Happy Independence celebrations, but

Mmegi Editor | Thursday October 2, 2014 09:00

Perhaps President Ian Khama said it well in his speech that the country has transformed tremendously from Gross Domestic Product of US$84, to US$ 7,700 today. Khama noted that, while in 1966 there was only six kilometres of paved roads in the entire country, currently over 6,400 kilometres of roads have been paved.  The president further added, “Whereas less than 100 among us then had the opportunity to progress beyond secondary school, today tens of thousands have earned tertiary degrees, while there were a half dozen secondary schools at independence, today the figure is just below 300”.

In addition to these developments, international observers have lauded Botswana as the shining example of democracy. This is so because since the country gained independence it has adhered to the basic principles of democracy. Not to be forgotten, the country has held peaceful multi-party elections every five years. In a few weeks the nation will be holding to the general elections.

It would be naïve to mention all these achievements without paying attention to worrying developments that continue to emerge. There is no doubt that as more African countries attained independence, our democracy proved to be regressive. It is not surprising therefore that some observers have described Botswana as a ‘minimalist democracy’ and not a participatory democracy. This is because apart from regular elections, the country has failed to enact laws that promote pillars of democracy and empower citizens to play an active role in the running of the country.

Lack of progressive legislations such as freedom of information law, declaration of assets and liabilities laws, State political party funding, and many other laws is a clear sign of deficiency in our democratic setup.  Further, lack of accountability by those in power; recent attack on the independent press, and abuse of State resources by the ruling party at the disadvantage of their opponents is a worrying development.

To avoid going the route - other Africa countries have taken, as a nation we should continue engaging each other – through dialogue, and debate issues that affect us as a nation. Those in power should welcome criticism and learn to explain their decisions in a more cordial way that cannot be interpreted as intimidation or anti-dissenting voices. We should not only pretend to be tolerant, we should be seen to be tolerant in our actions, particularly in the manner in which we handle criticism.

Meanwhile, it is refreshing to note that the independence celebrations ended with a few incidents in which lives were lost. Of course, the police cannot achieve their mandate without the cooperation of members of the public. We, therefore thank all individuals who made it their mission that the independence celebrations are free of any violence or road accidents.

 

                                                                   Today’s thought 

“Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of  happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty”

                                                                     - Andy James