Over the last few years this column engaged in critical commentary about the calibre of most of the members of the Botswana law making body. The first commentary titled ‘Our parliament is a disgrace’ decried the amount of time some MPs spent idling like glue sniffing addict during parliament sessions. This was followed up by another commentary titled ‘Parliament has lost reputation’ which objected to some MPs proclivity towards discussing individuals who comments on their dishonourable behaviours in parliament. Next was the essay titled ‘They have turned our parliament into a playground for zombies’ which queried what I considered an unnecessary expenditure of time by some legislators for simply going to parliament to snooze and get their sitting allowance.
The article remarked that such behaviours make our parliament of a remarkable low quality ÔÇô a weird place where some emotionally-charged small-minded people goad those who take themselves seriously. This was followed by another article titled ‘Save our parliament from pukes and junkies’ authored after it was revealed that one MP complained about shortage of toilet paper in the parliament rest rooms. A common thread among these essays was a sincere call for measures to restore the dignity of our law making body.
While we will continue to have pukes in parliament, I am thankful that the current parliament is made up of many MPs who seem to take themselves seriously. Over and above, the current crop of MPs is decently educated, some with PhDs, Masters Degrees and most with Bachelors’ degrees, diplomas and certificates qualifications.
Such educational achievements inspire confidence in the law making body even though qualifications may not necessarily translate into quality contributions. Yet, it is critical to have a learned parliament to at least inspire confidence in parliamentary business.
In a political set up such as ours with distinct branches of government each with areas of responsibility, it is ideal that these branches should have a balance in terms of quality of personnel manning them. Where one branch of government, especially between the Executive and the Legislature, is all-powerful and dominant, that branch is most likely to become authoritarian as to make the other branch ineffective. The Badge of Courage delights in the quality of persons making up the legislature, at least in respect of the educational attainment of the majority.
However, the same cannot be said about the Executive, consisting of the Cabinet Ministers and the State President. To be blunt and I make no apology, a majority of the people posing as members of the Executive are tragically mediocre with average to below average educational achievements. While it has always been a norm to have Cabinet Ministers with low educational achievements, this was always balanced off by low levels of education amongst a majority of MPs. Additionally, previous Cabinets were made up of mostly retired civil servants with valuable experience from the public service and local government and were of an age that guaranteed respect by African standards. Their experience and age filled in for their low levels of education and allowed them to command respect amongst MPs and the voters.
Whereas the current Cabinet cannot be pronounced deadwood already, early indications are that the country is headed for autopilot mode. Aside politically motivated considerations, it is difficult for any level headed mind to comprehend the criteria that was used in appointing these men and women to Cabinet. The current Cabinet fails the basic test of integrity, hard work and honesty which would normally make up for poor education. Worse still, they do not have a personality that inspires fear or envy hence we have a Mickey Mouse Cabinet. It would seem that a majority were appointed not because they would add any value to the government but rather because there has to be Ministers of government. President Khama had to form a government and settled for these average folks whose guile is more in the service of politics than policy.
Some of them are new into high profile politics though it is known that from where they come, they were delinquents while the rest who have been in Parliament before have their names appearing in the Hansard only as attendants rather than renowned debaters who have made outstanding contributions. It is said that the best place to hide a tree is in a forest hence a hopeless president and helpless Cabinet stands to cover each other’s miserable despondency and thus allow President Khama to use his rhetorical skills to parachute himself into a high performer amongst seasoned deadwoods.
A hopelessly unschooled government is not always a bad thing. Yet, with an economy that is bruised on all fronts, the quality of governmental leadership is paramount. Contemporary challenges confronting Botswana and the general demands of a knowledge society requires people with decent education to think critically rather than flap and flail helplessly like new recruits who repeatedly fail to skip the gym rope. In spite of their occasional flirtation with the rhetoric of authoritative philosopher kings, many Batswana do not feel honoured to have most of these as government ministers.
Their leadership qualities are not reassuring and re-energizing. That they are clueless on the domestic front and helpless on the international sphere means that they cannot inspire citizens to sweat for their country nor trick serious foreign investors to consider Botswana as an investment paradise. Their pretence as the executive in spite of their obvious handicap will gradually reveal as the more learned MPs take aim at government policies and discredit these political principals who in turn could feel unfairly and harshly treated and use their Executive powers to frustrate the MPs or better still vent their frustrations on innocent citizens. Francistown West MP Honourable Ignatius Moswaane’s comments that MPs are not in Parliament to obey idols is a precursor of what is yet to come. In many ways, the statement reveals the extent to which most MPs hold Cabinet Ministers in low regard, perhaps to the point where they equate them to statues draped in adorable suits that make them nothing more than reconditioned El Negros.┬á┬á┬á
While the calibre of most of our government ministers is depressing, it nevertheless shows the extent to which our polity has been contaminated with rogues using privileged backgrounds based on party affiliation. It is testimony to declining standards triggered by a proclivity towards rewarding misfits whose only talent is their ability to curse and rant at opponents.
Former US President John F. Kennedy has said that ‘to those whom much is given, much is expected’. We expect more from our government ministers.
