Every day comes with promises of hope for better things, especially in a nation like ours where majority of the masses engage in daily struggles for survival as if they are living in a war front.
As we confront the harsh realities of a democracy that seems to have only yielded dividends for the select few; most Batswana no longer pin their hopes on government policies for a better life. Representative democracy demands respect for the system of government, transparency, openness and fair play. These are essential parts of the norms that must be diligently observed to ensure that we do not punctuate a democratic system in the guise of a self accounting representative democracy.
As time goes on, we will realise that the system of government we choose to adopt is not the problem; the problem has always been the operators. Plato, the philosopher, once said, “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.” This simply means an otherwise faulty system of governance if operated by good men would produce a good system of governance. On the other hand, when evil men run an ideal system of government, if ever there was one, you’d expect nothing but a dysfunctional state.
Civic and political leaders need to hear this clarion call of excellence. I am not pointing a finger of accusation at anyone. Rather, like Jesus who did not point a finger at the adulterer but chose to lower that accusing finger to the ground, to the sand where the ‘river’ of accusation runs dry, we should also mature as a people and stop finger pointing and defensiveness. Most people have simply evolved as humans but have failed to mature as people. Where we desire to have this country go needs everyone to awaken their conscience, which always has a way of speaking to us without anyone having to correct us.
What is expected of our leaders is to pursue new national plans that could reawaken our lost dreams, unite our fragmented polity and set us on the path of national recovery. We ought to have evolved a strategy that would leap-frog Botswana into the BRICS group of emerging economies. About two decades ago, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which formed the BRICS block were also struggling like Botswana is doing today, but they’ve have all managed to turn their economic fortunes around, thanks to visionary and determined leadership.
There’s a certain urgency and sense of purpose needed in the running of Botswana in the face of the daunting economic challenges. The ship of state might be tottering, but I have confidence that our leaders will deliver, even if it means limping our way to success.
All we want from all our leaders, the citizenry included, is forensic rightness; a moral decency and perpendicularity in the management of the affairs of men. In our current political context you may call it good governance. These are the essentials if Botswana is to reinvent herself and become a beacon of hope for the citizenry who are drowning in hopelessness.
