I came into contact with BDP by accident of birth. My father and mother were members of the party. As a consequence whilst growing up in Gaborone I occasionally came into contact with some of its leading lights, mostly during election years. I cannot recall my parents ever encouraging me to join the party.
I recall that during election years we used to ride in the motorcade from Rre Willie Seboni’s place to Old Naledi and other disadvantaged areas of Gaborone. Like other kids I would shout “Tsholetsa” at the top of my voice. It was an instinctive emotion, untainted by any philosophical or ideological inclinations. I was a student at Lesedi Primary School at the time. All I knew was that come a BDP motorcade I would be in the thick of things.
At primary school I had a teacher, a Mr. Sekhutle, who for some strange reason, that I cannot recall, decided that I was too much of a politician. He used to enjoy himself by giving me a few lashes when I got some mathematics wrong. He would say, “monna maths ga se polotiki”. During radio lessons he would make it a point of observing if I am not paying attention, and upon realizing this, remark “ monna polotiki the first question is yours”. Quite obviously at question time, I would not be able to give the correct answer.
It was at primary school that we learnt that the answer to the question of what is 4 minus 5? We were told that it is “it can’t”. I do not recall that there was any relationship between my alleged political inclinations and enjoying a BDP motorcade. I later on in life realized that for the BDP, the answer “it can” seems to have a very significant role in how the BDP looked at issues.
I remember that when I was at GSS, the man himself, Seretse Khama, would sometimes hold rallies next to the west gate, where the student hall was. There would be a few adults sitting on garden chairs, seemingly bored and attending only out of courtesy. I mean he was preaching to the converted. We would listen briefly to the man, and get on with the more important things in life, playing. I cannot honestly say I could sense that on a good day he must have been a wonderful speaker. I was too young to make that sort of judgment.
Sometimes whilst playing street soccer next to where the Sekgwa’s lived, we would have to stop the game to allow the great man to pass, in much the same way that we would conduct ourselves if any other adult came by. I think he had only one bodyguard. Main mall seemed to have one police officer, a giant of a man, who used to chase about five street urchins, bo bashi, around. Those who drank alcohol but did not have the money used to get caught at a bottle store at President Hotel. Instead of holding them in cells they would be doused with water and placed for a few minutes in the cold room. Those were peaceful days. Can we say we have preserved that peace?
I do not recall ever linking my primary and secondary education to the BDP. School was a government thing. I cannot honestly say I ever saw any relationship between the BDP and my education. After completing secondary school I did not go to UB. This means that I was never exposed to student politics at an early stage. That is why I cannot at my age understand the claim that I was educated by the BDP. I honestly do not understand what the statement means. I used to listen to the freedom square exchanges between the BDP and BNF on this subject. The exchanges seemed silly to me.
The BNF would argue that the education was of a poor quality and the BDP would maintain that the BNF operatives, having been educated in BDP schools, had no right to question the quality of the education.
It seems to me that as the BDP celebrates it must have regard to the position it maintained in its exchanges with BNF on the subject of the quality of our education. At the heart of the BDP position was the idea that because we made you what you are, you have no right to question what we have made you. It is like a parent telling a child who now knows that the meals he was fed stunted his growth, not to remark that he was not fed a balanced diet.
The BDP must have regard to the fact that when Seretse and his generations sought to establish a democracy where merit had a place, they established limits to which BDP can go. The establishment of a society where merit obtains suggests that you cannot claim to be the only option that a people have. Merit on its own suggests the possibility of someone better than you emerging. One cannot subscribe to merit and in the same breath claim that they are the only option that a people have.
The establishment of a society where merit has a role suggests that one can align himself with Seretse and remain outside the BDP. There has been a tendency by some people who were born of parents who are members of the BDP to think that Seretse’s values only have a home within the BDP. In a merit based society, one can hold onto Seretse’s values outside the BDP. It is therefore possible on the basis of merit to find Seretse’s values expressed through a party that opposes the BDP.
Seretse and his generation were not establishing narrow political party values. They were establishing national values, values that transcend political affiliation. It is therefore legitimate to resign from the BDP and to pursue these values outside the BDP. If these values were limited to the BDP then they would be of little use to the nation. Fear to contextualize opposition within the values espoused by Seretse and his generation demonstrates poor grounding on what they established.
In my view there is no harm attending a party where the host is celebrating doing standard five for ten years. If someone holds onto the idea that the answer to four minus five is “it can’t” what is wrong with someone who knows that there is another answer celebrating with him? During the event after a few drinks, and when the stomach is full liberties can be taken, you can let loose and let him know that there is another answer.
This is particularly so when one realizes that in terms of pronouncements made in the last budget, the BDP seems to think that there is only one solution to Botswana’s economic woes, a recovery in the diamond market. If the Eurozone has highly educated people whose economies cannot provide with employment opportunities, whilst you have abundant minerals and other raw materials, you are in an employer’s and skills transfer market. There was a time when we had money and no skilled personnel, a skilled employees’ market. In typical African thinking we are waiting for Europe to give us a solution whilst we carry on with failed policies of selling mineral rights without beneficiation or ensuring citizen participation.
The BDP has been talking diversification for donkey years without success. Now they are talking reduction of the public service. They have talked citizen economic empowerment and substituted that with EDD, which is effectively a distribution mechanism, not a wealth creating mechanism. We have an economy that cannot create 500 000 jobs. In a situation such as this how does “it can’t” and “ there is no alternative” inspire confidence?
Within the arena of merit the opposition can come up with an alternative solution to our woes. There is no way that someone can rely on “it can’t” and come up with an alternative at the same time. I believe there is a law in physics that says two objects moving at the same speed and in the same direction cannot occupy the same space. Mediocrity and merit cannot both moving at the same speed and in the same direction occupy Botswana. One takes precedence.
So as BDP celebrates its 50 years in existence we can join it, in the knowledge that merit can if we support it, take precedence, more particularly given that it is through merit that we can establish a legitimate connection with the founders of this country, and create a basis for future prosperity. Appeal to merit provides us with a tool for generating varied solutions to our problems. To tell our people that there is no funding to keep them employed and to carry out development projects, when you have not set out what you have done other than wait for Europe to recover, the “it can’t” solution, leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.
