The Programme for the 10th Anniversary of Independence

The programme of events for the five-day 10th anniversary celebrations makes for instructive reading and demonstrates how much could be achieved even when drawing on very limited resources. There were, of course, speeches by the four visiting Presidents of Zambia, the Gambia, the Congo and Tanzania and visits to the BMC in Lobatse. There were prayers by church leaders and a sermon, intriguingly by University of Botswana (UB) lecturer Dr Setiloane who was later deported for offences unknown. There was a contribution by the police, but neither the BDF nor Prisons featured.

For the venues, there was heavy reliance on the National Stadium and the Civic Centre – do we still have one? – on the National Library, the Moth Hall and the University College of Botswana. Outside Government, organisers of the various items were the Capital Players, the Lions, the YWCA the Botswana Council of Women, the Mine Labour Organisation, the Scouts and Guides, the Red Cross, and rather surprisingly, the Baptist mission. In contrast, the LMS of Moffat and Livingstone, appears nowhere in the programme.