Botswana, a multiparty democracy goes to national polls in October 2014 with three parties; Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) & Umbrella For Democratic Change(UDC) battling for the minds & souls of the 823,306 (IEC) registered voters, thus dispelling the argument that opposition parties are fragmented & bringing face to face an arguably organized, resilient, resurgent but cash strapped opposition against a weakened, discredited but over resourced ruling party. It is intended here to compare & contrast pledges contained in their manifestos with a view to unpack them, starting with giving brief historical background of political parties’ that shaped their organizational outlook which may have profound impact on their performance in the upcoming general election, without much ado, will start with BDP.
BDP, ruling party since independence in 1966, boasts of uninterrupted rule & regards itself as a natural party of government & therefore treats the encircling institutions of government as its own. It has unrivaled influence & connections in a private sector that comprises a parastatal and heavily relies on government which is also the biggest procurer of goods & services in the market, making the two to naturally have a symbiotic relationship & openly flirt with each other, BDP handsome donations from private sector which to propel to win & in return reap benefits such as conducive environment (pro capital).
BDP manifestos are anchored on the business of government, thus claiming credit therein & deliberately blurring the divide between government & party for parochial partisan interests. BDP manifestos are often punctuated with self praise, reinforced by international ratings that tend to look at broader parameters/indicators with little bearing on ordinary lives. BDP has become obsessed with listening & loving its own voice. BDP manifesto therefore is as good as government 5 year historical performance review & the next 5 year plans/projections with little input from the party itself apart from sound bites & slogans. It has become BDP tradition to always remind whoever cares to listen that “at independence, we were one of the poorest countries in the world, but we have successfully transformed our economy over time to become what we are today an upper -middle income country. ..have since experienced growth greater than seen in the newly industrialized Asian countries”. BDP takes off by reminding voters that the unexpected world economic meltdown undermined government major planned projects as it re-prioritized hence resorting to shift priorities, borrow & expend foreign reserves for financing. BDP launched its manifesto in Gaborone with a motorcade that culminated into a public rally next to national stadium.
After the collapse of the initial unity talks (U1) on the 22 November 2011, BCP unanimously opted to go it alone following the verdict of its members & a cloud hovering over it as to whether it would suffer collateral damage as a result, and accusations & counteraccusations flew thick & fast (still do) in attempts to shift the blame of collapse with a view to get sympathy votes (psychological warfare), the war rages on however both parties appear to remain largely entrenched in the geographic areas where they had strong presence as per 2009 general election results. The opposition competition remain threefold, manifesto, (between themselves) legitimacy of which of the two truly embodies the aspirations of Batswana & has capacity to effect regime change (against BDP).
Collapse evoked animosity & set in motion yet another realignment of forces as other high profile BMD founders rejoined BDP & while BNF got tumultuous as some of its executive members who had preferred a pact with BCP eventually joined it, while Duma Boko stayed true to both BPP & BMD, things were not helped by BNF dissidents who were & still are against both UDC & BMD alliance which they argued would kill the soul of the BNF. The BCP, formed in 1998 as an offshoot of BNF & has successfully cooperated with Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM), New Democratic Front (NDF) which have since merged & now MELS. It has not only concluded successful unity that eventually consummated into monogamous holly matrimony, but is also arguably the fastest growing party & the most stable.
On the 26 April 2014 after a motorcade that culminated into a rally at Maruapula Freedom Square BCP launched its manifesto that draws on its past pledges, its performance both in & outside parliament (advocacy & mobilization around national pressing concerns i.e. land, corruption, load shedding etc). The leader of BCP, also leader of opposition in parliament has equally executed himself well & used floors of parliament to articulate the BCP agenda, the manifesto starts with extolling successful motions the party sponsored i.e. on education, VAT on food & first time homeowners, land audit, BMC etc & how they impacted ordinary lives. “The manifesto continues the theme 2009 one entitled ‘A Nation at Crossroads: which way now’ thus ‘Ready to lead” leading the country Out of crossroads. It has successfully curved itself a niche as a coherent, (most) stable homogeneous entity with the psychology of the alternative government.
UDC has stayed the course since the collapse of the initial unity talks that included BCP post 2009 election, it has brought Botswana Peoples Party (BPP the oldest party inland), Botswana National Front (formed after 1966 election) dogged by controversy & splits since & Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD formed 2010 dubbed the orange revolution, an offshoot of the ruling BDP) which has arguably positioned itself as a catalyst to change together. UDC therefore styled itself as having stayed true to the clarion call for unified opposition to dislodge the colossal that is BDP, hence the bastion of hope & authentic change, the position equally claimed by BCP. It has triumphed amidst intense doubt & debilitating circumstances to pull through to the finish line as an entity. Take off was bumpy as BMD chief of policy Ndaba Gaolathe penned the famous article that warned it about the pitfalls of unity before coalescing into a formidable homogeneous party, subsequently talks hit a snag & collapsed for more or less the reasons he had propounded. Poignantly refusing to undertake burial after issuing ‘death certificate’, BNF, BPP & BMD picked up the pieces & resuscitated talks (U2) culminating in the current UDC.
BCP manifesto has 40 pages while both BDP & UDC has 38 pages each & both used pictures to illustrate & salient points in their respective manifestoes. Generally & in spite of highlighting priority areas as BDPs 5Ds, UDCs 5 Pillars & (BCP none specified), the issues covered are more or less the same & include; economy & diversification, Education, Health, Energy & mineral resources, land, tourism, etc. Furthermore BCP & UDC deal with issues in almost almost similar fashion (safe for differences in detail, emphasis, style & presentation), for instance both (BCP & UDC) will reform governance, devolve powers away from central government, restructure ministries to make high impact on delivery, facilitate constitutional review, modernize democracy by introducing direct election of the president & mayors ( UDC goes further to proposing premiership, more or less along federal lines).
There are however fundamental differences in land policies, though all parties (including BDP) promise to institute reforms on administration & management of land, BDP & BCP go further to suggest restructuring land tenures, both UDC & BCP pledge land audit & facilitating through Public Private Partnership (PPP) production of housing units for sale & reform BHC tenant purchase scheme to promote homeownership, UDC pledges to purchase land from puri-urban owners & elsewhere to address land shortage & other challenges.
All the parties agree on beneficiation, while BCP/UDC will build manufacturing capacity & ensure citizen participation in various sectors & at various levels ( both vertical & horizontal integration & add value) while BCP will go further to enact citizen economic empowerment act to ensure their inclusion/participation is guaranteed through law. The are areas where one or other is strong on some aspects eg UDC went further to talk devolution of power to premiership but one senses they both would venture into federalism & BCP comes strong on workers rights, respect for labor & institutions that underpin it. BCP is explicitly & comprehensively undertake to reform land tenures, which is critical issue for land reform that enhances land as commercial commodity while UDC tackles mining with much clarity. There is no regard for regional integration in particular there appears to be no conversation on reforms if any of SADC, AU (currently obsolete & conspicuously redundant) let alone customs union or other economic or political instruments or bodies which are critical especially given Botswana’s small population & hence the vitality of regional markets interlinkages in pursuit of aggressively developing manufacturing sector & equally important is regional economies that have issues i.e. immigration, crime etc that directly impact Botswana. BCP however, through refocused foreign missions, aims to increase the nations trade & investment.
In conclusion BDP doesn’t see the need for democratic, public sector let alone electoral reforms, doesn’t entertain constitutional review, flagrantly abuse incumbency & in fact has proved to pursue populist but costly programs & relies on GDP , per capita income & other indicators that has a tendency to exaggerate the real benefits or wealth of the country that goes to ordinary people (Botswana lags in homegrown polls capabilities to measure real time opinion). True as it may that the country has made noticeable strides in almost all sectors of the economy, it is ridiculous to claim such superiority especially over Asian countries which have efficient & robust economies & therefore better lives. Aside from GDP, per capita income, self praise, detached & superficial international rankings; crime, unemployment are worryingly high, education declining & curable diseases still claiming lives, road carnages high, economic diversification slow, other social ills are rampant, democracy weak & service delivery horrible. Botswana’s commitment to the rule of & by law (despite challenges) & flourishing tourism, though also with serious issues surrounding indigenous participation in mainstream sector & rampant abuse & misuse in Natural Resource Based Management NBRM. BDP manifesto underscore that it lacks reform potential & is engrossed in denial. It is also this that tends to limit its creativity to bring new political ideas (from Tsholetsa) to challenges & rather makes governing more of bureaucrats than politicians.
The alternative agenda (usually called opposition) spurn ambitious programs coupled with the proposed reforms by either will increase economic activity & create jobs which in turn will increase tax base & have other benefits such as reduced crime & feed into GDP. Another point of departure is in restructuring their executive/cabinet which would drive their rigorous agenda aimed at transforming Botswana to catapult it to vibrant economy, robust & modernized democracy & judiciary, efficient infrastructure & better Botswana.
BDP split in 2010, was embroiled in debilitating primary election that caused it to not to participate in Francistown West parliamentary by election, thus ushering in the first ever opposition woman parliamentarian, in 2011 the country experienced the biggest & historic public sector strike led by BOFEPUSO. Meanwhile both BCP & UDC consolidated their power bases & went on to produce credible & pragmatic manifestos; no doubt the political landscape has changed & the country might be headed to a hang parliament, government of national unity (GNU) or simply a coalition government of BCP/UDC axis, thus regime change. The manifesto alone is part of the story, other parts are organizational preparedness, the ability to wage a rigorous but comprehensive campaign & deliver votes, certainly Botswana is headed in the right direction.
