A common thread in a democracy is that opposition parties are expected to hold government accountable.
Accordingly, the more vibrant and assertive the opposition camp is, the greater the level of accountability. Traditionally in Botswana, the Botswana National Front (BNF) has acted as a father figure of opposition politics. Its Machiavellian shrewdness in getting around topical issues enabled it to knock sense into the otherwise insensitive, arrogant and unintelligent but numerically superior ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).
This was made possible partly by some its livewire parliamentarians such as its president Dr. Koma, Dabutha, Rantao and so forth. Even on occasions when the BNF was represented by somewhat insane parliamentarians, it was able to meet its obligation to its members and sympathizers by taking the bull by the balls.
One critical component of the party’s ability to meaningfully keep the BDP on its toes was the mere presence of the party leader in Parliament. His presence added more impetus and worked as a motivating factor and monitoring mechanism. His presence and active participation in parliamentary proceedings ensured that the party president led from a privileged position as a role model in articulating the opposition’s alternative views.
Whereas power is an inherent component of any leadership position, the authority to lead from that position may often be lacking. Power often comes with the position but authority must be earned often through legitimate, reputable and heroic actions. The present situation in the BNF is that the party president is not a Member of Parliament and as such does not engage directly with his party’s sworn enemy ÔÇô the BDP hence he lacks action-based authority. He is, to a greater extent, detached from the rigors, complexity, bloody battles and hurly burly daily encounters with the BDP hooligan-like parliamentarians.
Whereas Mr. Duma Boko is the legitimate party leader, his absence in parliament compromises his image and that of the party and does not inspire requisite confidence is his leadership. His party’s MPs do not feel his presence whilst in parliament. He thus comes across more as an armchair chief cook who pretend to be in control when in reality control lies with those who enjoy privileged and strategic positioning ÔÇô the party’s MPs. Boko’s absence from parliament weakens his authority and makes him relatively inadequate and an average politician.
The BNF MPs may rightly contend that Mr. Boko has no legitimate claim to stick his nose in parliamentary affairs since he is not unfamiliar with what actually goes in there. Thus, when he bully them to enter into romance with the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), he may be punching above his weight and this might cause an irreparable damage that could cause a major revolt against his authority and subsequent split of the mighty BNF. If one interrogates his statement that he had to ‘propose for the formation of a coalition to inform the Speaker, Margaret Nasha and also forward her Botsalo Ntuane’s name for the Leader of Opposition seat’ (Monitor, 13th February 2012) one detects that to some greater extent, the proposal was pushed down the MPs’ esophagus and only time will tell.
This, in my view accounts, in part, for the embarrassing episode that played itself in Parliament two weeks ago when the BNF teamed up with the BCP to oust Botsalo Ntuane from the position of the Leader of the opposition. The two opposition parties with the numbers in Parliament ÔÇô the BNF and the BMD do not have their party presidents in Parliament.
In a situation where the party president is a Member of Parliament, he/she becomes the natural choice for the position of the Leader of the Opposition. My bet is that even though the BNF and BMD succeeded in forming a coalition and recouped the position, they will continue to squabble for it since every Tom and Jerry fancies their chances particularly the two party’s second in command.
In teaming up with the BCP to overthrow the BMD representative, the BNF parliamentarians were openly in contempt of the party’s central committee resolution and were also in defiance of party president. It seems to me that they knew of the Central Committee proposal that the position of Leader of the Opposition be shared between the BMD and the BNF on a rotational arrangement.
However, they nevertheless sprung into swift action to invalidate the proposal before it was officially communicated to them. Perhaps the MPs wanted to do things their own way as dictated by the realities in parliament. Thus, the parliamentarians could argue that they schemed to oust Mr. Ntuane to ensure that the BNF, as the arbiter of opposition politics’ wisdom, takes parliamentary business seriously and raise the level of political discourse from a privileged position.
The MPs could further argue that Duma Boko’s use of powers or influence as party president or the central committee’s decision was based on a narrow understanding of what goes on in parliament. This assertion could be lame but on closer scrutiny, it may be true that an ‘outsider president’, however powerful, may not be competent enough to arrive at an informed position on matters relating to the conduct of parliamentary business owing to their lack of privileged information regarding the hefty expectations which accompanies being in parliament on a BNF ticket.
There may be times when the parliamentarians have to caucus to take an immediate position on a very important matter and may have to do so without involving the party president since he is not in the ‘team’.
Even when you consider the BMD situation, you will note that its Deputy President Botsalo Ntuane has more clout than his boss- party president Gomolemo Motswaledi.
Ntuane’s position as MP ensures that he is more visible, heard and comes out as the face of the BMD. It is unconvincing and unimaginable that a party president who does not sit in parliament would be able to exercise firm control over party members particularly those who are in parliament and more so for a party that is always in a state of flask as the BNF.
To crown it all, Mr. Boko is far younger that most of the BNF parliamentarians and our traditional value system require that he gives them the respect they deserve in spite of his position as party president. Probably under normal circumstances it wouldn’t matter whether the party president sits in parliament or not, but we know the history of the BNF as a party whose survival hinges on firm control by the party leader who is considered undoubtedly legitimate. Yet, Mr. Boko is considered as an outsider president since he is not a Member of Parliament.
He is also considered a part-time president of the BNF for the simple fact that his quality time is dedicated to his law firm. These circumstances combine to render Mr. Boko a lame duck president which explains why he has taken to issuing military-style commands or orders to salvage his battered leadership credentials and show them who is boss.
It is my considered view that even though Mr. Duma Boko and the party’s central committee have veto powers to investigate and take disciplinary action against the coup plotters, he will be pinching himself in the face and exposing himself to more ridicule.
He is not going to deal with wayward parliamentarians the same way he would deal with an ordinary member of the party. Of course, all members of the party, including parliamentarians, must toe the party line but the reality is that they are not equal.
