2014 General election or referendum on Khama?
Opinions
The BDP regime is running scarred and making suicidal blunders in the process. The best example is how President Khama recently de-campaigned his own part in Maun by engaging in character assassination of Kgosi Tawana and in the process insulting the very Batwana whose votes he craves. We say, let the BDP tremble because it is time they are told in clear categorical terms that; Mene Mene Tekel Uphrasin – ‘the writing is on the wall.
Their days are numbered. And no one should in any way temper with the verdict of the people on October 24 because as they put it Latin; vox populi, vox Dei i.e. the ‘voice of the people is the voice of God’. For many years the opposition has endured and accepted the results of the elections, including dubious ones, and now it is the turn of the BDP to endure and accept the unpalatable verdict of the people.
As the election day draws closer, the single most important question each and every voter must ask him/herself is whether this is just another routine general election or whether this election must be turned a referendum on Ian Khama’s dictatorship. This is the opportune moment for Batswana to speak in one powerful voice and say ; enough is enough of Khama dictatorial regime? They must vote the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) to save their country from Khama’s dictatorship.
When he assumed office Khama promised to deliver on five Ds, – ‘democracy’, ‘ development’, ‘discipline’, ‘dignity’ and ‘delivery’. It has been a period of spectacularly broken promises and yet he still thinks he can get away with making even more promises. As the English expression goes; jam tomorrow, jam yesterday, but never jam today! Batswana are sick and tired of empty promises and want their development ‘jam’ today, not tomorrow.
Once upon a time Botswana was a nation internationally renowned for being at peace with itself. Indeed when Botswana was surrounded by white minority ruled regimes in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa Sir Seretse Khama’s description of this country as ‘an island of sanity, peace and tranquility in a sea of turbulence’ was spot on and quite apposite. Then Batswana lived in fear of Ian Smith’s ‘hot pursuit’ of so-called ‘terrorists’ who allegedly mounted attacks on Rhodesia and fled to Botswana for hiding.
We also lived in fear of military incursions by the South African apartheid regime in pursuit of what they claimed were ANC military command and control centres in Botswana. That was the apartheid regime’s excuse for killing South African refugees in Botswana.
Ironically, since 1994 when South Africans regained their independence and Southern Africa ceased to be theatre of revolutions instead of Batswana enjoying the peace dividends the country now lives in fear once again. This time Batswana live in fear of Khama’s abominable monstrosity called the Directorate on Intelligence (DIS) secret gendarmerie.
We are now witnessing a vicious assault on the institutions and traditions of democracy that were developed, nurtured and agreed upon by past leaders of the country, ruling and opposition, as well as the general populace of Botswana for 42 years. In a short space of time Khama has transformed this country in the wrong direction almost beyond recognition. Never before have this country’s civil liberties and freedoms been so severely threatened.
Khama’s DIS ostensibly set up to protect Batswana from foreign enemies is ironically presiding over state terrorism in the country – the magnitude of which has never been seen in this country before. Today Batswana live in fear, not of the imagined foreign enemies, but in fear of the all-powerful DIS which was supposed to protect them from foreign enemies.
The real tragedy is that this state of affairs does not seem to bother Ian Khama one little bit. One cannot identify a single Khama initiative designed to enhance, strengthen and consummate the country’s democracy which his father correctly described as a plant that must be carefully nurtured. Instead of strengthening the institutions of democracy Khama is preoccupied with intimidating and silencing the nation while attempting to build a personality cult.
Extreme intolerance, heavy-handedness and unbridled white-collar theft are assuming alarming proportions. The President is not amenable to advice from any quarter – all he wants is to be surrounded by a bunch of head-nodding puppets and stooges who tell him what he wants to hear.
Political activists, journalists, human rights lawyers, trade unionists, authors, the clergy and even musicians are intimidated, harassed and sometimes tortured and beaten up by the notorious DIS, which has, to all intents and purposes, become a law unto itself. Hit-lilts of politicians and journalists are being bandied about.
BMD leader Gomolemo Motswaledi died under mysterious circumstances and the Khama regime did not care. Even former Presidents Masire and Mogae are feeling the pinch and have already sounded a warning to Ian Khama. Sadly, with every day that passes the prophetic words uttered by former BDP Assistant Minister, Oliphant Mfa that under Ian Khama democracy will be enjoyed only by those in prisons and in their graves ring true.
There is a growing number of extra-judicial killings of criminal suspects without recourse to courts of law or due process, because as former President Mogae observes, this ‘’regime’ does not respect the rule of law. Where is the ‘dignity’’ of the people who are cold-bloodedly murdered by state agents without recourse to the courts of law? For the first time in the history of this country the UNHCR reports that there are 229 Batswana refugees who fled to other countries. They have since been joined by Kgosi Kgafela of Mochudi and Edgar Tsimane of the Sunday Standard.
The DIS taps our telephone messages and jams private radio stations. According to former President Mogae, Khama has expelled over 2, 000 people from this country – more than all the foreigners expelled by former presidents of this country combined. A country which once enjoyed the reputation of welcoming refugees under Khama’s tyranny is beginning to produce refugees.
Certainly, this is not the Botswana we need and we must speak out against this unfolding dictatorship through the ballot. If this opportunity is not seized the next five years will be the longest five years in the history of our five year electoral cycle because as the saying goes, he who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount i.e. this dictatorship can only worsen if, God forbid, it is given another term in office.
Regarding discipline and delivery, if Khama was serious he should have come up with a Ministerial Code of Conduct to reign in his corrupt ministers . What we seeing instead is that ministers facing criminal allegations are arrogantly allowed to stay in office and continue with their court battles.
This is an affront to social justice and insult to Batswana who were promised ‘discipline’ and ‘delivery’. By now laws on the Declaration of Assets and Freedom of Information Bill to enable Batswana to fight the cancer of unbridled kleptocracy should have been passed by parliament.
That international organizations report that the ruling class has stashed a whopping P50 billion in foreign banks while nearly half Batswana are languishing in needless poverty does not bother Khama one little bit. Many of the poverty-stricken Batswana are regularly paraded on Btv surrounding Father Christmas Ian Khama as he doles out soup, diphaphatha, blankets and other cheap election bribes in gross violation of their personal ‘dignity’ – the very principle he promised to uphold in 2008.
For me the major highlights of this year’s election campaign was to share the political platform with Johnson MOtswharakgole representatives of BOFEPUSO who took the correct and historic decision to abandon petty bourgeois trade union neutrality and forge a strategic partnership with UDC. The UDC’s human rights approach to development and commitment to the second generation of rights as encapsulated in the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is the single most important reason why the 100 000 strong BOFEPUSO has rallied behind the UDC.
For many years this is what we have been calling for – as the first step towards the emancipation of the working class The first step to freedom in the labour movement is to abandon false political neutrality and consciously build strategic alliances with revolutionary parties while safeguarding their relative autonomy as trade unions.
The labour movement came to this historic decision after being subjected to sustained harassment by the Khama regime to a point where they were told that even if they went on strike for five years he would never succumb to their demands. October 24th is pay-back time. Workers must jettison the BDP regime from power for the next five years.
My lowest point in this general election is the BCP’s decision to renege on its commitment to work with other opposition political parties in a broad anti-Khama United Front even when there is enough evidence that his tyranny will not spare anyone, not even the BCP.
Recently their activists have been roughed-up apparently by members of the DIS. Our only saving grace is the statement Dumelang Saleshando made before his organization abandoned the Umbrella project – that any party that withdraws from the project must be punished by the electorate.
To all those who understood the imperative necessity of forging a broad anti-Khama, and this includes BCP members themselves, October 24th is pay-back time. Let us punish the BCP leadership by voting the UDC to save our country from Khama’s terror tactics. On October 24th the poverty-stricken masses of this country will have real power in their hands to changes all this and usher in a new democratic dispensation under the leadership of the UDC.
News
The case for Botswana to ratify the ACDEG
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.
Opinions
The Taiwan Question: China ramps up military exercises to rebuff US provocations
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
Opinions
Internal party-democracy under pressure
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.