That we are a country in the doldrums is not news anymore. We, as a country, have reached rock bottom at an alarming pace. This is sad. In this instalment I reflect on recent developments, or should I be blunt, underdevelopments visiting our shores. There are many issues of concern suggesting that our country is indeed on a downward spiral, but in here I prefer to focus on the latest assault on private media, especially print one orchestrated by those in charge of the republic.
I will not waste too much time reflecting on the good old days. That we were a miracle for many other developing countries to learn from on issues of socio-economic and political development cannot be overemphasised. And at the centre of those miraculous achievements was the State. Ours have long been a unique government, in which the focus of the political leadership was on development of the nation at all levels. Such policy choice was partly explained by the neglect inherited from the departing colonialists. In that way, unlike nationalist leadership elsewhere in the continent, our independence leaders and subsequent ones placed much emphasis on the role of the state in uplifting of many Batswana from abject poverty specifically and state of underdevelopment in general. The State, therefore, assumed a role of facilitator towards creation of wealth for its citizens.
Contrast this noble role of the State in Botswana with developments elsewhere in Africa and beyond then you will realise that our country has for a long time been blessed with visionary and, importantly, selfless leaders. Ours has been a leadership focused on making a difference to the lives of its subject, for the better part of independence period. It embraced differences of opinion and criticism was welcome.
Fast forward to where we are now. Botswana is slowly but surely on its way out of the club of the civilised world. We are literally and figuratively joining the league of failed African states. Yes the signs are there for all to see: a repressive state that does not want to face criticism. Not only has our government adopted domineering approach to governance, it has now forgotten its role in the broader scheme of things: uplifting the lives of ordinary Batswana.
Our State has literally abandoned the role it played in the formative stages of our nationhood. The State, unfortunately, has now transformed itself into an instrument of consumption for the few. It is basically there to serve the interest of those in power and their cronies. Mismanagement and corruption has institutionalised. Indeed, it is their time to eat, as one high ranking member of the ruling party once put it. He still holds his position despite such a tasteless remark. Institutions that were meant to curb the rising acts of corruption are rendered useless through various mechanisations. The sad reality, however, is that hardly anyone takes appropriate action against those killing our institutions. Accountability, within this context becomes just an empty phrase. This is a recipe for disaster.  
My biggest concern as a patriotic citizen is that the last standing institution meant to expose these ills is being attacked on almost all fronts. The private media for those who have not been buying papers is facing a bleak future under the current regime. It has been identified as one of the critics of BDP-led government and, as Spencer Mogapi observed, is the latest victim of economic suffocation. The strategy is simple but very effective although unsustainable in the long run. Critics, either in the media or political parties or beyond, are sidelined economically so that they starve to death. It is a cruel and rudimental method of killing others, akin to beheadings lately adopted by the Islamic State in its pursuit of its objectives.
After reading Spencer Mogapi’s article entitled “An out of power BDP will need a strong private media to help prevent ‘revenge killings’”, I decided to cross check whether private media, especially newspapers were being denied public advertising. I consulted couple of newspapers I bought over the past few weeks from different media houses. Indeed, a pattern emerged suggesting that only private companies and, to some extent, public enterprises were placing adverts on private newspapers. Very few, if any, adverts from government ministries and departments were available in private newspapers. This got me worried. I started wondering whether as a country we have gone back to the days when government denied certain media houses public advertising because they were deemed too critical of government in their reporting.
And this is where it gets scary: “No word inside both party and government can be heard distancing or condemning what is happening. There is a near universal agreement, amounting to unanimous consensus that the private media has to be weakened or better still be killed if the party is to survive and possibly stay in power beyond 2019,” concluded Spencer Mogapi. And this development raises pertinent questions. For instance, one would want to know why a democratically elected government would want to undermine the role of private media to a point of killing it? If the emerging pattern highlighted above is anything to go by, we should get worried as a nation.
I am not going to preach the centrality of media in advancing democracy in civilised societies ÔÇô and we are one such a society. We are now knowledgeable on many issues including the state of our corporations thanks to the media. Corruption and mismanagement – of which for a long time was presented as non-existent – is being exposed almost on weekly basis by private media with the public one opting to look the other way.
The latest attack on private media by government is a sure sign of things to come from those in charge of the republic. They have sadly turned the State into an instrument of consumption. And when that happens the next logical point would be a failed state. We need private media now than ever before given the rising levels of corruption and mismanagement.
