The sheer energy and optimism that Benjamin Raletsatsi brings to his work is breathtaking. Here is a man who believes he can move the Botswana National Youth Council (BNYC) from wholly to 10 percent government funded in just three years.
He points to his track record in previous employment ÔÇô “my ability to attract funding”, he calls it ÔÇô as proof that this target is not unreasonable. At his last job, as director of Family Health International, he grew the organisation’s revenue about fourfold over an 18-month period.
Barely five months into the job, he seems to have already figured out where the money is going to come from. He has closely studied the BNYC and its potential from the time he was seconded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as national programme manager for all projects funded by the UN agency. Six years after that stint, he is back ÔÇô this time as the BNYC’s chief executive.
“When I was last here, I thought there were many things we could do better,” he says. “I thought there was a lot that we could use that we did not use.”
Such as?
“The Lady Masire Centre, for instance,” he answers. “We had it for more than 20 years and left it idle. We had farms, and access to donor funding. There were opportunities to partner with the private sector.”
Clearly, the man dreams ÔÇô and talks ÔÇô big. He promises to turn the BNYC from just another run-of-the-mill entity into a vibrant and ambitious organisation to reflect its constituency. It will start with the calibre of people he has on his staff.
“We want,” he points out, “to recruit young achievers who want to take this country forward. We are going to be competitive in salaries.”
It’s all well and good to be optimistic. But is this the right place to be ÔÇô with all its well-documented incessant infighting?
“I think it is,” he replies. “Sixty percent of Botswana’s population consists of young people. The dynamics of Botswana and the future is such that in 20 or 30 years time, the leaders will be today’s young people. I believe we should do whatever we can right now to influence the future for the better. I take this as an excellent opportunity to serve. I knew what I was getting myself into. It doesn’t remove the risk. But I guess the opportunities and challenges are much greater than the risk; and the positives outweigh negatives. I am one person who is optimistic about this country and its young people.”
And while we’re still at it, what does he make of the perception that the organisation is a training ground for the ruling party’s cadres? For instance, two of Raletsatsi’s predecessors sit on the Botswana Democratic Party’s benches in Parliament.
He chooses to open the discussion wider than the BNYC. First, he points out, you can’t separate the BNYC from being a government institution. As for the seemingly preeminence within its senior ranks of people who later turn out to be aligned to the BDP, he argues that it’s a coincidence that is not limited to the BNYC. What of, he asks, former Permanent Secretaries and heads of parastatals as well as past army commanders who have made the ruling party their political home?
Raletsatsi explains this within the context of the prevalent worldview that seems to suggest that you can only say you have arrived once you have attained a political position. He holds himself as an exception in this case.
“My interest,” he states, “is business and leadership outside politics.”
He says the perceived political linkage is something that someone like him can change by understanding the mandate of the BNYC, primarily as a government body (“I am not any different from any other public servant.”), but also not losing sight that its constituency is very broad. To that extent, he talks of an all-inclusive organisation that reaches out to every young person in this country. He goes further and makes a pledge ÔÇô “We will try hard to delink ourselves from politics”.
“One thing I am going to do is to make the BNYC accessible to all young people, no matter where they are and or what they are interested in. Eventually, they should drive and set the tone and direction for this country. We need to include young and ambitious people from different backgrounds. I am interested in getting every young person to participate, not just the regular guys. We need to ensure that rural youth are participating as well,” he says.
He wishes people could see the BNYC for what it really is (and not what it’s perceived to be) ÔÇô an organisation that gives young people an opportunity to make mistakes and learn how to be leaders in different spheres.
“We need to build and nurture leadership [in this country]. BNYC gives young people a platform to nurture leadership skills. Many of the young people from BNYC structures, a majority of them, end up in leadership positions elsewhere, not just in the BDP. One thing that the BNYC hasn’t effectively communicated is its ability to develop leaders,” he says. “BNYC gives young people an opportunity to make decisions. Here you have a 20-year-old [board member] who can fire you, or decide on a budget. Where else do you get that experience?”
If you ask Raletsatsi for an assessment of the state of Botswana’s youth, he ticks off the usual concerns: unemployment and HIV. But he wants the particular challenges faced by today’s youth understood within the context of where Botswana’s economy presently stands. He calls it a transition point ÔÇô and this is why. Once again, he holds himself as an example. When he completed at University of Botswana, he had two job offers. Today’s graduates move from campus to the ranks of the unemployed.
“I’m not much older, but I had more opportunities. We are at a time when young people really need to take a step up,” he says.
Even in the face of today’s challenges, he believes there are opportunities for the youth to earn their place at the table ÔÇô and not hope for a platter to be placed in front of them.
“This is an opportune time for young people to get their hands dirty, and participate in different things. It’s time for a different perspective. There is no longer room for entitlement; they have to earn what is due,” he states.
Are they up to the challenge?
“Yes they are,” he answers immediately.
Then after a momentary reflection, he rephrases the response to “maybe yes and no”.
“You will get me into trouble with my constituency,” Raletsatsi says, for the first time betraying a sense that he needs to watch what he says. “There are many young people who have a lot of good ideas. Unfortunately, quite a number of them are still at a stage of entitlement, and not implementation. Then there are others who take the initiative. The ones who make me sad are the ones who have been to UB, and have been taught how to research, but are sitting at home. They are not using that skill to ask to be assisted to walk, not to be picked from the ground.”
Not for the first time during the conversation, he seeks to place the discussion within a larger context. Sometimes, he states, the system is not conducive for young people who are already doing things for themselves and employing about 10 people.
“At times,” he says, “it appears the system is not designed to help achievers, but those who haven’t started. We need to assist those who have started and push them further.”
When he talks of the young entrepreneurs who should be assisted to go further, he mentions the fashion label Mafia Soul, which is already breaking into the regional market. Others are not as glamourous, such as the 29-year-old carpenter who employs 20 people.
“We need to celebrate these young people,” Raletsatsi says. “Let’s push them to employ 200 people.”
One frontier where Botswana’s young people are really rocking their dreams is in the arts. This is an area that Raletsatsi, a former traditional dancer, easily identifies with. Here as well, he identifies great potential ÔÇô not just for the youth, but the entire nation.
“The piecemeal approach won’t help. You need to choose to go big. Our traditional dance is one of the most liked in southern Africa. The fact that our traditional dance is so good and nobody can do it better than us, we should be saying, ‘what are the platforms that can make our artists big?’. We really need to go big, otherwise we will miss an opportunity. Our market is small, so we need to export. The world is crazy about Brazilian Samba. Surely there must be space for our traditional dance. Nollywood is big, yet it started as a joke,” he says.
I ask how much young people are breaking the ceiling.
“There is a lot of that,” Raletsatsi says. “In politics, there are guys like Mpho (Balopi), Dumelang (Saleshando), and Botsalo (Ntuane). In corporations, we are seeing that as well. But we can still do more.”
As if to preempt the next question forming in my mind ÔÇô “how much is more?” ÔÇô he owns up to an inherent weakness within the BNYC that he wants fixed, like now.
“At BNYC, we haven’t premised our argument on research. That’s where the women’s movement beats us. That’s why we are establishing a research department. We are going to make it one of the strongest components of BNYC to be able to give an informed position on any issue that affects the youth,” he states. “Sixty percent of the population is young people, yet we have no youth HIV strategy. It’s high time BNYC defines how young people are going to contribute.”
At some point in the conversation I ask Raletsatsi why he is the right man to lead the BNYC at this time.
“I come from [the structures of] this movement and the youth can easily relate to me because I understand their challenges. I have started or participated in a number of youth organisations. I bring an understanding of a complete and new young person [because] I have lived in both rural Botswana and our urban centres,” he points out.
It’s in the nature of certain jobs, such as the national football coach and the country’s presidency, to attract criticism ÔÇô a lot of it undeserved. It seems there is a new candidate for that league.
A caller to a radio station that hosted Raletsatsi early after his appointment made an assertion he still finds somewhat puzzling ÔÇô that he is elitist.
“I don’t know where that comes from,” he says. “I am hoping that I’m in touch with the reality of various young people in Botswana.”
