Where do we come from, where are we heading?
Sir Ketumile Masire | Friday July 8, 2016 15:48
I must confess, however, that when I saw that I was asked to speak about - “the journey of Botswana, where we come from; where we are, who we are, and where we are heading” - I wondered where does one begin? It struck me as a topic that could fill several books!
Given our country’s relative success over the past five decades in combining adherence to democracy and the rule of law with economic growth accompanied by notable advances in human development, I have often been asked what accounts for our country’s relative success. What has set us apart from others?
One could here speak of good governance in the context of leadership, policies and institutions, the African image, the history of political parties or the history of our economic development. But I suppose that is reserved for our discussion time.
But on further reflection I thought I might rather try to dig a bit deeper by focusing on some of the longstanding, shared qualities that have defined who we are as a nation.
Certainly one of our strengths as a nation has been our ability of the last five decades to uphold our unity in diversity through our practices of consultation and consensus building buttressed by tolerance and mutual respect. Other social values that have propelled our progress would include our prudence and, at least in the past, collective commitment to self-reliance.
As a nation we can take collective pride in the fact that we have made remarkable progress since independence, though many challenges admittedly remain. In more recent years there have also been a multitude of international surveys that recognise our country not only as a leader on this continent, but indeed in the wider global community.
This is especially true in such areas of economic freedom, good governance, and the rule of law.
Contrary to what some may wish to believe, these accolades have come from independent institutions and organisations - that is to say observers that have no special stake in making us feel good about ourselves. This brings me back to the role of values, for I believe that the democracy and good governance we enjoy today has to a great extent been grounded in our own social norms, rather than foreign ideology.
In this context while the 81 years of British overrule that ended in 1966 was an important, indeed transformative, episode in our history, it was clearly not the beginning of our story.
Archaeologists have shown that for at least two millennia the territory of Botswana, along with the rest of Southern Africa, has been a place of continuous settlement and interaction among people of various cultures and economic livelihoods.
Such findings confirm the fact that our contemporary communities are the heirs of an ancient indigenous cultural cluster, which has given rise to its own enduring values.
Modern Botswana’s 50th anniversary is thus an opportunity for us to once more take stock of our diverse identity by asking ourselves who we are and wish to be as a collective?
We have certainly come a long way since 1966. But this is relevant to the extent that it may guide us towards further progress.
Ladies and gentlemen, any state’s path of development is marked by continuity and change. The collective wisdom of any political or social order therefore lies in its ability to strike an appropriate, that is to say prudent, balance between that which can and should be changed and that which is preserved.
In this dynamic era of globalisation, driven as it is by rapid technological transformation, no society or social aspect can be isolated from change. An evolutionary state must therefore have the capacity to respond to the shifting needs and legitimate expectations of its own citizens.
At the same time it should be appreciated that the underlying values that hold together any community are often quite resilient. Around the world globalisation has not led to anything like a homogenisation of outlook. For the foreseeable future we shall continue to live in a multi-cultural world. As elsewhere, Botswana will continue to progress within a framework of its own evolving values and perspectives.
It has been often said that a lack of internal social coherence has been a common weakness of many of Africa’s post-colonial states. This is generally attributed to the challenges of managing ethnic and/or regional competition over the nation’s largess resulting in popular parlance in the so-called curse of “tribalism”.
It has also been alleged that Botswana’s peculiar progress has been paralleled by a relatively high degree of internal cohesion. To the extent that this latter assumption holds true, and I believe to the greater extent it does, why is this then the case?
One explanation that can be dismissed is that our lack of severe inter-communal conflict is a reflection of social homogeneity. As I have observed Botswana has for many centuries been the common home of various ethno-linguistic groups.
Another misconception, albeit one with an element of truth, is that our success can be simply ascribed to our mineral wealth.
While our progress over the past five decades has, heretofore, indeed been largely financed by the exploitation of minerals, more especially diamonds, this alone certainly did not get us to where we are today.
Today, as in the past, our common future is being shaped by our capacity to adapt to global economic and political forces, while preserving the force of our own identity.
Over the years this has tested our forebears, as well as our own, ability to strike an appropriate balance between that which can and should be changed and that which ought to be preserved. This is true in both the realms of cultural and natural heritage.
The sustained economic progress we have registered over the past 50 years, prudence in the use of our nation’s resources, and our determination to remain a peaceful, united and proud nation, are all amongst the many reasons why we deserve to celebrate.
Like all jurisdictions our achievements have come to us hand in hand with challenges. It is ultimately our determination to identify and overcome our emerging challenges and existing shortcomings that will attest to our continued greatness as a nation.
As we embark on the next phase of our journey we should set ourselves even higher milestones.
Let us further recognise that the challenges we face moving forward will continue to require combined efforts and collective sacrifice. We should be mindful of the fact that, regardless of the development strides we have made, we are still very much a developing society, located within a still marginalised continent.
If we are to attain the levels of development that we aspire to, we also need to resuscitate our national principle of self-reliance. Like many elders, I am concerned that we seem to be losing our grip on the time tested spirit of self-reliance. Whilst I am aware that many of our fellow citizens were born when our fortunes had enormously improved, I need to remind the nation that it was only through the spirit of self-help and hard work, which our poverty stricken country survived the worst phases of its existence. The role of Government should, therefore, be to empower its citizens, to succeed in today’s increasingly competitive world, not to protect them from it. We have come a long way to this day. Let us consolidate and build upon the enormous strides we have made as a nation.
As we travel towards our centenary, let us do so with determination, remain steadfast in the values that have served us well, while being always prepared to adapt them to future challenges.
In the words of our beloved folk singer Ratsie Sethako, “A re chencheng”, but with caution. Ke a leboga bagaetsho!
*The text is an abridged version of a lecture given late last month by former president, Sir Ketumile Masire, at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology