I had time over the weekend to listen to different radio stations to keep up to date with topical issues that affect lives of our people. Something wonderful happened to me, which was never part of my make-up. I am now able to listen to various radios at the same time! This might sound nothing complex to most mortals until they have to undergo the torturous exercise. This is way much a complex development. Like I indicated earlier, it sounds just ordinary to be able to comprehend discussions from various outlets, but when it comes to radios, especially morning shows, one need to be an extraordinary creature to muster such skill. You get all sorts of people calling and you are supposed to pay attention so that when your time to call comes you certainly know what to say. I am happy to be multi talent on that front. Surely, it confirms that man never stops developing though this process of evolution. The weekend developments indeed confirmed that we are in a perpetual state of development, where as a people, we become better than what we were yesterday.
I suspected as a nation, especially at a critical moment of 50 years into self-rule, we are not evolving to become any better. From the radio discussion on Dumafm the debate centred on preparations for upcoming independence celebration. Local artists were blunt, saying they have been left out of the preparations. Blunt also in that the committee in charge of Bots50, in their considered view was marred by corruption. In here are members of Bots50 board who are in control of our moneys, I mean millions, but are at the same time accused of doing business with themselves. For those who are not getting what I am saying, local artists are pointing fingers at the organisers for also bidding for tenders they floated! Conflict-of-interest, once again, has lucked its ugly head on an important national event. This is not just another independence celebration. This is a country turning 50 years of self-rule. This is a country that over time managed to transform itself from a hopeless semi-arid place into an envy for many others in the continent. Sadly, we are now at crossroads. And this is the massage I heard loud and clear coming from local artists and many Batswana who expressed their displeasure on Dumafm over the weekend.
The highlight of the radio discussion proved to be a call from Minister Thapelo Olopeng, in charge of culture and youth. He did not take kindly to what local artists were expressing and, in turn, rubbished the guest person accusing him of harbouring an agenda against Bots50 mandate. He denied conflict-of-interest among board members. He did not see anything wrong with its composition. And, importantly, was happy with progress made so far by the committee, despite minor challenges here and there. Soon the whole thing degenerated in name calling. I was really disappointed because unfortunate things were said through a wrong platform. But the issue expressed thereafter by many Batswana was that this country has lost it. We are now a thug state. Looting has become legitimised. And, unfortunately, institutions that were meant to address such acts remain inactive. A friend of mine suspected that they were captured.
I then remembered one caller saying for him there was nothing to celebrate come September 30th. He found no reason to be part of the whole festivities. His was a hopeless life. His kids, armed with university education, were now employed as security guards. There was nothing in it for him. The purported economic miracle that the country enjoyed over the past three decades meant nothing to him. He hanged loosely on the poverty datum line. Security nets were not enough to secure him should he fall. The euphoria that met independence celebrations 50 years ago were memories to him. The present Botswana was a messed up place to be proud of for him and many others callers from across the breath and width of this country.
Once again, I was left wondering how we ended up in this sinkhole. How did we lose the sparkle? Yes, the world economy has not been so kind to us. But it was not kind to everybody, yet many other nations managed to transform economically thereby uplifting many from poverty into life of dignity. Why did our economic miracle fail to do what others have achieved? Put simple, why did we have economic growth bereft of social benefit to our people? Were some taking too much, hence, denying many others which was due to them?
Without claiming to know all the answers, I think we ended up with the wrong policies. And, crucially, policies reflect the kind of leadership at the helm of the nation. Ours has not been a responsive leadership in crafting meaningful policies towards fighting poverty and related ills. At best it has focused on unsustainable initiatives that succeed in keeping the poor poorer. At the end we should not be surprised that 50 years down the line, we are among the three top unequal societies on earth. And yet, we see no commitment from those in charge of our republic to address this scourge. Instead, corruption is allowed to get out of control, meaning that a fairer society cannot be realised. The sad reality is that many dreams have been left shattered.
What then needs to happen? We certainly need to develop a culture of monitoring and evaluation. We need to measure progress, in terms of how many of our compatriots have been helped to stand on their own without looking up to government assistance. And this can only happen if we change the way we do things. A total transformation of us need to happen. And institutions are the best placed instruments to do exactly that. I mean functional ones that will fight corruption and restore professionalism in our system. Then that is when as a nation we can be proud of who we are and what we have achieved over the past 50 year.
*Dr Molefhe teaches Public Administration at the University of Botswana
