Despite protestations from opposition Members of Parliament (MPs), Business Botswana and the informal sector, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) last week pushed through the Tobacco Control Bill 2021. Key sections of the Bill, among them, the requirement for cigarettes to be sold in minimum packs of 20, have been described as an affront to Botswana’s informal sector, which makes a living from selling single cigarette sticks. Throughout the debates, opposition MPs accused the BDP of pandering to the whims of big business and global financiers at the expense of ordinary Batswana.
The Bill was championed by the Anti-Tobacco Network of Botswana (ATN), headed by Professor Bontle Mbongwe – an Environmentalist and long-time anti-tobacco activist who was recently recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for her accomplishments in advocating for tobacco control. Prof. Mbongwe was recognised with fellow activists from Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda.
Sunday Standard investigations have revealed that the WHO award recipients have close ties with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), one of the largest tobacco control groups in the world. CTFK is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, a foundation owned by billionaire businessman cum politician Michael Bloomberg to support tobacco control interventions. In 2017/18, CTFK doled out grants worth $1.7 million to anti-tobacco Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Africa. Botswana’s Anti- Tobacco Network (ATN) received a grant, meant to intensify advocacy campaigns and accelerate passage of the tobacco control law. Over the years, Bloomberg Philanthropies has splashed more than $700 million in tobacco grants to, among others, CTFK and the WHO to pursue a zero-tolerance approach to the use of tobacco.
CONTROVERSY
But Bloomberg Philanthropy has not been without controversy, as it has been accused of exerting undue pressure on decision makers and disregarding developing nations’ liberal values. In the Philippines, a federal investigation revealed that health regulators received hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Bloomberg affiliated charity before they presented a favourable draft Bill. In Mexico, it emerged that a CTFK staff lawyer drafted the law that restricted imports and sales of vaping devices. Legislators were left with egg on their faces when they submitted the draft Bill still with the name of the CTFK lawyer. In 2010, it was reported that Bloomberg Philanthropies had invested almost $300 million in offshore investments in the tax-shelter Cayman Islands. Bloomberg Philanthropies was also investigated by the Indian government after it was accused of targeting the country’s $5billion per annum tobacco industry.
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ zero-tolerance strategy in developing countries has been described as philanthro-colonialism, often criticised as ineffective and leading to even more harmful behaviours.
In Botswana, a clause in the Tobacco Control Bill that dictates that cigarettes must only be sold in packs of 20’s has been slammed as an attack on informal traders who make a living by selling single cigarette sticks. Meanwhile, British American Tobacco (BAT) has expressed concern and warned Government that the draft Bill in Botswana in its entirety and current form will only lead to unregulated counterfeits and give rise to the scourge of illicit trade in cigarettes.
WHO – GRANT FOR POLICY
Concerns have also been raised about the impartiality of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), an evidence-based treaty that was negotiated under the WHO to reaffirm the right of all people to the highest standard of health. While they applauded the financial support given to WHO by private financiers, pundits have raised concerns about the lack of transparency on the private donations and whether or not they were exerting undue influence on the operations of the WHO. Notably, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ relentless pursuit of tobacco control agendas, has sparked fears that the WHO could be held under siege by a handful of powerful actors. This was after it emerged that $10 million of the FCTC’s $22 million annual budget was from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Michael Bloomberg wrote the foreword of the “WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2025,” published in December 2019.
The WHO has also been accused of pandering to the whims of Bloomberg Philanthropies by maintaining a stubborn stance against vaping, despite scientific evidence presented by Public Health England that vaping products were 95% less harmful than combustible tobacco. While vaping is widely regarded as a disruptive influence that could boost tobacco harm reduction; the WHO’s stubborn stance is widely viewed as proof of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ stranglehold on its operations.
Botswana’s Tobacco Control Bill also bears all the hallmarks of Blomberg Philanthropies zero tolerance approach, as it prohibits smoking in public places, but also outlaws designation of any spaces as smoking areas. BAT views this as effectively declaring smoking as illegal. This is the same Bill that also intends to introduce counter effective measures to the public health agenda like plain packaging and retail display bans, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that these too do not work.
In the wake of startling revelations by Phikwe West MP Dithapelo Keorapetse that President Mokgweetsi Masisi is a patron of the Botswana Anti-Tobacco Network; questions have been asked about the speed and urgency with which the Bill was being pushed through, despite a dearth of scientific evidence to justify its cause.
“As patron of ATN, is President Masisi aware that funding from dubious foreign entities is being used to influence legislation in Botswana? If yes, is the President setting a trend for enacting of future legislation?” asked pundits close to the matter.
Detractors of the Tobacco Control Bill have described it as a perpetuation of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ zero tolerance approach, which has consistently backfired and demonstrated complete disregard for the well-being of people in developing countries.
“We may adopt policies that favour foreign interests, but they will eventually backfire. Worse, this is akin to exacerbating the legacy of colonialism in Botswana,” said a key proponent of amendments to the Tobacco Control Bill.
