Botswana’s fast changing political terrain means that good faith alone is no longer enough to maintain a good relationship between voters and their representative.
Times were when we could trust a local Member of Parliament and councilor to be always on the side of their electorate, when a Member of Parliament was able to speak their mind without having to first check over their shoulders if creditors, debt collectors or sheriffs were anywhere nearby.
Using office for commercial considerations just did not cross the minds of many of our leaders.
Our Members of Parliament lived within their means. In fact, many of them had come to parliament after long fulfilling careers as teachers, businessmen and, in other instances, farmers.
They came to parliament not for money, but rather out of a heartfelt conviction that they could make a difference in ordinary peoples’ lives. To them, politics, especially a place in parliament, cabinet and or council was an opportunity to serve.
Nothing was more precious and honourable than an opportunity to serve one’s people.
Voters held politicians in high esteem, not least because politicians were trustworthy people.
Even as many of them were well off when compared to a majority of their voters, it was easy for them to account for every penny they had simply because their assets were all a result of clean hard labour.
As a matter of fact, many yesteryear politicians actually used their own money to help the less fortunate of their constituents.
In a true sense, our political leaders were community leaders.
They were elders in every meaning of the word. That was when it was not necessary to police our politicians.
Those days are gone; for good, one may add.
Many of today’s politicians join politics because they want to get rich.
This applies to both opposition and the ruling party.
Serving their countrymen and women is not the highest item on the agenda of today’s politicians.
What ranks highest in their minds is to use the influence and power that comes with their jobs to make money for themselves, their families, their friends and their spouses.
Because for the greater part of the time they are far ahead in accessing inside information ahead of the larger public.
If there is one thing that unites our ruling and opposition politicians as to make them identical it is an inner desire amongst everyone of them to make money and get rich really fast.
There is nothing wrong with getting rich. In fact, this newspaper celebrates wealth creation, as long as that wealth is made and accumulated through clean and fair means. We celebrate that wealth, more when it retains a human face; that is when its owners use it to help the less privileged members in our communities.
To us, the cleaner the wealth, the merrier.
Unfortunately to our politicians of today, wealth is wealth. It does not matter how it has been accumulated.
The venality among our politicians has made them a hunting ground for business people looking for opportunities to break laws and as well as seeking to protect their investments against national interests.
Politicians of today are highly indebted.
In a very literal sense they are swimming in debt ÔÇô a result of their unsustainably high lifestyles.
Given this kind of politician, it is not enough to ask the voter to scrutinize their politicians before voting. What we need is a law that will compliment the vigilance of the voter.
In fact, the need for such a law, making it mandatory for our representatives from President downwards to declare their assets, liabilities and other interests has never been greater.
If possible, such a law should apply also to the judiciary. As one renowned South African judge once put it, “judges are not sages.” Judges are lawyers who happen to hold such position.
In short, they are human beings and there is always a human temptation to make money, especially in our country where the lure of money looms large.
