In 2009 when launching the family of banknotes currently in circulation, President Khama proclaimed that a country’s currency is a symbol of nationhood and identity. One therefore expects Batswana to have a natural affinity for their currency more especially that the Pula as Botswana’s currency remains one of the strongest currencies in Africa. Additionally, the currency’s name which literally means ‘rain’, a scarce commodity in this semi-arid country, provides sufficient cause to treat the currency with much deference if we are to be blessed with the much needed rain.
However, at times one gets really irritated by the manner in which some people handle the Pula banknotes. Some people tends to believe that when they are in possession of banknotes such banknotes and/or coins (money) are essentially their personal items which entitles them to do whatever they wish with it. At times some people handle banknotes like it were just ordinary paper that one can use to wipe off dirt or cleanse their faces of sweat or molten make-up. Such manner of handling our currency makes the Pula a little more worthless, stingy and irritating to hold by hand.
Some folks fold the banknotes in so many folds that you would think such banknotes have been removed from circulation and therefore worthless and useless. Similarly, there are those who tuck away ‘their’ money in such compartments of their bodies that the banknotes are likely to be contaminated and/or stained. Some are known to stash away their cash in their underpants and socks under their feet for safe keeping. This could mean that a considerable number of our banknotes we handle on a daily basis are actually contaminated and therefore harmful to our health which explains why I loathe the often dirty P10 banknote. On many occasions I have declined to be given change in the P10 banknotes in preference for the rather heavy coins that are often clean and therefore less likely to be contaminated.
Banknotes changes hands innumerable times hence are more likely to come into contact with unwanted substances if they are not properly handled by members of the public. This happens throughout the year but is more pronounced during the festive season or the party season as the Christmas holidays have come to be known. There is a saying that there is no Christmas without shopping. Thus, the festive season is characterized by spending binge with buyers not shying away from spending and showing off their cash leading to improper and irresponsible handling of banknotes. This perhaps explains why some banknotes have a bad odour or are mutilated and discoloured.
I often hear people complain about the state of our banknotes stating that they are mutilated or torn, dirty and smelly. Such are not idle complaints or the ranting of snobs and arrogant moneyed fellas full of themselves and eager to act smart. Indeed many of our banknotes are dirty, smelly and perhaps harmful to our health. However, this offending state of our banknotes is mostly caused by the irresponsible manner in which we handle our money.
This mess presents a challenge to the Bank of Botswana as the country’s sole authority for issuing banknotes that can be used with confidence. Specifically, the Bank of Botswana has to ensure quality throughout the life cycle of our banknotes and this requires that the Bank of Botswana has to be proactive and develop workable intervention measures to curb their widespread mishandling.
I am not aware of any guidelines ever issued by the Bank of Botswana or any public information issued by any other authority in respect of the proper handling of our banknotes. It would seem that the authorities at the Bank of Botswana do not care much perhaps because they are also guilty of deliberate sullying of the banknotes. Often the Bank of Botswana’s public education activities are focused on educating members of the public about the security features of national currency so that they are able to distinguish genuine banknotes from forgeries. While this approach is commendable and a core aspect of their mandate, it has tended to relegate information on the proper handling of our banknotes to the margins of their public education activities.
It should not be assumed that members of the public will of their own free will handle the national currency in a responsible way. There are some members of the public who mishandles the banknotes out of sheer ignorance and there are those who do so intentionally to challenge authority and showcase the extent to which they are above the law by virtue of their wealth. At times there is need to promulgate rules and regulations to regulate human behaviour towards a desirable outcome. The Bank of Botswana should initiate aggressive and ambitious public education campaigns aimed at informing and educating members of the public on the benefits of proper ways of handling our banknotes. In addition to minimizing opportunities for contamination, such campaigns will promote care of the banknotes and in the process prolong their lives and save the nation the dishonour of using dirty and smelly banknotes that are an embarrassment even in African standards.
The proposed public education campaigns should aim at sensitizing and creating awareness on the significance of clean and unspoiled banknotes that are easy to verify and therefore difficult to counterfeit. The campaigns should also sensitize the public about the importance of the national currency to our sovereignty and economic prosperity so that the public develop a natural affinity for the national currency the same way they show their love for the country. This will promote attitudinal changes amongst citizens and ensure that people are proud of their currency and treat it as an iconic piece of paper ÔÇô the very definition of Botswana’sfascinating success story. In effect, such attitudinal changes will invariably ensure that we do not subject our banknotes to deliberate abuse or negligence to the point where we have been reducedto clumsy idiots with no idea about the significance of the national currency.
The public education campaigns should also aim at creating awareness about the procedures of handing over or returning damaged banknotes especially by retailers who are in the habit of transacting sales using excessively worn out banknotes some missing vital pieces to the extent that they no longer have their security features, especially the P10 banknote whose quality has always been a source of national embarrassment. These campaigns should empower members of the public to have the requisite confidence to decline soiled banknotes offered by retailers as change when one purchases goods.
The proposed public education campaigns should further aim to help members of the public to understand that banknotes and coins in our possessions are nevertheless the property of Bank of Botswana and must never be handled as though they are our personal items that we can burn, paint, mark and indiscriminately toss about as it so often happens with the 5t and 10t coins. In addition to these public education campaigns, it is recommended that the Bank of Botswana look into the possibility of introducing plastic banknotes which are a bit more resistant to dirt and possible contamination hence less likely to be hazardous.
In 2016 let every patriot take the onus to make Botswana a better place for all. Bootlickers please repent or face judgment!
