There is no democracy at BDF
| Friday October 17, 2014 14:55
The last thing I would ever want to do is to influence the military to take factional political sides, but on the same note it is imperative for me to politicise the military and I guess those who understand what the clear meaning of politics is will have no trouble grasping the gist of this opinion article.
Many in this country know very little of the fact that democracy was an idea that was first coined by the military. In ancient Greece, soldiers in the city state of Sparta came together and decided that if they could fight and defend the state and make it as powerful as it was, they surely ought to have a say in the manner in which rulers were appointed. This was a society made of mainly three sectors; the ruling elite, the military and the slaves. The ruling class used the military to put everyone in check and particularly the slaves who often wanted to earn their freedom through whatever means. Because of the professionalism and tactical abilities of the military, Sparta was feared and revered by all other city states.
Then the soldiers made it clear to the ruling elite that if they could fight and defend the state, then a form of rule that accommodates the “demos”, the ordinary people be put in place.
Democracy can be traced to the insistence of these military men who wanted to have a say in the way they were governed. Similarly, our military needs to understand that they must have a say in the manner in which Botswana is run and their decision will be critical on election day.
In Sparta, the arrival of key reforms were ushered in by the military and this induces me to educate our military to fully participate in the upcoming general elections and act as midwives of the inevitable change.
For the short time I did my military training in the United States, I came to appreciate how that society understands its military and interacts closely with it. Like the Spartans, the US military sustains the country by showing its muscles in overseas lands to protect national interests.
America will not hesitate to use its military on any part of the world in order to protect its national interests and assets. It is often disheartening to realise how people in Botswana have very ill-informed perceptions of the role of the military. When I was still in active service, I was often asked this particular question; “kante masole le dira eng ga go sena ntwa (what do soldiers do in the absence of war)?” After fielding such similar questions I came to realise that since BDF was formed at a time when we were at war with Rhodesia, then the thinking is that we should have disbanded our military when Zimbabwe became independent.
At peacetime, soldiers are always involved in all sorts of engagements from bushfire fighting to anti-poaching operations. They are always on standby to defend this nation from all ills of any nature. In 1996 BDF troops were used in what was referred to as “Operation Save Sowa”.
They worked around the clock to save the mine and the plant from being consumed by floods and their best reward for that immaculate job was a pocket knife each when they had literally saved the economy billions of dollars overnight.
Soldiers by the nature of their profession do not enjoy the same civil liberties like we all do in the civilian world. They only enjoy certain limited portions of the constitution. For instance, the freedom of speech and association that the Constitution of Botswana guarantees to all citizens and non citizens is just a pipedream for all soldiers. They cannot freely write an article to a newspaper for publication to express their deeply held views. When we talk of freedom of speech or expression in relation to the military, civilians often fail to understand the graveness of the matter.
An officer at BDF wrote to his superior that the reasons advanced against his appeal for a promotion are “flimsy and ridiculous” and this got him to the deep end of trouble despite the fact that he had read law. The two words in their true and strict interpretation are far from being offensive.
Talking about promotions, they are one aspect that remains taboo to talk about in the military regardless of the fact that they are normally used as some form of barometer for excellence. It is one area where many soldiers are abused as some are denied promotion for up to 15 years, that is a whole career lifetime when taking into consideration that soldiers can take their retirement after serving the initial 20 years.
Soldiers are required by the military policy to write the Commander and request for permission to get married and they have to declare whom they would be getting married to lest the new spouse is encumbered with undesirable security liabilities. The commander reserves the right to approve the marriage or refuse to grant permission to marry. Where else do you get this in society? And I do not want to imply that it is wrong.
In light of these few revelations, soldiers ought to vote wisely in the coming general elections. Like the Spartans, they need people who will heed to their longstanding grievances on areas of accommodation, feeding, promotion and their entire welfare system. This opportunity to appoint rulers only presents itself once in five years and unlike some of us in the civilian world, they can never raise their voices and challenge their elected officials in a situation where they are involved in some misdemeanours.
They can only leave it until the next five years while we can demonstrate and challenge to recall our elected leaders. What a long wait!
In view of these factors, soldiers need to vote for a party that has their welfare at heart. And in my honest view and opinion that party is the UDC. I have spent my entire career at BDF working to advance the welfare of soldiers and I understand that we are at such a critical time to revamp that by acceding to the demand for the X Factor that has long been promised to soldiers for many years now.
The X Factor is some form of financial compensation for the loses of the mentioned civil liberties by military personnel and this will certainly apply to police officers and jail guards. These groups are not allowed to be part of the trade union movement and therefore have to be ahead of all other groups in terms of remuneration.
The UDC as a coalition of political parties has emerged to address the deficiencies of the ruling party. It is interesting that their ranks have been swelling with a growing number of retired military personnel from private to generals who are now contesting for different offices in the political spectrum.
BDP generals have failed to address the X Factor and it is time soldiers try the new party which has generals with a different heart and approach to improving the welfare of military personnel. The BDP had sufficient time to fix the X Fact while they held the two highest positions in the land. My opinion is far from inciting but it is a clear reminder to soldiers that the power of change resides on their fingertips.
I would like to remind my compatriots at BDF that there is no democracy in the military and that’s the nature of your chosen career. You either eat a thin slice of your cake on election day or wait for another five years while wallowing in frustration because you would have given your favour to the ailing and failing BDP. Trust my advice and opinion because you have done so when I was in charge of your welfare for 20 years. Sekwata use your vote wisely!
Richard Moleofe is a Retired Military Officer