Masisi Cabinet appointments: Calming the BDP political storm
Ryder Gabathuse | Friday August 28, 2020 12:48
FRANCISTOWN: Speaking on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media as a public servant, a young Political Science graduate was however, not shocked at the latest developments. He claims the President was influenced by political expediency in his decision.
“The reshuffle is not much of a surprise because the motivation is political expediency (calming the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) emerging and raging political storm) and not service delivery,” the Young Turk analysed the President’s decision of this week.
Office of the President this week announced that Specially Elected legislator, Unity Dow has been relieved of the duties as Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation and replaced in that portfolio by the former Health Minister, Dr. Lemogang Kwape.
Dr Edwin Dikoloti has been appointed at Health. Karabo Gare, Masisi’s blue-eyed-boy who also hails from the President’s home village Moshupa, replaced Dikoloti at the substantive Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security.
Gare, who was previously Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry was replaced by Molebatsi Molebatsi, Mmadinare legislator who has incessantly blackmailed the party with allegations flying thick and fast that he was about to jump ship and possibly join the BDP breakaway party, Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF).
The Young Turk added: “ Clearly, the people on the ground do not take a centre stage, it’s all politics and politics.”
In the anonymous source’s view, Minister Dikoloti for instance, did not add value at the previous assignment as Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security indicating that the man “was quiet and didn’t add much value to the ministry that had been charged with improvement of the nation’s food security.”
Adam Mfundisi, lecturer, political and administrative studies describes the reshuffle as not a radical one, but incremental in nature.
“We can only speculate on the reasons for the reshuffle because according to the Botswana Constitution, it is the sole prerogative of the President to appoint and dismiss Ministers. The Cabinet does not share power with the President; it is merely an advisory body to the President,” he explains.
He posits that normally, head of government reshuffles Cabinet due to the following reasons:
- dwindling popularity
- inability of the President to effectively control the Cabinet or the backbench. But there are other reasons best known to the leader.
In this instance, his considered view is that this is a political move to pave way for Dow to assume a position in the Botswana Defence Force (BDF).
He remembers vividly, Dow speaking from her heart when deliberating on the BDF Amendment to introduce non-military personnel to assume Advocate General position.
Mfundidisi insists that the present BDP-led administration pays lip service to women affairs.
He says that Dow may have been nominated to Parliament and Cabinet not necessarily to advance women issues but for vehemently supporting Masisi and denouncing former president Ian Khama.
“And remember, she was vicious against former state minister, Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi and supporting Masisi. It might be payback time as another former State minister, Dorcus Makgatho was also rewarded with a post in the Foreign Service,” he was quick to point out.
He adds that the type of women nominated into Parliament have not been effective in advancing gender issues, but promoting to interests of the appointing authority being the President.
Mfundisi insists that Dow’s dropping from the Cabinet is suspect and presumably paving way for her as anticipated to assume a BDF role as a civilian.
“The argument during the debate on the amendment pointed to an insider assuming that position. She has previously been a Judge of the High Court. But whether she will fit well in a male dominated system the jury is out,” he says.
He concurs that Constitutionally; the President is the sole Executive and has the prerogative to institute a Cabinet reshuffle as per his deliberate judgment. He stresses that the reshuffle is merely a political decision bent on political expediency rather than on solid organisational change. The UB lecturer says that the President was just removing one and replacing her with another MP and rotating other Ministers.
He was however, worried that a large Cabinet depletes the BDP backbench, which is not effective in delivering basic services to the people.
Those who were shifted within the Cabinet, “have no extensive knowledge on their current deployment. MP Molebatsi has been vocal within the weakened BDP backbench and the President recently praised him during his tour of constituency.”
Mfundisi is adamant that collective narcissism is dominating this government indicating that they are using legal processes as cover for political expediency.
He concedes that Dow has been overly inactive in international relations and cooperation. He suspects that she has been sidelined in favour of the hawks in government who want to demean Khama and the Cyril Ramaphosa-led South African government.
“The allegations against Khama, Bridget Motsepe and others on money laundering allegations are spurious and the independent report recently done shows the façade of the whole issue,” he declares doubting the school of though that Dow was probably punished for failing to according guide the country’s prosecution authority, Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the alleged P100 billion money laundering case.
However, Mfundisi was quick to indicate that the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, recently attacked Dow for non-show in the acrimonious relationship between Botswana and SA.
His view is that there is more to the debacle than what is in the public domain. He cites the involvement of Afriforum in the whole space as ridiculous to say the least.
He regards the whole thing as a waste of public resources to engage apartheid era propaganda machinery in international relations.
“The reasons for engaging this controversial non-state actor are not convincing. This will further sow acrimony between Botswana and SA to no one’s benefit
He doubts if there is any clear strategy for this reshuffle indicating that it’s merely a political decision to rotate Ministers and replace Dow.
Through the reshuffle, he says the President has found an opportunity to elevate his man, Gare to full Cabinet position and quell the threat of Molebatsi possibly crossing the floor to the opposition.