ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

ISSUE/EDITION Nr 325 - 01/06/1997

Botswana

Explosive silence amid traditional calm

by Mwange Kauseni, Botswana, April 1997

THEME = POLITICS

INTRODUCTION - Strong undercurrents are being felt in Botswana,
a country long known and respected for its democratic culture and sense of contentment among its citizens

Recent events in this diamond-rich southern African country (population: 1.3 million), confirm that beneath the apparent calm, there is a growing feeling that all is not well within the nation. It is important to remember that Botswanas are generally peace-loving and conservative people, who rarely ruffle their feathers, political or otherwise.
On the political front, however, things have been getting rather hot since the 1994 general elections, when the opposition, the Botswana National Front (BNF) suddenly increased its seats in parliament, from an insignificant three to 13 (out of 40). A respectable rise by any standards.
The political pace is quickening. The next elections are scheduled for 1999, when a real showdown is expected. Though 1999 may still be far off, political observers have nonetheless put the country under their microscope.

Incidents of violence

For example, the sudden eruption of violence during the second week of April in Mmankgodi village, over the disappearance of a 5-year-old girl, Basadibothle Mokgotla, brought to the forefront a growing antipathy towards the government.
Residents of the little village, lying some twenty-five kilometres south-west of the capital city, Gaborone, worked themselves into a rare frenzy on the night of 12 April, and set ablaze almost all the government buildings in the village.
No one could explain the link between the disappearance of a toddler, to the subsequent torching of government property, including two schools, a local court building and houses belonging to government workers. It was clear that there was more to this than meets the eye.
The incident is a repeat of a similar one in 1995, in Mochudi village, 40 kilometres to the north of Gaborone following a grisly murder of a 15 year old school girl, Sekgamese Mogomotsi, for alleged ritual purposes. When the girl's body was discovered, some parts of it were missing. Her father, together with a few local businessmen, were connected with the murder but were later released for lack of adequate evidence. The U.K.'s Scotland Yard was later called in to help the local police with the investigation, but two years on, the nation still awaits the report. The Minister for Presidential Affairs, Potshenigo Kedikilwe, says the government is in no hurry to release the report. He disclosed this at a meeting with university students, who have made the report's release, a top item on their political agenda.
During the events in Mochudi, what surprised everybody was the way in which the University of Botswana students protested against the murder, marching to parliament to present a petition and causing a spontaneous riot in the city centre, targeting some government building too.

Unemployment

Unemployment has also become a matter of concern over the years. With the unemployment figure standing at over 21% in an already underpopulated country, the government has had to quell one or two small, but all the same, significant incidents of violent unrest among the unemployed. Some two and a half years ago, a Chinese national was badly hurt when local job-seekers clashed with the police in front of the labour commissioner's office. They were demanding that no more contracts be awarded to Chinese companies, which have won almost all government contracts in the last six years. The Chinese are notorious for their low prices which win them almost every available contract. They are equally known for employing their own nationals, even for unskilled jobs, robbing the locals of the opportunity of finding employment, in spite of a boom in the construction industry.
The Opposition has often capitalized on the unemployment issue, and keep dangling the carrot of prospective employment if they come to power. This has kept the government on its toes. Vice- President Festus Mogae, who is also Minister of Finance and Development Planning, repeatedly reminds the nation that the present government programme is best for the nation. Mogae is an economist of respectable standing internationally. He is tipped to take over as President from Ketumile Masire.

Breakaway faction

A rumour is going the rounds, that a breakaway political faction from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), is on the cards. Unconfirmed reports say a militant group of reformists, who for the last five years have been trying to overhaul the BDP machinery from within, are now fed up and are set to go their own way. Should this new party see the light of day, it will bring to 11 the total number of political parties in the country. This faction is said to include a number of intellectuals and prominent local businessmen.
One such intellectual and respected public figure is the current Executive Director of the Botswana National Productivity Centre, (BNPC), Lepetu Setchwaele, whose CV includes a successful seven year stint with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Given Botswana's geographical proximity to countries that have had "elections of change" such as South Africa, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and even Mozambique, this is certainly the moment to gauge the pulse of the nation.
Botswanas owe it to themselves to determine their future. In line with that precept, the government last year launched "Vision 2006", a countrywide survey with a brief to determine Botswana's future for the next 20 years.

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PeaceLink 1997 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement