The 2014 general elections are here. Batswana will be going to the polls on Friday 24th October 2014 to elect their parliamentary and council representatives. That these elections are going to be the most interesting elections in the history of our republic is not in dispute. The stakes have never been so high. The three political parties which are competing for state power are moving mountains and have adopted various strategies to connect with the electorates. There are accusations and counter accusations.
The leaders of the UDC and the BCP are very optimistic that they can defeat the BDP. They smell victory and it is very clear that the leaders of the BDP are very worried. They are facing defeat for the first time since 1965. The public utterances that they make at political rallies clearly indicate that they have pressed panic buttons. They have decided to mislead citizens by deliberately telling them there is no difference between the BDP and government. Some of the people who make these statements genuinely believe what they say given their inability to understand simple things while others are only interested in misleading the unsuspecting citizens. But no matter how one looks at the issue, for me it brings to light two things: deception of citizens and the extent to which some of our political leaders can stoop low. Hence, I would like to briefly clarify the differences between government and the ruling party.
There is a difference between the ruling party (i.e. BDP) and its interests and the government and its interests. Government refers to the structure and functions of public institutions while a political party is an organized group of people with similar political aims and opinions, that seeks to influence public policy by getting its candidates elected to public office. In a democracy such as ours, the health and wellbeing of the ruling party cannot be equated with the wellbeing of the citizens or the government.
Taxpayers cannot be required to pay for party political activities. In other words, the party in power cannot utilize government resources to fund its activities. If it does, it would be abusing its powers to gain an unfair electoral advantage. This compromises free and fair elections. It may not be illegal for the president to use a BDF helicopter to attend a BDP political rally. But it is unethical for him to use it to transport party activists to the same political rally. The fact that something is legal does not necessarily make it ethical. Hence, it is wrong for the BDP leaders to use government resources to advance the agenda of their political party. 
If the ruling party is voted out of office, government institutions will continue functioning. Social grants will continue to be paid, police officers will continue to maintain law and order, judges will interpret the law and the constitution, teachers will teach, doctors will treat patients, WUC will provide us with portable water and the list goes on. All these services are not provided to citizens because of the benevolence of the BDP. They are provided to citizens because the government has an obligation to provide them. It happens in all countries around the world even under dictatorships. Hence, the leaders of the BDP and their supporters must desist from telling the people that it is their party that constructed the roads that the leaders of opposition political parties are now using for their campaigns. The BDP does not have the resources to provide citizens with all the services that they need. Schools, hospitals, roads, fire brigades, sewerage plants etc. are constructed by various government departments, NOT the BDP. If the BDP had the resources to do all these things as claimed by its leaders, why is it that the salaries and allowances of the president, members of cabinet, parliament and councillors are paid by the government and NOT the BDP? How can the BDP leaders provide good education for members of opposition parties and totally forget to do the same thing for themselves as evidenced by the fact that some of them do not have high school or tertiary education?
I have observed that even though the BDP likes to be given credit for all the good things that have happened in our country, they are usually reluctant to take the blame when things do not go well. Who, within the BDP, took political responsibility for the failure of costly projects such as Morupule B, Palapye glass project, Sir Seretse Khama International airport, the impending collapse of BUIST, Francistown stadium, declining academic standards, high youth unemployment rates etc.? Most of our public facilities are in a poor state and no one within the BDP is taking responsibility. 
Politicians must avoid double standards and tell citizens the truth. The government and the BDP are two separate entities funded separately and have different interests.
*Dr Mothusi is Senior Lecturer in Public administration at the University of Botswana. He writes in his private capacity
