Trying times for Khama�s �leaking� government
Ryder Gabathuse | Friday October 10, 2014 17:48
Just a few weeks before Botswana goes to the polls, Khama’s government has been subjected to a major test as Cabinet directives, memos and minutes, which are strictly for the Cabinet’s eyes and a few other users only – have been widely leaked across media houses for public consumption in their raw state.
Since last week, the private press has been awash with reports whose sources are leaked Cabinet minutes, memos and directives.
Major decisions affecting public servants, politicians and the nation at large have been exposed before they can be properly communicated.
It is rare in Botswana that restricted documents of the nature of Cabinet memos/directives could be leaked so widely as it is in the current case.
These are documents whose end users are strictly Cabinet members or those very close to them by nature of their duties.
But officials of the rank of Permanent Secretaries, depending on issues at hand can have access to the Cabinet minutes.
In the absence of any clues, it’s possible that the person(s) leaking the restricted information are insiders who are not happy with the goings on in the Khama-led government one way or the other and is/are possibly leaking restricted Cabinet communications to either embarrass the government of the day or simply hurt it through the exposes.
Given the wide distribution of the leaked documents across all media houses, those behind the exposes seemingly wanted to ensure that their acts went for the jugular vein.
The timing also makes the news on the leak juicy and a must-read, as Cabinet meetings are purely closed affairs from the members of the public.
After former president Festus Mogae recently described Khama as a dictator when addressing an African Leadership Forum Panel Discussion in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, anything to do with Khama’s government has been subjected to a close scrutiny.
People are yearning to know more about Khama.
There is also another school of thought that in the few days remaining before the polls, Khama could have fallen out with some of his trusted lieutenants in the Cabinet to the extent that they have chosen to put his government on the spotlight by exposing restricted communications.
But, who in particular could be brave enough to take Khama and his government head on?
It’s generally unheard of for ministers to take om their governments, unless there are underlying issues precipitating such an action, which is everybody’s guess.
The latest developments are indicative of a government that has enemies operating within, which leaves the party and its government in a state of embarrassing undress.
It also suggests that the BDP and its government is purely a house divided if insiders could sweat to expose their government.
Recently, a leaked recording of an internal Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) meeting where a detailed onslaught against the private press was leaked caused chaos within the corridors of power.
In the widely circulated recording, Minister Mokgweetsi Masisi is alleged to have hatched a plan to starve what he termed the “Big Five” media players of advertising as a way of punishing them.
The so-called Big -Five included Mmegi, The Monitor (Dikgang Publishing Company), Botswana Guardian and Mid Week Sun (CBET) and the Gabz FM radio station. The Big Five are members of the Mmegi Investment Holdings stable. Before he knew it, Masisi’s strategy was aired all over the radio stations in an expose that must have left him with a bitter taste in his mouth.
Masisi was reportedly quick to accuse his party colleague, parliamentary hopeful, Botsalo Ntuane of being behind the leak of the tape that was widely broadcast across the private radio stations and reported in the private press.
Mmegi is privy to the details that this divisive matter finally reached the Office of the President forcing President Khama to intervene.
In the end, blame shifted as a local newspaper reporter would later be blamed for the leak.
As for the Cabinet memos and directives, it’s apparent that the leaked Cabinet minutes have now put the government, and public servants in particular, on a collision course regarding bread and butter issues.
It apparently came as a shocker to the public servants that already the government had approved overtime allowance without allowing the matter to go through the bargaining council, as is the norm.
The approved overtime allowance will be paid to the public servants next year on April 1.
In an earlier interview Tobokani Rari, the combative Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) secretary general responded to the Cabinet decision thus: “That is news to me, and the Public Service Bargaining Council is not aware of the matter.
“We have not even met to discuss the issue you are raising and there was never any consultation to that effect. This will be another way of trying to render the bargaining council irrelevant.”
As for the federation’s equally feisty deputy secretary general, Ketlhalefile Motshegwa he vowed that BOFEPUSU was not going to let sleeping dogs lie on the matter.
“We shall soon be approaching the courts not only about this issue, but also about the many others,” said Motshegwa who strongly condemned the government for taking unilateral decisions on “crucial workers issues”.
The standoff between government and BOFEPUSU is not helped by the fact that the Khama regime had recently rubbed the public servants the wrong way by awarding them a four percent pay rise without involving the bargaining council whilst talks were still ongoing.
In separately leaked Cabinet minutes, government is reportedly in the process of setting up a counter-terrorism spy agency that will see suspected terrorists executed and sentenced to life imprisonment without being given a fair trial.
These are some of the decisions that literally demonise the Khama regime.
Another Cabinet leak related to the gravy train in which President Khama has conferred MP privileges on non-MPs by allowing his government to pay P1 million in accommodation two months after the dissolution of parliament.
In an attempt to find answers to the mysterious leaks, University of Botswana (UB) political scientist, Professor Emmanuel Botlhale said, considering the timing of the leaks, it may reasonably suggest that somebody who has access to the Cabinet memos/directives is not happy and decided to leak the restricted information to the press.
The political scientist conceded that the motive could be to embarrass the government or inflict some damage to the Khama-led regime.
“The timing of the leakages raises a reasonable suspicion that by leaking the information to the private press when the country is only a few weeks away from the general elections, it may trigger a change of heart by the powers that be on numerous issues affecting this nation,” he analysed.
Professor Botlhale further noted that the leaker of the documents could be influenced by public interest amongst other things, or it’s probably just a bitter person trying to influence the outcome of the impending general elections.
He, however, acknowledged that it was not going to be easy trying to read the leaker’s mind.
But Botlhale suggested that the motive was probably to get maximum impact to ensure that the readership is reached as widely as possible.
Quizzed as to who amongst the Khama Cabinet has been differing with him fundamentally and could be the source, Botlhale noted that it has been more of business-as-usual in the current Cabinet with no major differences from the past ones.
“There had been no radical differences with the past Cabinets to suggest that there has always been an indication that things have not been well in the Khama-led government.”
Contacted for comment yesterday as to who is leaking restricted Cabinet information, government spokesperson, Dr Jeff Ramsay said Cabinet documents are restricted and thus he had no idea as to what is going on.
“ I really have no idea as to what those who continue publishing really have and I want to inform you that Presidential directives are restricted documents,” he noted.
He added that in any case, his office has been issuing press statements on pertinent issues for public consumption at the right time.
Ramsay’s office was hamstrung to have any direct comments to the leaks as it has no idea about either the source of information or the motive behind the leaks.