Only an expression in the vernacular could appropriately and perfectly describe my view on the high-and-mighty attitude displayed by our cabinet ministers who continue to pertinaciously hold office while facing charges of corruption. I’m shocked they never seem to be ashamed or bothered at all as they walk out of court rooms and head to their ministerial offices. I am equally perturbed by an extraordinary volte-face on the part of President Khama in the wake of frequent corruption charges brought against his ministers. One would have expected him to quickly show his disgust by relieving them of their duties but no, his indifference would have you believe corruption turns him on. I always get people who ask me to tone down and consider the feelings of family members of the people I always write about, such as MP’s and Ministers.
They always remind me that these people have children and spouses. There are times when I want to heed such calls but I change when I realise that the same people whose family members I’m being asked to feel for, have no such feelings for their own families. Why should I respect the feelings of a Minister’s children and wife when he doesn’t show same towards them and us, as a nation? A cabinet minister who respects his family would not continue to hold public office while facing corruption charges. Ministers who refuse to step down while arraigned before the courts of law have no respect for the nation and as such we will be playing foolhardy to expect them to show respect to their families.
If they are able to show such shameful behaviour to the public, I’m left wondering how they behave in the private space of their homes where they are regarded as heads of their families. I always watch as these ministers waltz through the courts doors, dressed to the nines and displaying no emotions of shame. Infact for most of them, the only time their spouses are seen next to them in public is when they get arraigned before the courts of law. The poor wives, who are never tagged along to fancy cocktail dinners and prestigious events, only surface when their husbands face the music at the courts.
I’m struggling to understand why President Khama and his ministers behave the way they do. They seem to take the nation for granted. Infact I’m of the view they take us for fools with full knowledge we are helpless and cannot take them to task over their abuse of the power and the trust that we have bestowed on them. Cabinet ministers, just like other public officers, are accountable to the public and as such it is a legitimate expectation on our part for them to adhere to the Public Service Charter. Public officers who face corruption charges have been and continue to be interdicted from their duties and it therefore boggles the mind as to why the same treatment is not extended to cabinet ministers. It raises eyebrows why the interdiction of cabinet ministers stopped with the arrival of President Khama.
We have had in the past, ministers who stepped down to preserve the sanctity of the offices they held and they didn’t even need to be reminded on what they needed do. That is why I opine that the current crop of ministers do not have respect for the offices they hold. They do not respect their families and they do not respect the nation. Michael Tshipinare resigned his ministerial position when he was faced with criminal charges. Jacob Nkate resigned from cabinet when his business associate got slapped with a charge. Guma Moyo was even forced to resign for what appeared to be trumped up charges that never reached the courts of law.
Ndelu Seretse, Daniel Kwelagobe and Peter Mmusi are among those who resigned their ministerial positions when faced with court action. It now surprises me what could be so special about Kenneth Matambo and Vincent Seretse to face corruption charges while holding the leadership of such an important ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
Were it in other countries, ministers would not continue in their offices while facing corruption charges. It is quite funny how government always justifies some of its stupid decisions by reminding us that the same practices do happen in other developing countries yet they appear to be selective in their benchmarking. They introduced the DIS and when we complained they told us that many countries do have such an institution. They forced us to register our cellphone numbers and when we complained they told us it happens in many countries. They introduced the alcohol levy and told us even first world countries have the same. Now when they are supposed to copy what their counterparts in the first world countries do, they rush to tell us it is legally acceptable to remain a minister while facing corruption charges.
Ian Khama knows very well that his government does not allow government media to report on such cases and therefore most of Batswana, many of whom rely on government media for news, will never know that his cabinet ministers would go address them at Kgotla meetings and then rush back to Gaborone to appear in the courts of law. It’s so sad that Ian Khama runs this country through the constitution and no principle or ethics. Khama ignores the fact that what is legally acceptable is not always morally right. It is said that the law is a donkey and it would seem we have a president who relishes the donkey rule. It’s not legally binding to greet elders but anyone who has been raised properly knows that people must be greeted. In the same vein, while it is not legally binding for ministers to step down while on trial at the courts, those who grew up preserving their family names’ integrity will quickly step down when charged with offences as magnitude as corruption. Our ministers lack what my aunt would refer to as “dithong tsa tholego”
