BDP Reform Agenda Conversation; 22 Discussion Points (Part 2)
Botsalo Ntuane | Friday May 15, 2015 16:02
You will notice they are not prescriptive but a jumble sale of ideas to set the tone knowing you guys might have additional thoughts on others that can form the basis of the reform conversation our party ought to have. Only after the issues have been suitably percolated can we share them with a wider circle of democrats who may wish to become part of the extended campaign team for the July congress on the strength of issues we advocate.
Party
l We must advocate for a strong activist Central Committee and this means recalibrating our relations with government; the party must reclaim its authority over government. The party must lead government and not be subordinate as is the case presently. The voice of the party must be heard loud and clear on every single issue.
l There is need for expansion the Central Committee from 18 members to 30 members through inclusion of all 12 Regional Chairpersons to ensure better oversight and supervision of structures.
l Alongside other internal processes currently underway such as the very necessary review of bulela ditswe, and revival of structures, an independent evaluation of the 24 October General Elections is necessary in order to determine why so many voters rejected us. The evaluation will cover a broad spectrum of the voting polity and deliver scientific findings that will inform our way to 2019.
l As we undertake a review of bulela ditswe, a related exercise would be to conduct a comprehensive audit of our membership database for accurate determination of our manpower strength.
For example can it be correct that we have 700, 000 members when in 2014 general elections we received 302, 000 votes and not all of them from members of the party? Can we have such a high number when the ANC in its last audit reported 1.2 million activists out of a total population of 50 million?
l We must strengthen the Policy Forum to vet and report to Central Committee all government Bills ahead of tabling before Parliament. Likewise in the case of public policy, ahead of any unveiling of schemes and programmes of government, the Policy Forum must accordingly advise Central Committee as the final political arbiter, for endorsement.
lPolitical education through regular party work shops and seminars across the country utilising the vast intellectual capital produced by the BDP’s education must be revived. Political education should among others, re-emphasise the party and country’ s founding values such as nationalism and the merits of our development model.
l Resources must be mobilised to maintain, in between general elections, a minimal presence of one administrative office in each of the BDP’s 12 Regions plus a vehicle.
l It is evident that pound for pound the opposition is outboxing us in public communication. We need competent spokespersons who will make our voice heard by articulating policies and defending the organisation.
Governance/Economic Development
l The party through a strong and activist Central Committee must restore confidence and credibility in its government by robustly addressing increasingly damaging perceptions/ allegations of corruption and abuse of public office.
l To demonstrate our commitment to good governance and zero tolerance for corruption and abuse of public office, the long overdue law on declaration of assets and liabilities must be enacted. This action will also shield innocent public officers /politicians from often unfounded accusations of looting. In the eyes of the public, the BDP refuses to bring the law because the party is protecting looters.
l We must re-set our relations with labour, private media, students, the middle class and other disaffected constituencies through rapproachment and other genuine outreach initiatives.
l Though government is now seized with the matter, as a party we must amplify our voice on the imperative of sustainable employment creation, moreso to address plight of young people coming out of our education system.
l Related to above, BCP had the best crafted political message of the preceding elections; the Bring Back Our Jobs idea spoke to every sincere citizen. Unfortunately the message failed to gain traction because the 2014 elections were not fought on ideas; and again it was diluted by the BCP’s fixation with tribalism. But in politics sometimes you must give credit to your opponent. Bring Back Our Jobs is viable and must be pursued aggressively by government. The many jobs created by our natural resources in foreign countries must be brought back to ameliorate the situation of thousands of graduates produced by our education system.
l Yes, we have educated our people and developed a sizeable middle class but aspirational Batswana are growing resentful of being spectators when the economic cake appears to be enjoyed disproportionately by foreign Asians, white South Africans and even our black African brothers. The BDP must sponsor and drive an unapologetic citizen empowerment law that will facilitate participation of our own people in all sectors of the economy including major projects. For instance an activist Central Committee could have instructed government to ensure that of the 25 billion budgeted for the ongoing Debswana Cut 8 Project, 50% of it be reserved for companies owned by Batswana. The same must apply for all major projects but with vigilance exercised to prevent a revolving door scenario whereby the same faces and names get empowered.
l We must explore other ways of further empowering middle class Batswana who should be ambassadors of our educational policies, many having risen from humble beginnings to middle class status within a generation. We must recognise they assist the state by paying taxes, relieving the burden on social services by enrolling in medical aid and sending their children to private schools, among others. For example, in the case of highly qualified Batswana middle class working and working overseas why not allow them dual citizenship instead of educating them for the exclusive benefit of the countries where they have opted to live?
l Is it too much to insist that that all foreign business people bidding for government tenders should partner with Batswana on a shareholding basis stipulated by law? We must learn from bold countries like Malaysia, Namibia and others that have introduced stringent measures to alleviate poverty, create wealth and jobs for their people.
l We must, by way of stimulating economic growth qualify/ review Bank of Botswana foreign exchange controls policy to limit repatriation of profits accrued by foreign companies working on government tenders. Why should a speculator fly into the country, bid for a government tender worth billions, win it, complete the project, collect his profit and be allowed to repatriate all of it? Why can’t 50% of the profits remain inland? A distinction must be made between genuine foreign investors who actually bring money into the country and speculators who arrive here just to bid for lucrative tenders.
l Our party suffered a political backlash due to unfinished mega projects but heads have not rolled. An activist Central Committee must demand accountability and for heads to roll when wasteful expenditure occurs resulting in the nation being short changed. Examples are Fenygue, Morupule B, SSKA.
l The demand for better service delivery and greater accountability at local government level, especially in urban centres should be addressed by introducing the system of executive mayors.
Electoral Reforms
l Let us conduct a fresh delimitation exercise ahead of 2019 General Elections to create more electoral districts. Botswana is a vast country but has less constituencies than countries of comparable and even smaller size such as Mauritius, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia.
l We must in addition to delimiting additional constituencies introduce an element of Proportional Representation to attain a more inclusive and broader representation of interest groups in the Legislature.
l We must introduce political party funding. As the majority party we will always receive of the pie. On electoral reforms we must live with the sober reality that BDP will not rule forever; as indeed no party does. However my view is we can still retain office for two more terms(10 years) either on own or in coalition. Should our tenure in power come to an end without having introduced key electoral reforms such as PR and party funding we will go the way of the dodo because the new rulers will have no incentive to oblige us on what we refused to extend to them over the years. And life in opposition for long ruling liberation/independence parties on this continent is traumatic. Once out of power if they don’t go extinct like the dodo, they become pale shadows of their once mighty selves. Known examples are the likes of UNIP in Zambia, MPR in Zaire, Basotho National Party, Malawi Congress Party, KANU in Kenya to name but a few.
Other Issues
Note that I have not touched on issues of land and housing which are equally topical and must be attended to before 2019. I trust as campaign team members you will provide input on how they can be tackled before we finalise our campaign platform .
* Botsalo Ntuane is the
BDP Secretary General candidate