This essay is motivated by a story in the Sunday Standard of 9th June 2013 titled ‘Develop Gabane Campaign Launched’. I must admit that as a civic activist, the formation of pressure groups by various sections of the society to achieve specific goals appeals to me.
Pressure groups are formed by people to articulate specific interests and ensure that public institutions function in a transparent, accountable and impartial fashion. Therefore, to some greater extent pressure groups contribute towards a mature democracy by promoting a strong culture of political engagement and active citizenship.
However, the sudden emergence of regional, area based ethnic pressure groups in the guise of non-aligned village groups seeking to advance the development of their communities point to a huge problem. It is believed that Botswana has pursued excellent non-discriminatory economic policies that have seen the country graduating from one of the poorest countries in the world to an African success story.
Nevertheless, various challenges still have to be surmounted one of which being the biased distribution of national resources that has resulted in severe regional inequalities. This column has raised this issue on two occasions previously under the following headlines: Uneven Development and the Marginalization of Minority tribes? And Forgotten Villages and BDP victories …it is time the BDP takes responsibility. The intention of the essays was never to whip up people’s emotions but rather to highlight some challenges that could ambush this nation in the future.
Over the years, minority groups have formed associations of different kinds mostly devoted to the promotion and preservation of their languages and culture as well as to seek redress in respect of gross under-development of their communities. Minority groups or non-Tswana communities are generally of the view that their communities lack basic social services, are diseased and experience systematic institutional discrimination hence their decision to form pressure groups to advance their tribal interests.
They argue that Botswana laws, in particular Section 77, 78 and 79 of the Botswana Constitution which provide for principal and minority tribes permit discrimination on ethnic grounds hence there exists radical inequalities and uneven development with regions inhabited by inferior tribes undeniably underdeveloped. Thus, the formation of pressure or protest groups by such groups seems logical and a natural consequence of the existing economic order and provides a safety valve or outlet for pent-up emotions of those who feel short-changed by the system.
Interestingly, members of the principal tribes, the very groups that have handsomely profited from the unfair distribution of national wealth are forming what I consider to be rival lobby groups to advance sectional interests.
This is not to argue that members of the principal tribes could not form pressure groups to articulate their interests. However, it is worrying when there is a resurgence of lobby or protest groups especially by members of the superior tribes ostensibly to apply pressure on the state to maintain the status quo by perpetuating entrenched tribalism or regionalism to marginalize other groups. I have already pointed to regional disparities in particular that minority people are generally disadvantaged, impoverished and under-developed even by African standards such that there exists tension between principal and inferior tribes occasioned by an unfair distribution of national resources hence the struggle for a fair share of the national wealth.
Whereas non-Tswana groups feel hard done and justified to form protest groups to influence government to remember their communities when distributing development resources, it would seem that principal tribes form counter lobby groups to fight for the continuation of mega-size allocation of resources for the development of their communities with the aim of maintaining the status quo. I am reminded of the ugly spat between the Society for the Promotion of Ikalanga Language (SPIL) and Pitso ya Batswana a few years back. Specifically, some members of the principal tribes formed Pitso ya Batswana to counter what they perceived as the undue influx of Bakalanga into positions of authority in the public service.
My honest view is that the resurgence of lobby groups in almost every village is a replay of the unpleasant match between SPIL and Pitso ya Batswana which in no small measure represents a formal struggle for the control of state apparatuses and by extension, control of national wealth in a more coordinated and aggressive fashion.
The villagization of lobby groups in the guise of groupings of people concerned about the under-development of their villages merely seeks to neutralize tribal identities so that it would appear that these village lobby groups are open to all people residing in such villages irrespective of their tribal origins.
It is, therefore, my sincere argument that the formation of lobby groups by members of the principal tribes is intended to counteract the legitimate demands by minority groups for affirmative action.
Essentially, these lobby groups formed by principal tribes seem meant specifically to sensitize, mobilize and incite their members against what they consider to be the abnormal and peculiar promotion of the interests of inferior people.
This scenario portends trouble for national unity in terms of creating hard feelings and mistrust capable of injuring national unity and peace. Whereas lobby or protest or pressure groups are an essential part of democratic culture, it has to be noted that such groups often tend to compete and antagonize each other for the attention of those who have power to make decisions.
In this respect, such groups would occasionally seek effective methods to use to achieve their goals and as competition heats, there is a danger that those who feel being pushed further away may resort to breaking the law by using violent or terror tactics to achieve their aims. At this stage, concessions could become inevitable as the state could be willing to bend over to accommodate certain demands to avert a crisis. This could lead to a chain of similar action by other groups after realizing that the sure way to get what they want is through the use of actual pressure on the state.
In order to pacify the escalating fiery ethnic rhetoric, the government must as a matter of urgency address the apparent unevenness of development evidenced by the rapid growth of the so-called major villages ÔÇô a euphemism for tribal capitals of the principal tribes. It is not yet too late but we are sitting on ticking bomb and my biggest worry is that given the well-documented impatience of our youth, the next generation of victims of marginalization would not be as tolerant or perhaps as stupid as the older generation.
It is only when principal tribesmen appreciate that minority people are human beings and legitimate citizens of Botswana that we can live in peace.
