I am currently reading ‘The Audacity of Hope’ by Barack Obama. It is primarily a call for new kind of politics for the Americans and one with shared understanding for them to pull together.
It is a good read and I wish many politicians, general public, retired army generals etc could lay their hands on it and read it. It is a wonderful read indeed.
I have also just recently finished reading Ayi Kwei Armah’s novel ‘The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born’. In this novel Armah showed his deep concern for rampant greed and political corruption by African elites.
In one of the chapters Armah gives an account of corruption as per the following except ‘The un-named protagonist referred to as ‘the man’ works at a railway station and is approached with a bribe, when he refuses his wife is furious and he can’t help feeling guilty despite his innocence’.
I must admit reading Armah’s novel written forty two years ago brought me closer home and reminded me about the recent alleged corruption scandals, insider trading, conflict of interest and malpractices bedevilling the country.
I could not help and wonder as to whether the ‘Switzerland of Africa’ as Botswana has commonly been referred to in the past due to its exceptionalities has become another semi-democratic country. That ‘This is Africa’ (TIA) and there is nothing so special and unique about it and that it has finally caught up with the bug. That the recent wave of alleged corrupt practices that has swept across the country like a tsunami are indeed a clear testimony that the ‘Beautyful Ones Are Not yet Born.
That people should not be fooled – citizens should not be fooled. There is no better politician and some if not all of them are all ‘Tsotsis’. Despite the name callings such as self seeking, unprincipled, intolerant, self-fish vultures and monkeys, politics being a dirty game is full of ‘Tsotsis’.
Politicians know these themselves and unfortunately the poor citizens are often fooled and hoodwinked into believing that indeed politicians have their best interest at heart whilst in actual fact the primary motive is about self- fulfilment and playing politics of the stomach.
Since some of these politicians have been referred to as vultures and monkeys, they have lived true to their names and have given some stunning performances in order not to prove their name callers wrong. Like monkeys they do acrobatic stunts, somersaults and roll publicly to excite and hoodwink the vulnerable voters. But they are ‘Tsotsi’s in that they know doing such monkey rolls and acrobatic stunts will certainly earn them a good leaving, will put bread on their tables and fatten their greedy stomachs and above all entertain the master. Like vultures, they will scavenge for food in order to satisfy their greedy stomachs.
Landing on the ground to feast on their pray will be characterised by vulture hip hops to satisfy their own taste and demands. If not satisfied they will fly away and look for a better meal. That is the lives of vultures.
They are also ‘Tsotsi’s knowing that undertaking such vulture hip hop moves certainly has rewards. It pays handsomely and no matter what it takes, whether tuning into the Luther Vandross song ‘Dance with My Father’ it pays. It actually has dividends.
What is a Tsotsi really?
Tsotsi is actually a Sotho/Zulu for a ‘Thug’ and just like I have been inspired by Obama and Armah’s books, I have also been inspired by Gavin Hood’s Academy Award winning South African drama Tsotsi. The film charts the fall of a township gangster as his life collapses when he accidentally kidnaps a baby.
But since Tsotsi is a South African movie based on a hugely successful novel ‘Tsotsi’ I got inspired. I was more particularly moved by what prevails in that country especially with regard to its transparent judicial system.
The recent sentencing of the former Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi for 15 years in prison for corruption left me astonished. Selebi is no ordinary fellow, he was appointed National Police Commissioner of the South African Police Service as a successor to George Filz by the then President Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki on 1 July 2000.
Jackie Selebi was also President of the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL).
Despite his credentials the South African Judge Meyer Joffe convicted him and sentenced him to 15 years for corruption in connection with his relationship with his one time friend Glen Agliotti. Unlike Botswana, South Africa’s democracy is in its 16 years of operation having gone and suffered apartheid rule.
South Africa is well known for its Tsotsis dating as far back as the Sophia town era in the 1950s. During this period there was ‘Amakwaitos, a group of gangsters in the Johannesburg township of Sophiatown. But despite having gone such difficult times and tides under oppressive apartheid regime they can still sentence a former police commissioner to prison for corrupt practices.
I must admit that of late I have been losing an appetite to write and contribute in the public debate discourse.
My loss of appetite in writing however had nothing to do with the continued hallucinations of that ‘Mampara’ and his intolerant obsessions. No! That bouncer had nothing to do with it at all. I was however; disturbed by the level of growing institutionalised unwarranted activities that seem not to bother the authorities at all. I was worried that it has now become a norm go re ‘madi a rugwe jaana’ in Botswana.
I was worried about un-necessary expenditures by our leaders such as the purchasing of a P46 000, 000 fridge and nobody gives a hoot. I was worried about the purchase of P300, 000.00 furniture of a minister and the minister himself just can’t see that as wrong. I was worried about the construction of a mini barracks at the State House at the tune of P5 Million.
I was worried about the allegations of building of slush funds by BDP from DIS unaccounted money to buy politicians. I was worried by the alleged siphoning of funds from the National Disaster Fund to the spy agency. I am worried about the transfer of Public Accounts Committee officer to another ministry.
I am worried about the World Bank investigations suggesting that Botswana government may have diverted money that was budgeted for underprivileged citizens.
I was worried that some people high in authority just don’t care and they will pretend to care, but however, they just don’t care, otherwise how does one explain all these?
They do not have the interest of the public at heart. Public service is now seen as a means to get rich by some political tsotsi’s, where those close to power together with their friends and family members will loot government.
These lootings benefit only a few individuals giving rise to vulture and monkey mentality especially the lowly paid MPs. This observation was shared by Patrick Masimolole (The Voice 4th December 2009:12), where he stated that there are thieves in Parliament, ‘gatwe le dinalanyana Mapalamente’.
Literally meaning, there are allegations that you have a habit of taking what does not belong to you MPs, that you are thieves. Even though you are not paid well desist from stealing and be clean.
I have been told a couple of times by those who love me to ‘mind’ what I write or say’, to mind how I tread in Botswana.
I have been told by those who love me that soon if I am not careful I will become part of a statistic.
But now that I have accepted that life after all is a passage, no one lives this world alive and the best way to pass through this passage is to live and let others live. Thus I have accepted to adopt DK;s style. You know it?
I will therefore, resurrect my dying appetite to write and contribute wisely and positively (if you choose to) in the public debate discourse. I will therefore, write about things the way I see them about my country Botswana.
I will write on issues of governance and government, I will continue writing on issues of corruption, transparency, ethics and accountability. I will write on public policy and government actions and inactions without any fear or favour.
The recent allegations regarding the siphoning of funds from the National Disaster Relief Fund must not be left unchallenged.
The Public Account Committee must provide full details of their findings and state the circumstances under which such authorisations were made.
Full details regarding how the money was used and for what purpose should also be provided. Those responsible must face the wrath of the law if proven that there was misuse, since that is tantamount to abuse of office and smacks of corrupt practices.
Further probing need also be made with regard to the recent investigation by the World Bank and the allegations of diverted funds meant for underprivileged.
All these have a potential to tarnish the country’s good governance practices as well as its rule of law. The explosive rate of corrupt practices that rocked the country in the 1990s especially at the hands of Political Tsotsi’s, their close family members and friends should not be allowed to resurface.
During this period Botswana witnessed how politicians nearly crumbled the National Development Bank and their near refusal to service their loans. So bad was the situation that the government was compelled to write off debts on a number of occasions.
In 1982 P 36 Million was written off and in 1988 P 31 Million was written off. The big guns reaction to exposures faulted NDB and stated the following…. ‘The thing is NDB never reminds us to pay and we forget’ we are human too’ There was also the Kebonyekgotla Kemokgatla P100 000 corruption scandal where former chief Magistrate Leonard Sechele convicted and sentenced him to 18 months prison term after he Sechele had suspended 30 months for three years on condition that Kemokgatla did not commit a similar offence.
Kemokgatla got the money from Nicholas Zakhem, one of the Directors of Zakhem Construction a company in which the then Assistant Minister of Finance and Development Planning Mr Jacob Nkate served also as its Director. There was also the conviction of Michael Tshipinare and the P500 000 saga and his involvement in Spectra. Upon completion of serving time at prison Tshipanare made it back to Parliament and Cabinet.
There was former President Quett Joni Masire’ P 4 Million buyout from State House (see Seleke 28th Feb 2010, Sunday Standard). Off cause there is also the Kgosikwena Sebele and the billy goat saga that earned him Five years behind the bars.
Currently there is a marathon case at the Magistrate Courts involving the former Minister of Defence, Justice and Security Dikgakgamatso Seretse and his alleged failure to disclose to the President his involvement with RFT Botswana.
I find this very ironic indeed and if you were to genuinely and honestly ask me, I will simply put it in two words. Is this all that the DCEC could do? Is this the only charge that the DCEC could draft, formulate and come up with?
What a waste of tax payer’s money. Is this just for window dressing and hoodwink the citizens into believing that something is being done through litigation for the former minister to attend to his personal matters temporarily at the Village Magistrate Court?
If we were in South Africa then I would be saying a different story. But now that we are in Botswana, I will say a different story.
If it involved floggings, then I would say a different story and I would expect application for a warrant of arrest and application for remainder in custody with immediate effect.
If it involved stealing of a billy goat, I will be saying a different story and I know perhaps you could be assured of four plus one prison terms.
If it involved instructing the cold blood shooting of an individual, then Botswana’s capital punishment will never be instituted against those who issued such barbaric instructions and it will take years if not forever, for the case to be allocated a judge at the High Court. This is Botswana.
I am therefore, not excited about the case and I have never been excited and I will never be excited. Even if Ramadeluka’ Ian Khama’s first cousin gets acquitted and returns back to cabinet after his temporary banishment to attend to his personal problems I will not be excited?
After all Ramadeluka has made it clear that since 2004 he has been disclosing his business interests and that he has also disclosed them to his first cousin General Khama. So why hide behind a finger and come up with such a charge knowing full well that this has always been his position even in his threats to sue open letters to the press. Newspaper articles have been so desperate to label and judged the poor former Minister as a ‘Number One Tsotsi’. He is not and in fact the Brigadier is devoted Christian who has given his soul to God Almighty and has sort for the divine intervention of the Nigerian Prophet- Joshua.
There are political Tsotsi out there who if they can be fully investigated together with their family members and see how they have benefited excessively from government tenders, you will begin to ask a lot of questions who is the Number Tsotsi/ In fact who is fooling who? Is this not the time to have full declaration of assets.
I have hope, that one day the Beautiful ones will be born with no Tsotsi mentality and knowing full well that in this world redemption just comes once.
*Thabo Lucas Seleke is a Lecture of Public Policy in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at the University of Botswana
