Ian Khama – The President of Botswana

President Ian Khama has redefined the key fundamentals to the advancement of Botswana to fit into what he has termed ‘the four Ds’; Democracy, Development, Dignity and Discipline.

Eager to take the country to a higher development trajectory; the Commander-in-Chief has since sought to emphasise discipline and a sense of national pride as fundamentals that if well pursued would see the country reach unparalleled development heights.

Central to discipline and national pride is the revival of Botho (Humility), a traditional Tswana societal value that emphasizes one’s respect for everyone from peers to elders and the entire community.

We have in the past year witnessed the revival of conservatism as opposed to the forward surge of the neo-liberal agenda witnessed under the leadership of former President Festus Mogae. While most believed the transition would not see any fundamental paradigm shift, evidence suggests a serious shift from the liberal ‘do as you please and forget what all else think mentality’ to a more conservative ‘you are part of a family, community and nation’ thinking line with a tone of unbridled respect for central authority.

It is now a year with Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama as President and his first year has brought about mixed reactions as some of his initiatives were well channeled and supported while others have been viewed as impositions and encroachments on to the peoples private spheres.

“His father once said his beloved son should be left alone as the Commander of the BDF, which is where he is best. Do not bring him into politics but people decided to do their own thing and make him a politician and they are to blame for what we see”, Billy Oageng a Phase 2 taxi driver argues.

“He is abusing the goodwill that he has, its unfortunate”, says academic Log Raditlhokwa. In an era of silent acquiescence Raditlhokwa remains among the few to engage in criticism of the president.

Among the hallmarks of Khama’s young presidency has been a shakeup of the public service, bruising the media, promoting crop production; by having tractors plough for citizens at the expense of the state, setting up a robust intelligence network, making ‘Discipline’ a buzz word and improving the livelihoods of the poor.

The expansion of the out of school youth grant; the national internship programme to absorb university graduates, allowances for athletes and premier league players proposals. The emphasis on dignity, the proposed expansion of SHHA loans and building of houses for the poor among many others add to the list of numerous initiatives under President Khama.

However, wishes are not horses. President Khama’s first year in office comes at a point in time when the national purse is not burgeoning; rather it is constrained as diamonds plummet from the global recession. As well, some at government enclave have expressed, though at times muffled, disgruntlement at the way President Khama is was a ‘lone decision maker’ and even announcing some of those decisions to the public before they are made aware of them.

President Khama’s responses have to some extent been spot on and started yielding results; the Ministry of Agriculture has been reporting that a combination of relatively good rains and government assistance has helped grow crop yields this year. Similarly, graduates who have been loitering the streets have been put to good use as interns. The success of this initiative however will depend on its sustainability and the rate at which the job market absorbs interns released from the programme.

Perhaps he might get credit from many quarters if the many gains by the neo-liberals within his own party to exclude mainstream society in accessing some of the benefits of citizenship are reversed. This is if the ‘Khama revolution’ does not abort for one reason or the other along the way.

Despite his merits, President Khama has had a fair share of gaffes and indiscretions in his first year.

The disregarding of the customary communication of government initiatives and central planning has become among his critics ammunition. “The President is unable to distinguish his ideas and thoughts on an issue from programmes that can be announced to the nation. The country cannot be governed by ideas,” Botswana Congress Party President Gil Saleshando said a few months ago.

The emphasis of discipline over personal liberty is one of the main casualties of Khama’s first year as President. He has, with great success, been able to reign over his outspoken party backbenchers-most have been whipped into line. There is hardly much opposition to some of the draconian legislation and directives passed.

Of great concern has been the decision to squeeze the media. The Media Practitioners Bill and subsequently law brought great outcry from the media and members of the public as attested to by the latest findings by Afrobarometer (A research institute). According to the findings of the report, “80 percent of Batswana say news media should report stories as they see fit, against only 16 per cent who say the government should close newspapers that report stories it does not like. This indicates that Batswana are committed to having independent and critical reporting in the press”. Such a bill, given the lack of support from civil society and the general public becomes an imposition and a dark spot in Khama’s first year.

Fast on the heels of the Media Bill’s passing, came the new transport penalties.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport Louis Malikongwa has been at pains to justify them and it is clear that the new Traffic Act enjoys very little support.  Road accidents are a concern but remedial action needs to be appropriate else they create a greater problem. The charges are so high that many a police officer will be willing to pocket half the charge as a bribe and let the culprit go. If you doubt it wait and see. The alcohol industry has felt the pinch already; it was one of the first casualties.

Botswana today more than ever puts emphasis on intelligence and state security.

Intelligence and security have been given quite some priority and the hope is that it does not out grow its creators as is often the case.

The new leadership has in the past year been rather ambivalent and outward looking. In his inaugural speech, Khama made it clear that the country needs to start looking outward to harvest what it can in order to advance. Hence forth, it is no surprise to see a revolutionary foreign policy stance marked by public criticism of Harare; a trend towards having the country punch above its weight in international affairs within the region, at least.

Italian Neo-Marxist writer, Antonio Gramsci in his study of the rise of Hegemony noted a very important aspect of their development, which clearly seems to have manifested in Botswana; that a counter hegemony may rise within the same class of rulers to effect change.

Themba Joina has continuously argued that the Botswana Democratic Party has lost power, that it may not have lost power to an opposition party but nevertheless no longer governs. Attending a Botswana Congress Party rally at BBS mall one weekend, a speaker argued, “The BDP we have told you is tired. In fact, as we speak, the party has given away governance to Ian Khama, who has his own ideas and does not do things according to the BDP”. The speaker clearly concurs with Joina who maintains that ‘Khama ga se mo Domkrag’ (Khama is not a BDP member).

The old BDP is no longer in power; the first year suggests.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 11th, 2009 at 1:22 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.