The world’s oldest written constitution, the U.S. Constitution has been remarkably resilient. For more than 230 years, it has provided the foundation for American people’s economic prosperity, political stability, and democratic debate.
Question is, can we say the same about ours? Is it even ours or it belongs to our former colonial master? Even if it’s not ours, has it served us, fairly and equally over the 56 years that we have been politically independent?
The answers to these questions should sum up the final decision on whether to review or not review this sacred document—-or most importantly if a review of this sacred document is necessary in an unequal society like ours. If it is necessary, how can we panel beat it to ensure that those left behind over the past 6 decades catch up?
The talk and subsequent process of reviewing Botswana’s constitution comes at a time when it is impossible to ignore the stark disparities of income and wealth that prevail in our country. A great many of us have repeatedly expressed our troubles due to this state of affairs. Some political economists have over the years published articles about the rising economic inequality in Botswana. Some academics have even suggested that changes in legislation could be a launching pad to end the economic disparities.
In 2021 Parliament passed a watered down citizen economic empowerment law and this perhaps explains why our last hope now is on the pending constitutional review. It is one’s hope that the new constitution will entrench what in other countries they call ‘The Bill of Rights’ or ‘Socio-Economic Rights’.
Of course it is not one’s expectation that the new constitution should be bothered by whether some people have less or more than others but most importantly, one hopes that the new constitution should reflect that some people within our society do not have enough to live decent lives. As we prepare to write this new supreme law, we should bear in mind that many Batswana lack adequate income, have little or no wealth and do not enjoy #decenthousing, health care or education. When some people don’t have enough and others have vastly more than they need, it is easy to conclude that the problem is one of inequality. This problem has been persistent in Botswana since we enacted our first constitution hence the need to have a new document that will facilitate a political enforcement of socio-economic rights.
Given our history, someone out there could argue that we have a review process that could be the hardest in the world to enact. But if our Constitution cannot be changed to adapt to our modern needs then any political system in place soon after its adoption will break down one way or another.
The great disparities of income and wealth, of the kind we see in the modern day Botswana can have damaging effects even when nobody is badly off in what economists would normally refer to as —absolute terms. We already have instances in our country where the wealthiest attempted or successfully exerted a disproportionate share of political influence in conformity with their interests. A good example is that of the Economic Inclusion Act which even in terms of its name (content aside) was changed from ‘Citizen Economic Empowerment Act’ or possibly ‘Motswana wa Sekei Act’ to appease some naturalized Batswana with close links to the ruling Botswana Democratic Party. This elite group reportedly communicated their displeasure about the original tone of this law with powers that be. The rest, as they would say, became history. Indeed, when one read through the watered down version of what could have been the Indigenous Citizen Economic Empowerment Act it becomes clear that it is possible that some powerful individuals within our society run the show, and can, without a blink ensure that any new piece of legislation work for them rather than for everyone. What those who agreed to water down the law and those who made the order for it to be toned down do not understand (now) is that useless laws such as the Economic Inclusion Act adds to the growing economic inequality gap. These sponsored laws also risk transforming our democracy into a plutocracy, a society ruled by the rich. But is that what our new constitution going to be like? Only time will tell but one has to submit, as I hereby do, that through the new supreme law which we are going to draft in the near future, we must decide whether we wish to constitute ourselves as a genuine society of equals or, alternatively, whether we are content to have our relations with one another structured by an increasingly stark and unforgiving economic and social hierarchy.
Truth is, even before the official process of constitutional review was started, much has been made of the depth of public disillusionment with current economic situation that the locals find themselves in. Many, if not most Batswana are aware of the nature of the inequality in our society today. They know its intensity because they are either poor themselves, live next to a poor family or their relatives are extremely poor. So the question of whether to review or not which one asked at the beginning of this commentary should be easy to answer. We do that by looking at the standard of living of our people. The success of any nation can be or should be assessed only by looking at what is happening to the living standards of most of its citizens over a sustained period of time. What do we see when we look at the living standards of Batswana over the past two decades? Does the standard in anyway suggest that we have had a supreme law that ensured that we are equals? The #Bottomline is that life remains particularly harsh at the bottom of the income structure. Our new supreme law should correct such and ensure that going forward, no one is left behind.
