youth consultation on constitutionalism and rule of law in botswana for dgtrends

Constitutionalism, Rule of Law and Governance: The Case of Botswana

By

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+267 71639980

+267 71349177

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www.yaldafrica.org

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BACKGROUND ON BOTSWANA

Botswana is internationally acclaimed for good governance and economic prosperity. In the literature, it is clear

that „Botswana stands out in SADC, the region, and globally, as a country that has experienced remarkable

consistent growth‟.1Botswana is thus described as „Africa‟s best kept secret‟. It is a former British Protectorate

located in southern Africa; sharing the border with South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia. It gained

political independence from Britain in 1966, and has a population of roughly two million people as of 2011.

About sixty per cent of this population is youthful. The word youth in Botswana refers to those aged between 15

and 35 years old as per the Revised National Youth Policy of 2010. Nonetheless, some government

programmes/schemes geared towards empowering the youth do not necessarily and strictly follow the 15 to 35

years bracket: for instance the Young Farmers Fund. Geographically, Botswana is the same size with France or

Kenya, or slightly smaller than Texas. At independence, Botswana was amongst the poorest countries in the

world next to Bangladesh, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a paltry 80US$. Its economy relied heavily

on the cattle industry and remittances from the mine workers working in the South African (gold) mines. Totally

dependent on South Africa and foreign aid, mainly from Britain, Botswana was considered worthless to invest

in. It had no known minerals then. In fact, the diamonds were discovered few months after independence.

As of 2013, Botswana‟s purchasing power parity (PPP) is 26,000US$, and it boosts of a healthy foreign reserves.

Between 1966 and 1996, Botswana experienced a rapid and uninterrupted annual economic growth rate of 9.2

per cent averaging 8.2 per cent. This is a „sharp contrast to the economic stagnation and deterioration of most of

Africa‟.2 Having transformed itself from a poorest country at independence to a Middle-Income Country within

three decades, Botswana remains one of Africa‟s „success stories‟ or „an economic miracle‟. Sound institutions

and good political leadership are credited for Botswana‟s success. Its economic fortunes took a dramatic turn

when considerable diamond deposits were discovered, first in Orapa in 1967, and later in Jwaneng in 1982.

Today, Botswana is the leading producer of diamonds by value in the whole world. Thus, the growth of

Botswana‟s economy was and is mainly driven by diamond which contributes about 30% to the GDP and about

80% of the total government revenue. The 2013 Human Development Index Report ranks Botswana amongst

the top African countries. Further, recently the African Leadership Index ranked President Lieutenant General

Seretse Khama Ian Khama the best leader in Africa, getting an “A” grade. Botswana was placed 1st in Africa

and 41st in the world in good governance, while emerging 32

nd out of 162 countries in the most peaceful Index.

Despite the infamous Mass Media Act, which, if fully implemented, would curtail both freedom of press and

speech, Batswana generally enjoy these freedoms. Batswana are not persecuted for criticising government. All

religions practice their faiths without censor. The Constitution of Botswana guarantees freedom of expression.

Under the Governance sub Index, which measures effective and accountable government, fair elections, political

participation and the rule of law, Botswana has fared well too. Since 1966, Botswana has been holding regular

free elections. Nonetheless, since independence, only one party has been in power: Botswana Democratic Party

(BDP). The fact that the same party has been ruling has prompted some scholars to call Botswana a „de facto-

one party state‟ meaning that the democratic input has been weak. No political party has ever been banned and

Botswana has no political prisoners. However, Botswana needs to deepen and consolidate its democracy. Some

of the areas that Botswana should improve or implement, include, amongst others, political party funding; direct

presidential elections; the abolition of Specially Elected Parliamentarians and Councilors; fair delimitation of

constituencies, respect for trade unions, increased representation in governance by women, the youth and other

marginalised groups etc. There is access to justice and the judiciary is independent. However, some

commentators feel that the rule of law in Botswana is slowly being threatened by what they term „politically

motivated presidential pardons‟, and the occasional disregard for procedural propriety by the Directorate on

Public Service Management especially in relation to trade unions.

1Clover, J. „Botswana: Future Prospects and the Need for Broad-based Development‟. Institute for Security

Studies, African Security Analysis Programme, p.1 2Hope Sr. K. R. 1998. „Development Policy and Economic Performance in Botswana: Lessons for the Transition

Economies in sub-Saharan Africa‟. Journal of International Development, 10, 539-54.

Politics in Botswana In the 1960s, when Batswana demanded political independence from Britain, many, including the British,

thought of them as „either very brave or very foolish‟ writes the second president of Botswana Sir Ketumile

Masire (1980-1998) in his memoir. In fact, Botswana has maintained the longest liberal democracy and

multiparty system in sub-Saharan Africa. She practices a parliamentary democracy system. The Members of

Parliament (MPs) and District Councils are elected through first-past-the-post system. She has a two-tier system

of government (central and local government). The two mutually depend on each other. The Botswana

Democratic Party (BDP) has been in power since 1966. It won all the elections with landslide victory. Botswana

upholds the rule of law and respects human rights to a larger extent. Out of 176 countries, Botswana ranks 30 on

the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index. This differentiates it from many African nations where human rights are

grossly violated with impunity. Botswana‟s admirable achievements in a generally unstable continent have

earned it accolades. For example, she is dubbed a „shining liberal democracy‟. These are attributed to visionary

leadership, fiscal discipline and the prudent management of the diamond wealth. Though Botswana has

achieved a lot, 41% of the youths are unemployed, and many are infected and affected by the HIV and AIDS.

The plight facing the Botswana youth is a sharp contrast to the envied image of Botswana, a country

internationally defined as an „economic miracle‟ or the „Switzerland of Africa‟.

Political parties in Botswana number less than 10. The president of the country is nominated from the

presidential candidate whose party wins most seats in the general elections. Of recent, many Batswana,

including the consultation we held, feel that the president should be directly elected. However, the government

contends that the current system works well for the country. In the last elections held in 2009, the BDP won

majority seats (49 seats) out of 60 seats in total. The Botswana National Front (BNF), a major opposition party,

won 5 seats, followed by the joint bid of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and the Botswana Alliance

Movement (BAM) with 5 seats, and for the first time in the history of Botswana politics 1 independent seat.3

Some commentators in the newspapers, especially those from the academia, argue that all political players in

Botswana should advocate for electoral reforms. Dithapelo Keorapetse, a University of Botswana political

scientist, argue that „The idea for reforms should be to improve the responsiveness of electoral processes to

public wishes and expectations‟. He goes on to say that the last major reforms were done in 1997 after a

referendum. Thus, „Some changes in 1997 such as automatic succession of the Vice President upon death,

retirement or resignation of the President were detrimental. Given the fact that Botswana has an executive

President with extensive powers of control and influence, this is a compelling reason for the President to be

popularly elected‟, contends Keorapetse.4 The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) should be removed

from the Office of the President as this tarnishes its independence.

For the consultations on the 29th

October 2013, the team conducted an online survey to get young people‟s

perspectives, views, perceptions, and insights on the state of the country regarding constitutionalism and the rule

of law. The survey aimed to establish the level of satisfaction with Botswana‟s Constitution and the state of

democracy. Young people were invited through the social media to participate. The survey was open for 14

days, and 121 participated. We opened a Facebook page and engaged on the discussions with the youth.

Of the 121, 68 were males while 53 were females. Most of the young people who participated were over the age

of 30 years while 31% were between the ages of 27 and 30. The young people between the ages of 15 and 20

participated in very small numbers. Most of the participants were belonging to NGOs while only a few

indicated that they were not aligned to any organisation. The participation is impressive in the sense that the

youth in Botswana are defined as those aged between 15 and 35. We thus captured the age bracket. Of the 121,

53% of the respondents indicated that they were not entirely happy with the Constitution while 19% said they

were not familiar with the document. Some of the respondents who expressed satisfaction with the Constitution

mentioned that it promoted tranquility and democracy. Below are some of the reasons that were given for not

supporting the current Constitution:

1. “It‟s too old and we inherited it from the colonial master thus it‟s not a true reflection of the aspirations

of the citizens. It needs a total overhaul to modernize it.”

2. “I am ok wit it so far but it needs to be revised”

3. “It ought to be taken to the people for review every now and then, At least every ten years”

3 Morima, N. A. „Botswana is a beacon of democracy, but …‟ Sunday Standard, 2013, October 13.

4 Dithapelo, K. „Electoral Reforms Imperative for 2014 Elections, 2013‟, August 8.

4. “It seems to promote restrictions and limitations….”

5. “I‟m not happy that it doesn‟t include socio-economic rights, one can‟t sue the government for basic

provisions such as water.”

6. “Certain provisions gives a lot [of] power to one person [the president], some human rights of certain

sexual minorities needs to be protected and enshrined [sex workers, gays and lesbians]”

Sixty out of 121 expressed dissatisfaction with the level of democracy in the country. Thirty-three of the sixty

expressed indifference while 23 said they were fine with the level/state of democracy. These are some of the

reasons that the respondents gave for their dissatisfaction or otherwise:

1. “Well for one I‟m not happy about the election process of Botswana. Party politics in Botswana are in

my view unfair, ruling party has all the funds, other parties are struggling.…”

2. “Party funding needs to be recognized [or] actualized, the president needs to be directly elected by the

people, IEC to do more to motivate the youth to vote, state broadcasters need to be turned public so that

they are accountable to the public, and not subject to the executive, DCEC [The Directorate on

Corruption and Economic Crime] needs more independence to handle high profile cases, women to be

given chances and seats at party level for leadership positions, youth parliament to be re-introduced to

capture youth issues and concerns at a more formal platform, a ministry of youth to be given to a real

youth, introduction of different consultative platforms to be created for exchange of ideas between

stakeholders and youth the kgotla system no longer serves as an effective platform especially for youth

and even meaningful exchange/dialogues!!”

3. “The opposition need to actually show Batswana that they are not after money or out to spite the BDP.

They need to show genuine care and need for change. Moreover i am not happy because the Presidency

rotates in one tribe. I am not happy because people now vote BDP out of obligation or gratitude for

Independence instead of making informed decisions about the leader they are electing, people now vote

the party not the competence of a person”

4. “The democracy is there but there are a few things that degrade it such as the death penalty, disregard

of minorities such as LGBTs and the fact that electorates do not have the privilege of directly voting

for the National President.”

5. “Batswana in general dont understand government, and governance issues. This is evidenced by the

general voter apathy in the young and old.”

6. “We need political party funding to level the playing ground, we need the national television and radio

to be turned into public broadcasters and not the current situation where they are just another

government departments. Our office of the Ombudsman needs to be strengthened by firstly, making it

an independent office from Office of the President, the Ombudsman has needs to be appointed in a

manner similar to that of judges of the High Court where even his/her appointment and dismissal is

provided for in legislation that establishes the office. He/she needs to report to parliament and be

accountable to it and not to the Office of the President as it is currently. The office should be given

prosecuting powers like in South Africa and its recommendations should be binding unlike now where

it is mere advice. The office of the Independent Electoral Commission also needs to be Independent,

Parliament needs to be also independent from Office of the President, it needs to have its own budget

and employ its own stuff. The Auditor General should also be independent from the Office of the

President and not be appointed by the president as it was recently done. His appointment should go

back to the previous way where he had security of tenure and not work on contract. His/her

recommendations should also be binding. There should be a direct election of the president….

Presidential powers should also be curbed as they are just too much and could lead to problems in

future.”

CONTACT LIST FOR SOME OF THE PARTICIPANTS DURING THE CONSULTATIONS

First Name: Bakang Tshipinare

Organisation: Self

City/Town: Gaborone

Email Address: [email protected]

Phone Number: 72582952

First Name: Anderson K. Mello

City/Town: Gaborone


Phone Number: +26772717816

First Name: Jericho Keletso

Organisation: BOCRA

City/Town: Gaborone


Phone Number: 00267 3685537

First Name: Kabelo

Organisation: BOFWA

City/Town: Gaborone



First Name: Neo Kgotla

Organisation: None

City/Town: Moshupa


Phone Number: +267 72201863

First Name: Kefilwe Headman

Organisation: UB

City/Town: Gaborone



First Name: Nolwazi Kaoyao

Organisation: Student University of Botswana

City/Town: Gaborone



First Name: Sly Tlhage

Organisation: Tlhage



First Name: Mariam Mokgethi

Organisation: University of Botswana

City/Town: Tutume



First Name: Othusitse Mbeha

Organisation: University of Botswana

City/Town: Gaborone


Phone Number: +267 724 872 30

First Name: Golebaone Manikisa

Organisation: young women leadership

City/Town: Gaborone



First Name: Thandiwe Majama

Organisation: YALDA

City/Town: Gaborone



youth consultation on constitutionalism and rule of law in botswana for dgtrends

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