The leader of South African Communist Party, Blade Nzimande, has bequeathed to the English language a useful word that describes the intersection of commerce and politics to bring out latent business genius in a certain class of people: “tenderpreneurship.” The word is a portmanteau of “tender” (government procurement contract) and “entrepreneurship.” In the case of Botswana, you necessarily need to be a member of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party to be a tenderpreneur. If in doubt, try tenderpreneuring for the next multi-billion pula tender for a water-transfer scheme on the basis of MELS membership.
Still within the realm of politics – and in the Serowe area, is a political party called the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) which was founded by former president Ian Khama in 2019. This happened after Khama fell out with his successor and former vice president, President Mokgweetsi Masisi.
It is a matter of public record that personal (not national interest) prompted the formation of the party. In his capacity as Bangwato Kgosikgolo (supreme traditional leader), Khama called a “tribal” meeting at the Serowe showgrounds where no tribal business was discussed but his own personal problems with Masisi. Then emerged the slogan “E seng mo go Kgosikgolo” (meaning “Not on Kgosikgolo”) that mostly found visual expression on black T-shirts. The showground meeting led to the formation of BPF and “E seng mo go Kgosikgolo” became “Ke nako”, meaning “It’s time.” Everything about how the party is structured and works strongly suggests that the slogan means that it is time to get rid of Masisi. At the party’s first national congress, Reverend Biggie Butale was elected president and Khama made patron.
That arrangement and those titles notwithstanding, everybody knows that the patron is the real power behind the throne. The patron attends National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings. An NEC member says that Khama, who never relished the enterprise of the intellectual back-and-forth, ends NEC debates by merely stating his position. In an ordinary setting, the president is one who should be in a position to act dictatorially but last year, Butale got himself into hot water by calling Khama a “dictator.”
BPF made history by becoming the first party in Botswana to be formed in an election year, with only a few (four) months remaining before the election. It went on to win three parliamentary seats and many more council seats in the Serowe-name constituencies. Were it not for the BDP rigging the post-election processes, BPF would now control the Serowe Sub-district Council. It is an indisputable fact that BPF did as well as it did in the Serowe area precisely because of Khama.
The moral of the story thus far is that in much the same way that tenderpreneurship cannot occur without BDP membership, BPF cannot remain a viable political project without Khama’s overlordship. The relevance of such observation is inspired by recent developments in the BPF.
Khama’s domination of the BPF is being challenged by Guma Moyo, the former Tati East MP and assistant minister under Khama. Not only is Moyo an NEC member, having been co-opted in as an additional member, he is also the party’s Father Christmas, dispensing goodies in not just December but all months of the year. Khama shouldn’t be on the back foot where money is concerned but BPF members privately mope about his tightfistedness.
Moyo has used his own deep pockets to take over control of the party and so far, appears to be well on the way to achieving that goal. That doesn’t sit well with Khama who wants his younger brother, BPF Secretary General and Serowe North MP, Tshekedi, to become party president. Khama is hedging his bets in various ways.
He has lobbied both MPs and councillors to agitate for the cancellation of a scheduled national elective congress. That is because he knows that Moyo will beat Tshekedi. The elected officials have separately written what read like ransom notes to the Acting President, Caroline Lesang, demanding that the congress be cancelled. They also notify her that if that demand is not acceded to, they will suspend their monthly monetary contributions to the party.
In the event the congress goes ahead, the Khama brothers plan to use a subject of theirs and former Palapye MP, Master Goya, as something of a royal palace food-taster. Goya will contest against Moyo at the congress and if he loses (eats poisoned food as it were), Tshekedi’s electoral record (and the Khama brand) will remain unsmudged. If you would prefer a different metaphor, Goya is being used to test the waters. Lotsane River has come down in flood but the Khamas are really anxious to cross to the other side. In service of that, they pick one of their subjects to literally test the waters by fording the raging river. If the currents are too strong … too bad.
However, there is a possible development that could completely and forever alter the dynamics. Khama fled to South Africa last year as the Directorate of Intelligence Services and Security closed in on him over “weapons of war” that he had refused to surrender to it. This is the first time that Khama has been involuntarily out of the country for almost a year and he is really anxious to return.
BPF and government sources say that there are ongoing negotiations between Khama and (meaning Masisi) and that former minister and Lobatse MP, Sadique Kebonang is the broker. The government is said to have offered to drop criminal charges against Khama on condition that he quits politics when he returns to Botswana. It is unclear whether “politics” includes Khama’s philanthropy because he has historically used giving to the poor as a political ploy to ingratiate himself with voters. If Khama accepts this deal and returns home, there would be no BPF. The additional benefit Masisi would get from such development is that the BDP will easily win all three Serowe constituencies in 2022.
Moyo is said to be aware of these negotiations and to have told Khama during a private conversation that if he takes this deal, then he would abandoned people that he used to form the party. Moyo is said to have told Khama that he has a Masisi-like tendency of using people when it suits him, then dumping them when he has achieved his goals. That background illuminates a message that Khama put out on WhatsApp last week. In the message, he part-reveals details of a conversation during which Moyo compared him to “masisi” (he typically used the lowercase “m”).
Whatever happens this coming month, BPF can only remain a viable political project if Khama remains in the wings and continues to play the president like a marionette. If not, BPF would be like Phakalane without Range Rovers and the aroma of Le Burger Brasserie hanging heavy in the air; like a Gaborone gastropub without hookah pipes and tip-extorting waiters; like OK 1 without ceaseless international flights – and yes, like tenderpreneurship without BDP membership.
