president failed to put appropriate resources to support his roadmap and to provide focused input into each D. He should have appointed a team of experts to unpack his roadmap and come up with SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results focused and Time bound) objectives under each D.  This team would have been tasked to monitor and measure these objectives and report to the president on a regular basis at the pleasure of the president.

In summary, the roadmap was a good start to the presidential term of office because of the following;

There was and still is room and opportunity to improve our Democracy which has stagnated over the years and has become visibly stale.  It needs to be rejuvenated and modernised in many areas.

We need focused Developments that will give all our people a chance to achieve the best they can achieve for themselves and their families.  We need Developments that will touch the lives of our people in a notable way.

We certainly need Discipline to be able to achieve all our national and individual objectives. Who does not need Dignity?

So yes the roadmap was relevant, it is still relevant but it needs to be resourced differently in order to touch the lives of our people in a meaningful way.

Last week I said Instead of praying for rain, we should pray for wisdom to enable us to deal effectively with the Developmental challenges we face.  I would like to rephrase and say, while we continue to pray for rains, we must also remember to pray for wisdom and understanding that will allow us to plan and resource effectively in to order to achieve all our noble national and individual objectives.

Bernard Busani
E mail;  HYPERLINK "mailto:bernard.busani@gmail.com" bernard.busani@gmail.com;   Tel; 71751440

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The case for Botswana to ratify the ACDEG

6th March 2023

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) is the most comprehensive dataset measuring African governance performance through a wide range of 81 indicators under the categories of Security & Rule of law, Participation, Rights & Inclusion, Foundations of Economic Opportunity, and Human Development. It employs scores, expressed out of 100, which quantify a country’s performance for each governance measure and ranks, out of 54, in relation to the 54 African countries.

The 2022 IIAG Overall Governance score is 68.1 and ranks Botswana at number 5 in Africa. In 2019 Botswana was ranked 2nd with an overall score of 73.3. That is a sharp decline. The best-performing countries are Mauritius, Seychelles, Tunisia, and Cabo Verde, in that order. A glance at the categories shows that Botswana is in third place in Africa on the Security and Rule of law; ninth in the Participation, Rights & Inclusion Category – indicating a shrinking participatory environment; eighth for Foundations of Economic Opportunity category; and fifth in the Human Development category.

The 2022 IIAG comes to a sweeping conclusion: Governments are less accountable and transparent in 2021 than at any time over the last ten years; Higher GDP does not necessarily indicate better governance; rule of law has weakened in the last five years; Democratic backsliding in Africa has accelerated since 2018; Major restrictions on freedom of association and assembly since 2012. Botswana is no exception to these conclusions. In fact, a look at the 10-year trend shows a major challenge. While Botswana remains in the top 5 of the best-performing countries in Africa, there are signs of decline, especially in the categories of Human Development and Security & Rule of law.

I start with this picture to show that Botswana is no longer the poster child for democracy, good governance, and commitment to the rule of law that it once was. In fact, to use the term used in the IIAG, Botswana is experiencing a “democratic backsliding.”

The 2021 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI) had Botswana at 55/ 100, the lowest ever score recorded by Botswana dethroning Botswana as Africa’s least corrupt country to a distant third place, where it was in 2019 with a CPI of 61/100. (A score closer to zero denotes the worst corrupt and a score closer to 100 indicates the least corrupt country). The concern here is that while other African states are advancing in their transparency and accountability indexes, Botswana is backsliding.

The Transitional National Development Plan lists participatory democracy, the rule of law, transparency, and accountability, as key “deliverables,” if you may call those deliverables. If indeed Botswana is committed to these principles, she must ratify the African Charter on Democracy Elections and Governance (ACDEG).

The African Charter on Democracy Elections and Governance is the African Union’s principal policy document for advancing democratic governance in African Union member states. The ACDEG embodies the continent’s commitment to a democratic agenda and set the standards upon which countries agreed to be held accountable. The Charter was adopted in 2007 and came into force a decade ago, in 2012.

Article 2 of the Charter details its objectives among others as to a) Promote adherence, by each State Party, to the universal values and principles of democracy and respect for human rights; b) Promote and protect the independence of the judiciary; c) Promote the establishment of the necessary conditions to foster citizen participation, transparency, access to information, freedom of the press and accountability in the management of public affairs; d) Promote gender balance and equality in the governance and development processes.

The Charter emphasizes certain principles through which member states must uphold: Citizen Participation, Accountable Institutions, Respect for Human Rights, Adherence to the principles of the Rule of Law, Respect for the supremacy of the constitution and constitutional order, Entrenchment of democratic Principles, Separation of Powers, Respect for the Judiciary, Independence and impartiality of electoral bodies, best practice in the management of elections. These are among the top issues that Batswana have been calling for, that they be entrenched in the new Constitution.

The ACDEG is a revolutionary document. Article 3 of the ACDEG, sets guidance on the principles that must guide the implementation of the Charter among them: Effective participation of citizens in democratic and development processes and in the governance of public affairs; Promotion of a system of government that is representative; Holding of regular, transparent, free and fair elections; Separation of powers; Promotion of gender equality in public and private institutions and others.

Batswana have been calling for laws that make it mandatory for citizen participation in public affairs, more so, such calls have been amplified in the just-ended “consultative process” into the review of the Constitution of Botswana. Many scholars, academics, and Batswana, in general, have consistently made calls for a constitution that provides for clear separation of powers to prevent concentration of power in one branch, in Botswana’s case, the Executive, and provide for effective checks and balances. Other countries, like Kenya, have laws that promote gender equality in public and private institutions inscribed in their constitutions. The ACDEG could be a useful advocacy tool for the promotion of gender equality.

Perhaps more relevant to Botswana’s situation now is Article 10 of the Charter. Given how the constitutional review process unfolded, the numerous procedural mistakes and omissions, the lack of genuine consultations, the Charter principles could have provided a direction, if Botswana was party to the Charter. “State Parties shall ensure that the process of amendment or revision of their constitution reposes on national consensus, obtained, if need be, through referendum,” reads part of Article 10, giving clear clarity, that the Constitution belong to the people.

With the African Charter on Democracy Elections and Governance in hand, ratified, and also given the many shortfalls in the current constitution, Batswana can have a tool in hand, not only to hold the government accountable but also a tool for measuring aspirations and shortfalls of our governance institutional framework.

Botswana has not signed, nor has it acceded or ratified the ACDEG. The time to ratify the ACDEG is now. Our Movement, Motheo O Mosha Society, with support from the Democracy Works Foundation and The Charter Project Africa, will run a campaign to promote, popularise and advocate for the ratification of the Charter (#RatifytheCharter Campaign). The initiative is co-founded by the European Union. The Campaign is implemented with the support of our sister organizations: Global Shapers Community – Gaborone Hub, #FamilyMeetingBW, Botswana Center for Public Integrity, Black Roots Organization, Economic Development Forum, Molao-Matters, WoTech Foundation, University of Botswana Political Science Society, Young Minds Africa and Branding Akosua.

Ratifying the Charter would reaffirm Botswana’s commitment to upholding strong democratic values, and respect for constitutionalism, and promote the rule of law and political accountability. Join us in calling the Government of Botswana to #RatifyTheCharter.

*Morena MONGANJA is the Chairperson of Motheo O Mosha society; a grassroots movement advocating for a new Constitution for Botswana. Contact: socialcontractbw@gmail.com or WhatsApp 77 469 362.

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The Taiwan Question: China ramps up military exercises to rebuff US provocations

18th August 2022

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosis visit to Taiwan has violated the One-China policy, and caused the escalation of tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Experts and political observers across the spectra agree that Pelosis actions and subsequent pronouncements by US President Joe Biden gave impetus to an already simmering tension in the Taiwan Strait, provoking China to strengthen its legitimate hold on the Taiwan Strait waters, which the US and Taiwan deem as international waters.

Pelosis visit to Chinas Taiwan region has been heavily criticised across the globe, with China arguing that this is a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US Joint Communiqus. In response to this reckless move which seriously undermined China’s sovereignty, and interfered in China’s internal affairs, the expectation is for China to give a firm response. Pelosi visit violated the commitments made by the U.S. side, and seriously jeopardized peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

To give context to Chinas position over Taiwan region, the history behind gives us perspective. It is also important to note that the history between China and Taiwan is well documented and the US has always recognized it.

The Peoples Republic of China recognises Taiwan as its territory. It has always been the case even before the Nationalist Republic of China government fled to the previously Japanese-ruled Island after losing the civil war on the mainland in 1949. According to literature that threat was contained for decades first with a military alliance between the US and the ROC on Taiwan, and after Washington switched diplomatic recognition to the PRC in 1979 by the US One China policy, which acknowledges Beijings position that Taiwan is part of One China. Effectively, Taiwans administration was transferred to the Republic of China from Japan after the Second World War in 1945, along with the split between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) as a consequence of the Chinese Civil War. Disregarding this history, as the US is attempting to do, will surely initiate some defence reaction on the side of China to affirm its sovereignty.

However, this history was undermined since Taiwan claimed to democratise in the 1990s and China has grown ever more belligerent. Furthermore, it is well documented that the Biden administration, following the Trump presidency, has made subtle changes in the way it deals with Taipei, such as loosening restrictions on US officials meeting Taiwanese officials this should make China uneasy. And while the White House continues to say it does not support Taiwanese independence, Bidens words and actions are parallel to this pledge because he has warned China that the US would intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan another statement that has provoked China.

Pelosi, in her private space, would know that her actions amount to provocation of China. This act of aggression by the USA seriously undermines the virtues of sovereignty and territorial integrity which has a huge potential to destabilize not only the Taiwan Strait but the whole of the Asia- Pacific region. The Americans know very well that their provocative behavior is deliberately invoking the spirit of separatism masqueraded as Taiwan independence. The US is misled to think that by supporting separatism of Taiwan from China that would give them an edge over China in a geopolitics. This is what one Chinese diplomat said this week: The critical point is if every country put their One-China policy into practice with sincerity, with no compromise, is going to guarantee the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Therefore, it was in the wake of US House speaker Nancy Pelosis visit to Taiwan, that China, in a natural response revealed plans for unprecedented military exercises near the island, prompting fears of a crisis in the Taiwan Strait and the entire Asia-Pacific region. The world community must promote and foster peace, this may be achieved when international laws are respected. It may also happen when nations respect the sovereignty of another. China may be in a better space because it is well capacitated to stake its territorial integrity, what about a small nation, if this happens to it?

As to why military exercises by Beijing; it is an expected response because China was provoked by the actions of Pelosi. To fortify this position, Chinese President, Xi signed a legal basis for Chinas Peoples Liberation Army to safeguard Chinas national sovereignty, security and development interests. The legal basis will also allow military missions around disaster relief, humanitarian aid and peacekeeping. In addition the legal changes would allow troops to prevent spillover effects of regional instabilities from affecting China, secure vital transport routes for strategic materials like oil, or safeguard Chinas overseas investments, projects and personnel. It then follows that President Xis administration cannot afford to look weak under a US provocation. President Xi must protector Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity, of which Taiwan is a central part. Beijing is very clear on One-China Policy, and expects all world players to recognize and respect it.

The Peoples Liberation Army has made it clear that it has firepower that covers all of Taiwan, and it can strike wherever it wants. This sentiments have been attributed to Zhang Junshe, a researcher at the PLA Navy Research Institute. Zheng further said, We got really close to Taiwan. We encircled Taiwan. And we demonstrated that we can effectively stop intervention by foreign forces. This is a strong reaction from China to warn the US against provocation and violation of the One-China Policy.

Beijings military exercises will certainly shake Taiwans confidence in the sources of its economic and political survival. The potential for an effective blockade threatens the air and shipping routes that support Taiwans central role in global technology supply chains. Should a humanitarian situation arise in Taiwan, the blame would squarely be on the US.

As Chinas military exercises along the Taiwan Strait progress and grow, it remains that the decision by Nancy Pelosi to visit Chinas Taiwan region gravely undermined peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and sent a wrong signal to Taiwan independence separatist forces. This then speaks to international conventions, as the UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres explicitly stressed that the UN remains committed to the UN General Assembly Resolution 2758. The centerpiece is the one-China principle, namely, there is but one China in the world, the government of the Peoples Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is a part of China. It must be noted that the US and the US-led NATO countries have selectively applied international law, this has been going on unabated. There is a plethora of actions that have collapsed several states after they were attacked under the pretext of the so-called possession of weapons of mass destruction illuminating them as threats – and sometimes even without any valid reason. to blatantly launch military strikes and even unleash wars on sovereign countrie

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Internal party-democracy under pressure

21st June 2022

British novelist, W. Somerset Maugham once opined: If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too.

The truism in these words cannot be underestimated, especially when contextualizing against the political developments in Botswana. We have become a nation that does not value democracy, yet nothing represent freedom more than democracy. In fact, we desire, and value winning power or clinging to power more than anything else, even if it harms the democratic credentials of our political institutions. This is happening across political parties ruling and opposition.

As far as democracy is concerned, we are regressing. We are becoming worse-off than we were in the past. If not arrested, Botswana will lose its status as among few democratic nations in the Africa. Ironically, Botswana was the first country in Africa to embrace democracy, and has held elections every five years without fail since independence.

We were once viewed as the shining example of Africa. Those accolades are not worth it any more. Young democracies such as South Africa, with strong institutions, deserves to be exalted. Botswana has lost faith in democracy, and we will pay a price for it. It is a slippery slope to dictatorship, which will bring among other excess, assault on civil liberties and human rights violations.

Former President, Festus Mogae once stated that Botswanas democracy will only become authentic, when a different party, other than the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) wins elections, and when the President of such party is not from Serowe.

Although many may not publicly care to admit, Mogaes assertion is true. BDP has over the years projected itself as a dyed-in-the-wool proponent of democracy, but the moment its stay in power became threatened and uncertain, it started behaving in a manner that is at variance with democratic values.This has been happening over the years now, and the situation is getting worse by the day.

Recently, the BDP party leadership has been preaching compromise and consensus candidates for 2024 general elections. Essentially, the leadership has lost faith in theBulela Ditswedispensation, which has been used to selected party candidates for council and parliament since 2003. The leadership is discouraging democracy because they believe primary elections threaten party unity. It is a strange assertion indeed.

Bulela Ditswewas an enrichment of internal party democracy in the sense that it replaced the previous method of selection of candidates known as Committee of 18, in which a branch committee made of 18 people endorsed the representatives. While it is true that political contest can divide, the ruling party should be investing in political education and strengthening in its primary elections processes. Democracy does not come cheap or easy, but it is valuable.

Any unity that we desire so much at the expense of democracy is not true unity. Like W. Somerset Maugham said, democracy would be lost in the process, and ultimately, even the unity that was desired would eventually be lost too. Any solution that sacrifice democracy would not bring any results in the long run, except misery.

We have seen that also in opposition ranks. The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) recently indicated that its incumbent Members of Parliament (MPs) should not be challenged for their seats. While BDP is sacrificing democracy to stay in power, UDC is sacrificing democracy to win power. It is a scary reality given the fact that both parties ruling and opposition have embraced this position and believe democracy is the hindrance to their political ambitions.

These current reality points to one thing; our political parties have lost faith in democracy. They desire power more than, the purpose of power itself. It is also a crisis of leadership across the political divide, where we have seen dissenting views being met with persecution. We have seen perverting of political process endorsed by those in echelons of power to manipulate political outcomes in their favour.

Democracy should not be optional, it should be mandatory. Any leader proposing curtailing of democracy should be viewed with suspicion, and his adventures should be rejected before it is too late. Members of political parties, as subscribers of democracy, should collectively rise to the occasion to save their democracy from self-interest that is becoming prevalent among Botswana political parties.

The so-called compromise candidates, only benefits the leadership because it creates comforts for them. But for members, and for the nation, it is causing damage by reversing the gains that have been made over the years. We should reject leaders who only preach democracy in word, but are hesitant to practice it.

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