Khama�s six years of pitfalls
Oarabile Mosikare | Thursday April 17, 2014 11:32
It turned out to be just empty talk.But under Khama’s reign, Botswana is fast regressing to the level of another Banana Republic in Africa.
The President’s contempt for the private media, labour movement and academia is legendary.
Since he came in on April 1, 2008, Khama has given controlled media interviews to some media houses. He feels at ease fielding lame questions from deputy permanent secretary Mogomotsi Kaboyamodimo. The President is on record saying he does not read local newspapers. Not only does he hate newspapers, he is also a confirmed bibliophobic. Recently, he took advantage of the BDP Special Congress to launch a vile attack on a fellow democrat Dr Margaret Nasha’s autobiography, Madam Speaker Sir!
Instead of resolving the abject poverty that some section of the population is subjected to, and the massive inequality that Botswana is well known for, Khama’s approach to poverty alleviation and unemployment is populist. This is a clear perpetuity of poverty of the masses. Khama is taking advantage of the poverty of the masses.
Khama’s administration’s piecemeal approach to job creation is out of this world. In the party manifesto for 2014-2019, the party says it will introduce national service for university graduates. How this national service or Tirelo Sechaba (TS) is different from the National Internship Programme remains a mystery. It is clear that under Khama’s regime there will never be sustainable jobs for the growing youth population.
During the special congress he said he would never apologise for his failure to create jobs for the youth. He said he would take temporary relief programmes like Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES), Ipelegeng and TS to another level. His disdain for labour movement gained momentum during the monumental public service strike in 2011. Since that period the President and unions affiliated to the Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) do not see eye to eye. The leadership of the federation has tried in vain to mend the fences but Khama has given them the cold shoulder. He is never available to meet them but takes time to attend personal Conservation International meetings abroad.
In the aftermath of the 2011 industrial action, Khama moved swiftly to introduce the draconian laws, which are against the International Labour Organisation (ILO) by amending an Act of Parliament through enlisting teachers, veterinary services and diamond sorters as essential services.
On the citizen economic empowerment front, it can also be argued that Khama has fared badly. Massive construction tenders are still dominated by foreign companies especially from China. The Morupule ‘B’, Sir Seretse Khama International Airport and the Palapye Glass project are signs of monumental failure by the government. Billions of Pula was poured into these projects. Regretfully, because the government failed to pay due diligence prior to the commencement of these projects, the contracted companies took Batswana for a ride. Because of this laissez-faire attitude, the country now plunges into darkness every other evening and the government has told lie after lie about the Morupule ‘B’ project.