State House is a symbol of power; it seems we need to keep reminding the president and his advisors the truthfulness of this basic fact.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi ascended to the highest office on April 1, 2018.
It is almost four years and he has still not moved into the State House.
The reasons keep shifting and getting more bizarre by the day.
Why is he not moving into the State House?
Mixed reasons have been given; all of them shallow, implausible and often laughable – a clear sign of the growing opaque nature of this administration.
From April 1, 2018 if there was any seriousness about moving the president into his official residence that would have happened a long time back.
From all these, what emerges clearly is that the president’s grasp of history is suspect.
He also does not read optics quite well. Otherwise he would have long prevailed to move residences, notwithstanding any apprehensions from any of his advisors.
In short, the blame lies with him.
Can you imagine president of the United States staying out of the White House for four years because renovations are happening?
That would be abominable.
Clearly government is running us through rabbit holes.
They started by saying it was a routine maintenance. When the President was still not moving it his official residence, an innuendo was floated into the air that the State House had been bugged and it was taking long to clean it.
Of course, the president himself once rubbished the insinuation, but still not moved in.
As the plot thickens, now they are providing more excuses that the State House is too old. A veiled implication being that a new location is due.
In the same breath they add that renovation was done in phases. And is still not yet complete. It feels like a road to nowhere.
There is in all these an unbelievable caveat that notwithstanding everything else, the State House is fundamentally not safe for the President.
In one of his early meetings with his cabinet, former President of the United States Barrack Obama told them that he did not want drama. And the name “No drama Obama” stuck.
This is exactly what Masisi needed to say to his inner circle to reset but possibly save and restore integrity of his presidency.
The argument that State House is too old does not hold water. It might look so in the eyes of the self-aggrandising officials surrounding the president, but it certainly is not older than the White House in Pennsylvania avenue in Washington or No 10 Downing Street in London.
By not moving into the State House, for whatever reason the president is denying the country and himself all the historical symbolism attached to that place.
The Americans cannot think of their president staying anywhere else but the White House. The president of the United States only flies Air Force One – another symbol of American power.
In the same way, the British cannot accept their Prime Minister staying anywhere else but No 10 Downing Street. For the British, this is synonymous with their history and prestige.
Camp David is the official retreat home of the president of the United States. Official documents point out that construction of this home started in 1935 and was completed in 1938.
The Chequers Court – a 16th century English Manor is the weekend and holiday home of the British Prime Minister.
We point out these facts in greater detail to challenge the Office of the President to come up with more valid and more plausible reasons why the president has not moved into the State House almost four years since he ascended the highest office on the land.
Any excuses that continue to invoke renovation as a reason almost four years since they started can only be a sign of gross incompetence.
How the president can be excused from this at this moment, defies logic.
The president’s life has often been said to be in danger.
One supposes that such is always the case. It comes with territory.
The issue of the president security cannot be divorced from him not occupying the State House.
It’s a dog whistle.
The president security is a big deal. It is like war.
It should be a concern that this issue of important concern is being peddled around and not substantiated.
In other jurisdictions Parliament would have long occasioned a thorough investigation.
It cannot happen here because the Separation of Powers is a theoretical fallacy.
If the president’s life is truly in danger why allow him to drive around in a Toyota Hilux?
Not moving the president into the State House is yet another unforced mistake by this government.
It would seem like overselling the security and safety of the president has now reached the heights of rent-seeking.
It is the job of those paid to secure the life of the president to fight those that want to do harm to the president.
Without being taken into confidence on even the bare minimum of the details, the nation is right to dismiss it all as drama.
The president seems to be wedded to the version that his life is in danger.
Anything that can enhance his safety is welcome.
The trouble is where does all the drama stop.
In fact creating a fortress around the president plays into the hands of real enemies not the imaginary ones that we hear about.
The president is himself behaving like showman.
It’s a monumental error of judgement that they will live to regret.
This is something that not so long ago was utterly inconceivable.
It’s like he’s been sold snake oil.
The secrecy of the administration is not helpful. As is its trust deficit.
The president’s real enemies are political.
Scholars like to point out that intelligence is not a science. And that it is only useful when it is honest and not tailored to politics.
Not moving into State House has own adverse consequences.
Pressure to oversell key issues like security of the president are having a direct influence on public perception of the DIS.
We learn that Masisi is uncomfortable being compared to his predecessors.
How can we not?
How for instance is his use of the DIS different from Ian Khama’s?
If Masisi wants a new residence, he could be upfront with the nation.
If the current State House is for any reason not compatible with the tastes or upbringing of his family members, he could still be more upfront.
He will see some sympathies from some members the public.
Playing hide and seek ultimately contributes to public perception of seeing him as a joker in the pack.
