Boko says some BDP loyalists are impossible to fire
Spira Tlhankane | Monday June 30, 2025 06:00
When the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) took over government last November, the coalition’s supporters were cheering on, hoping President Boko to remake the government by removing multiple senior officials linked to the previous Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) regime. As the new government took over after 58 years of BDP rule, many expected heads to start rolling with multiple senior officials fired, reassigned, or even designated to be laid off. This week, Boko admitted that initially, there were some senior officials on his kill list, but he was later made to realise that removing them could collapse the system.
Addressing a press conference this week, he disclosed that there was a staunch BDP member he wanted to fire when he took office. Boko said he felt the person deserved to be fired, but he was told that the person was the best performer. “Even the UDC diehards were petitioning me not to touch the guy. I ended up signing his contract renewal,” Boko said. He said he could not ignore the gentleman's merit. Boko was reiterating the same sentiments he told Accounting Officers last month in their meeting. Boko, who was expected to wield new power from the outset, told the media that firing everyone would not have made sense. “You always think too much. These people who say people must be fired, what is going on in their minds? You fire how? This is the rule of law. You fire everybody, you collapse the system in an instant, and then say I failed because there was nobody to work,” he noted.
Boko emphasised that the government is better off if it retains and upskills some of the public servants from the old regime. With the government changing from red to blue last year, some expected some unelected bureaucrats who served under the previous administration to be axed. The expectation was that even non-political employees who serve in senior positions should have been sent home right away to allow the new administration to review staffing as it aligns with the UDC’s priorities. They believed that top positions should be staffed with people who support Boko’s goals.
Some also felt that politically appointed diplomats who have been favoured ahead of senior career diplomats should also face the exit door. “When you remove any public officer and replace them with another one from outside to get them to a certain level of proficiency, it will take a minimum of two years. In commercial settings and companies they say the turnover of staff comes at a huge cost to the company and to bring in a new employee to fill the role of one who has left or has been fired accounts for about 20% of the turnover of the company per individual,” he explained the logic behind withdrawing his axe. President Boko said people should not come with their preconceptions and pass judgment. He said he had an opportunity to become a wounded hurter, but he did not do that. “I was wounded myself; I was carrying psychic scars, ontological bruises from BURS and all over. I could have come for all of you because the power is there. Would it make sense? Is it justifiable?” Boko added.
Boko said instead of wielding the axe, he chose to be a wounded healer. He said there is idle talk about people being fired for no reason. He said if a person deserves to be fired when they have done something, he will have to establish it on evidence and on fact, and not supposition. Boko emphasised that after establishing those facts, they will then take appropriate measures. He said they will not be reckless and fire people. He says if he fires everyone, he would not have anyone to work with. Boko also said he could not do cadre deployment because he has seen it destroy governments. The cadre policy and deployment strategy were adopted by the ANC when South Africa attained democracy in 1994, and they meant to have loyal party hands in strategic positions at various levels of government. Since taking over last year, UDC wants its members appointed to key public positions. With party diehards pushing for the placement of their members in key roles, Boko said he does not want a situation where they do not operate on merit and competence but rather on affiliation. “We have got to be sober, we have to be rational, we have got to be factual, and work on data. It is merit that matters, and it should matter. It doesn’t matter your politics, I don’t have to like you, you just have to do your job,” he pointed out. He said people should not project their biases and hatred on him and expect him to beam them into society. He said someone has to be sober enough, rise above the fray, and be a unifier. With US President Donald Trump’s second administration having wasted little time in testing the boundaries of executive authority, many expected President Boko to show his presidential prowess with a series of executive orders in the first 100 days. With Boko indicating that he wants to enforce merit-based appointments throughout the public service, some from the UDC are irritated that he has not exactly implemented sweeping changes that would ensure that it is indeed their time to eat.