I like Kentse Nchi Rammidi. He is a pleasant and likeable character. It is also fair to say he is an intelligent man. However, having said that, it is clear that Rammidi’s progressive thinking that focuses principally on the welfare of his constituency is not in consonance with his Botswana Democratic Party. That is why I think that Rammidi should resign and join opposition politics. If there is a man who demonstrates the complexity of Botswana politics in which communities ignore one’s party affiliation and vote an individual of their choice, is the scenario of Rammidi’s election. It is a perfect illustration of people voting individual over party. For many years Kanye has been the heart of opposition politics. The BDP’s Masire was beaten in Kanye many times, making his way into parliament as a specially elected MP. Come Kentse Rammidi; he beat the BNF candidate being the first person in a long time to win Kanye for the BDP. Rammidi is a bright individual. He is a modern MP who understands that one’s constituency comes before party since it is the constituency which takes an individual to parliament. It is therefore the concerns of the constituency which must be taken to parliament and to the party; instead of an MP simply taking the party ideas to the constituency. BDP politics are therefore stifling and suffocating Rammidi’s free thinking. It is therefore no wonder he is reported to have observed that “…honestly, since I left Cabinet, ke ikutlwa ke le motho.” In cabinet e ne e le setoto unable to ventilate the aspirations of the Kanye people. Rammidi has differed with the BDP on a number of critical matters. It is Rammidi who at an occasion to hand over a clinic by the BDP treasurer, Satar Dada, in Kanye, who complained against the quality of health delivery by the Kanye Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, observing a groundswell of dissatisfaction with the quality of services offered at the hospital. If you live in Kanye, like me, you will know that Rammidi was right. Many people in Kanye are dissatisfied with the medical services provided by the SDA hospital. They complain about the meals, the long queues, the cleanliness of the hospital as well as the speed at which they are attended to. I was recently called to take my grandmother on her death bed to hospital around 2am ko goo-Ruele. I remember the sickly old lady pleading with me to take her to the Jwaneng hospital some 80km away or to Ramotswa! She told me clearly: “If you take me to the SDA hospital I am going to die”. The 86 year old is still alive having received superior medical attention in Jwaneng. Rammidi attempted to articulate these medical concerns of his constituency. One would have thought that the government would be delighted that Nchi represented the legitimate concerns of his constituency with supreme excellence. He was instead reprimanded by the president for his utterances. This demonstrates that Rammidi’s BDP considers democracy to be principally about the party and not about the people. What he expressed was totally ignored and individual egos and processes given precedence. Rammidi must leave the BDP.
Many will also remember that while the BDP is developing a leadership list to be adopted at its coming July congress, instead of having full leadership elections, a proposition of the BDP leader Ian Khama, Rammidi is opposed to such a scheme, instead favouring elections of the central committee. It is important to once more return to the word┬ádemocracy┬áand its etymology. It is derived from the Greek word┬ádemokratia┬áconstituted by┬ádemos┬ámeaning┬áthe people┬áand┬ákratia┬ámeaning power┬áor┬árule. Democracy is purely about the people’s power or rule. Power lies in┬ádemos┬áÔÇô the people. They, the people have the power to rule or govern.┬á The people make decisions about what they want to do with power. Democracy is not about elections. Elections are only┬áone┬áway which┬áfacilitates┬ádemocracy. Democracy is about┬ádemos-power and not leaders-power. It is not about elections. Democracy is about people and power, anything else that attempts to destroy or distort that duality, becomes counter-democratic. Democracy is not a system that transfers power from the people to the leaders. Leaders are only relevant if they express ideas and wishes of the people. Leaders do not┬áthink for┬áthe people; their principal role is to implement what people want.
To┬áthink┬áfor┬áthe people is paternalistic. The people can think for themselves. What the leader needs to do is to keep his ear to the ground and listen to the rhythm of the people’s wishes. He is not the people’s father; he is the people’s servant ÔÇô┬áke morongwa. His principal role is to echo the people’s voice. It appears to me that Rammidi understands this clearly and his actions have been consistent with a people centred government. That is why Rammidi has been addressing workers both in Kanye and Gaborone ÔÇô kwa Moruleng on labour matters though the BDP had taken a position that its MPs should not address the workers. It is clear that he does not share the same position with his party, or specifically with his party leader. He must resign not just from cabinet, but also from the BDP since it is incompatible with his values. The fact that Rammidi has observed that “…ha motlaagana wame wa party e ke mo go yone o ka rutlologa, I am ready for that,” demonstrates that he is conscious of his precarious political position. But he should do the right thing and resign from the BDP as well since it no longer stands for the principles that he stands for. The truth is motlaagana wa party ya ga Rammidi o rutlomologile, go setse matlotla fela a a tletseng diphage. A fighter that he is, he may indeed try and stand for the Central Committee elections, because he still has hope that the BDP can be redeemed. But he must learn from the hopeless hope of persons like Ntuane and Motswaledi who in 2009 went to Rammidi’s constituency of Kanye with the hopeless expectation that they could bring sanity to the BDP central committee. They won and beat every single individual who was endorsed by Ian Khama. As they were to later learn; their victory was hollow and inconsequential. They were sidelined and made powerless. Rammidi must be advised that he must cease to prevaricate and leave the BDP now. In the opposition he has people of similar values and age. The BDP is aging, tired and nearing its death. If he fails to heed this piece of advice, he must not consider me harsh, if tomorrow I tell him: “I told you so.” Mongwaketse, leave now!
