In its defence of its decree, the royal family is quoted as saying that the decision was taken by the morafe (the tribe). Be that as it may, the decree has seriously inconvenienced entrepreneurs in the North West especially the capital Maun, which is also a resort town of world renown.
With Botswana’s ever-changing demographics, it is a given that Maun is no longer a homogenous Batawana town alone, if it ever was, which makes this Tawana-centric decree unfair and unreasonable in the extreme. Without taking away from the countrywide cultural revival, we think it odd for any one group to impose its values on others, values that – in the case of the issue here under discussion, may not enjoy the total support of even Batawana themselves. Afterall, the opportunity cost of this edict in trade and commerce cuts across tribes in one of Botswana’s most cosmopolitan of districts. The question is how the Maun matter is different from the time in Kgatleng when certain aristocrats decided to impose certain strictures on the freedoms of everyone in the district in the name of culture.
