Of all the blunders that the Khama administration has made, nothing comes close to the insanity that is the alcohol levy.
Not only has the alcohol levy poisoned the political atmosphere, it has also polarized society and eroded a chunk of President Ian Khama’s personal goodwill.
When historians and political scientists finally look back to write books on the legacy of Ian Khama’s presidency, especially that which he did as to break the once mighty BDP into two, there is no question that a rise in the spate of extra-judicial killings will receive some attention.
Also to get good space will be the senselessness that has been the Media Practitioners Act ÔÇô self serving piece of law that is at the center of a broken relationship between Khama, the BDP and government on one hand and the media on the other.
Erosion of civil liberties and personal freedoms will get some attention, as will high incidents of corruption among those closest to the President.
But there is no doubt that the alcohol levy will be etched at the top as to overshadow everything else in its definition of the Khama Presidency.
By far the most dominant, alcohol levy is one constant that permeates everything that President Khama has tried to do.
The levy has been with him from the beginning and, by the look of things, will be with him until the end ÔÇô probably burying his presidency if he chooses to be obtuse in repealing o, at the very least, refining it.
The caprice with which it was introduced ÔÇô initially set at 70%, before it was whimsically and single-handedly reduced to 30 ÔÇô is perhaps the best example of how deeply convinced Khama is of his moral rectitude.
Not only is the alcohol levy ideology alien to the spirit of Botswana’s free market economics, it is also the only thing that has truly shamed even the many of Khama’s gangÔÇôlike supporters who have stuck with him as everyone else is leaving.
From his aversion for alcohol, it is clear that for a shrewd strategist and smart thinker (as his supporters never fail to remind us) he can also be overwhelmingly obsessed with what he believes to be right, even in the face of facts saying otherwise.
Thus a slight deviation from his attitude towards alcohol is frowned upon as rudeness, indiscipline and a terrible slight on authority.
A true monomaniac, he believes that those who do not see alcohol from his point of view are best taken to the new Sbrana Hospital in Lobatse for psychiatric attention.
There is no better example of just how wedded to rules, discipline and compliance our President is.
By any objective measure of economic achievement, the alcohol levy has failed in every front for which it was established.
Save for the enormous success in raising money for Government, the levy has not reduced alcohol consumption.
For all the religious zeal with which it has been implemented it has not produced responsible drinking habits.
There is also no evidence to suggest that below age people have been denied access to alcohol as a result of the levy.
If anything, the levy has made matters worse. I agree with Andrew Sesinyi, a former senior civil servant who said in this week’s Botswana Gazette that the levy has made our young people excessively militant and anti-social.
Families are poorer as household incomes are now routinely diverted to finance high alcohol prices.
Even worse, jobs have been lost or exported as alcohol imports are now cheaper than locally produced brands.
Thanks to the levy, alcohol brands from outside our borders have now dislodged our local brands in popularity.
This is not to mention the fact that the levy inherently accords imports a better treatment than local brands.
Thus, instead of driving people away from alcohol, the levy has suffocated Kgalagadi Breweries ÔÇô a one time blue chip that has shed billions worth of Pula without any noticeable improvement in responsible drinking.
While one has no wish to participate or intrude inside BDP’s private grief of losing a high number of its most brilliant minds, I think it is in order that for the sake of the country Khama has to begin to appreciate the simple fact that other people have feelings and that it will never be possible for all of us to always think like him ÔÇô even as we accept him as our leader.
For that reason, he has to start making concessions.
I know that a sizeable group of BDP insiders is calling for a cabinet reshuffle, chiefly the sacking and replacement of Vice President Mompati Merafhe. While I sympathize with this group, I realize that timing will always be a tricky part.
Another group is saying BDP Chairman Daniel Kwelagobe has to be expelled from the party because he is a source of instability.
This is the weirdest thing I have heard in a very long time.
Others are calling for the sacking of Minister of Defence, Ndelu Seretse ÔÇô another wild dream. Khama will never sack Ndelu Seretse. If anything the two will go down together!
Ndelu is an insider with close blood relations to the President.
He also happens to be a part of the succession plan who knows too much inside information to be disposed at the behest of outsiders. As the English would put it, he knows where the bodies are buried.
But still in all these, it is clear that something has to be done. It cannot be business as usual. The President has to reassure those that remain with him that he is still in control.
The easy way out, at least for now, is to make small but symbolic changes that produce big statements.
Do away with the alcohol levy and repeal the Media Practitioners Act! You have nothing to lose or sink with the ship.
