Covid-19 is no laughing matter but matters of laughing have taken centre stage as the Office of the President moves to economically empower a billionaire non-citizen – who happens to be a comedian, in the middle of the worst economic recession in Botswana’s history.
“Where does the government get the audacity to spend P470 million on a foreign comedian?” poses Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang, the Vice President of the Botswana Congress Party and Sefhare-Ramokgonami MP.
He was quoting the amount of money involved in a direct-appointment deal in which Steve Harvey, an African-American comedian-cum-a-couple-other-things, appears to have discovered a rich vein of gold in the studio wing of the Mass Media Complex. Last month, the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) announced, through a public notice, that Steve Harvey Global, Harvey’s Hollywood-based company, has been awarded a contract worth P470 million by direct appointment. The contract is for television and radio production services. In addition to his comedy, Harvey is also an actor, author, producer, motivational speaker, radio personality and TV show host. His net worth is estimated at P2 billion ($200 million).
The collective BCP leadership raised eyebrows at this deal through a press release. The latter states in part: “The Botswana Congress Party opposes this contract vehemently. It is yet another example of state capture rearing its ugly head and how close to the precipice Botswana has gone. Cabinet should reverse this tender immediately. We urge all progressive forces, i.e., civil society, political parties, the media and citizens, to rise, make their voices heard, and stop this corrupt contract. The BCP will take the matter to the public through all available media, parliament, and, if need be, the courts, to stop this abuse of public resources. We will also be engaging the PPADB for additional details surrounding this tender.”
Gobotswang reveals that the party has indeed engaged with PPADB over the “scandalous” issue.
“The first thing we are currently doing is to establish the facts from PPADB to establish whether a tender has been awarded to Steve Harvey and how it was awarded, that is whether it was a direct appointment or an open tender,” he says. “If indeed a tender has been awarded, the next step is to approach the US legal processes dealing with unethical business conduct by Americans in foreign countries.”
The relevant law is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act which Congress enacted in 1977 during the administration of President Jimmy Carter. On its website, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) explains that this Act, which is applicable worldwide, “was intended to halt … corrupt practices, create a level playing field for honest businesses, and restore public confidence in the integrity of the marketplace.” The Act is jointly enforced by the DoJ and the Securities and Exchange Commission which apply criminal and civil penalties, respectively.
This particular set of facts could give the BCP an unusual advantage because the party can invoke legal processes that the Botswana government is powerless against. Such course of action would also expose Harvey to legal risk that could imperil his career by putting him in jail and harming his professional reputation.
Ironically, one part of this controversial deal was motivated by genuine need to resolve a long-standing problem. In an August 2019 speech, President Mokgweetsi Masisi said that he had opened talks with Harvey about utilizing the full capacity of Mass Media Complex studios. As early as the early days of the Complex, it has always rankled with some that the state-of-the-art studios at the Complex are being under-utilised. Some of the Complex’s employees, including European consultants, said that Btv technology was light years ahead of that used in South Africa – and even Europe. Little would have changed and that is context in which Masisi sought to remedy the situation. Back then, he made clear the fact that he wanted all public procurement processes to be followed. BCP, and indeed many more parties, take the view that public procurement processes were not followed in awarding the P470 million tender to Harvey.
“First, as a general rule, the procurement of goods and services in the public sector should be based on fair, transparent and competitive bidding in order to secure the best value for money for the public and minimise the risk of corruption,” the BCP statement says. “There are a few exceptional circumstances under which departure from competitive bidding is permissible. These include: emergencies such as war, disease epidemics, floods and similar humanitarian emergencies; and, instances where there is only one supplier with the capacity to provide the required services or goods.”
On the basis of such understanding, the party concludes that the engagement of Steve Harvey Global by direct appointment cannot be justified on either ground.
“The procurement does not address an emergency. There is a wide range of prospective providers of the required services. Both the Department of Broadcasting Services and PPADB had a duty to Botswana to test the market in order to secure the best value for money for Botswana.”
A related oddity is that while Masisi publicly expressed intent to personally lure investors, the United States comedian is actually not an investor but merely a 21st century upgrade of the 1980s and early 1990s “briefcase investor.” These foreign “investors”, most of them white, arrived in Botswana with little more than a briefcase, were given the Financial Assistance Programme money by the government and soon thereafter, disappeared into thin air when the windfall ran out. An investor, as Investopedia explains, “is any person or other entity (such as a firm or mutual fund) who commits capital with the expectation of receiving financial returns.” In the matter at hand, the investor is the Botswana government because it is the one committing capital.
Perhaps the most peculiar thing about the Steve Harvey deal is that it occurs in the middle of a deadly pandemic in which less than 20 percent of the population has been vaccinated. That is the exact same point that Gobotswang reiterates.
“This country is in the middle of a severe pandemic. The health system is suffocating and needs all the resources available. Where does the government get the audacity to spend P470 million for a foreign comedian?” he asks rhetorically.
Masisi’s personal relationship with Harvey is also an issue of grave concern and could be used as a supporting factor in the invocation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. This relationship compels the president to be as far away from the procurement process as Hollywood is from State House. However, supposing that Masisi didn’t even influence the process in any way, some will always reasonably assume that he did because the Department of Broadcasting Services falls under the Office of the President.
Masisi appears to be unfazed by the threats that BCP has made. In his much-anticipated televised address last Tuesday, he announced that the Mass Media Complex will be refurbished at a cost of P52.6 million to transform it into a “hub” for local film and television production.
