Khama is a booming industry

BAME PIET
Staff Writer | Friday April 9, 2010 00:00

But former president Festus Mogae launched a successful anti-AIDS drive that stemmed the rising tide. As Mogae was fighting AIDS, some unscrupulous characters took advantage of the situation. It was easy for four - five or six people to come together and form a group and associate themselves with the AIDS fight and have access to funds. AIDS organisations mushroomed everywhere and were immediately provided with funds from either government or international donors. People drove expensive cars, slept in five star hotels and dined and wined in the name of fighting AIDS.

Of course there were those organisations that genuinely fought HIV/AIDS. But to others it was a booming industry. It was easy for anybody to write a song, a poem, or compile crap into a book about AIDS with government sponsorship. During the time anybody could come forward and say 'I tested positive many years ago and I'm living positively'.  They could get media coverage and be on TV almost every evening. They were included in the President's delegation in his international trips overseas as part of evidence that Botswana citizens were indeed, faced with extinction.

Many unscrupulous characters took advantage to enrich themselves while people living with AIDS suffered and died. But government realised that there were crooks taking advantage of its war on AIDS. Measures were put in place to curb self-enrichment. Whether the unscrupulous characters have stopped is an issue for another day.

Nowadays there is another type of unscrupulous group gaining ascendancy and taking advantage of President Ian Khama's approach to issues of national concern.

It is only a matter of time before we experience a mushrooming of organisations either proclaiming to be pushing the President's agenda or expressing concern and trying to save the nation. We are likely to hear songs and poems praising the President knowing that they would be hugely rewarded. It might take years, provided he stays in power for that long, before the President realises that these people are using him to steal the country's resources and cause confusion. It would be too late to repair the damage.

It should be noticed that wherever the President goes, in rural areas, especially, everybody is taking advantage of his meetings and using the opportunity to tell him about their social and economic problems.

All the President does is make a promise that things will be fixed in the next two weeks or so.  Whether those promises are later delivered is another matter. These promises are what some opportunists want to hear from the President. The other answer he often gives is that the relevant minister will visit the place in a week or two.

There is absolutely no problem with a President who takes time to visit people to get first-hand information on how they live and how best he can improve their lives.

However, it becomes a serious problem when the President wants to be a Messiah with answers to every problem. A few weeks ago, there was a story in the Daily News about a man in Serowe, who told the President that he was hospitalised for several weeks and when he was discharged he learnt that his drivers' licence had expired. He went to renew the licence and was penalised for lateness. It is normal to be charged for any late processing of documents in government or the private sector.

The President, as usual had an answer for this man. He said that the lifespan for drivers' licences should be extended to 10 years because five years is too short hence long queues at Department of Road Transport offices. Does the President know the consequences this nation is going to bear because of lifelong drivers' licences?

It was reported that at the same meeting, a woman complained that her knitting machine was down and she was unable to repair it to make a living. Oh, the President once again moved in and promised her that he will send someone to repair the machine for her. I was baffled by the report, but helpless. We all have problems at individual level, but to expect the President to solve all of them is preposterous. The President is a booming industry and opportunists are lining up to benefit from him.

Now, we are told that the President was addressing a Kgotla meeting in Mmatshumo when a youth called Moipontshi Pifelo, whatever his name means, complained that young people abuse alcohol and disrespect elders. The President immediately announced that he was going to hike the alcohol levy. This is nauseating to say the least. Mr President you need to tell people that they should do some of these things by themselves instead of crying for government assistance.

When is our President going to notice that some people want to use him to settle scores? How long is he going to make decisions that affect the nation at Kgotla meetings, or fire gatherings? Some of the people who tell him these things are frustrated after having failed to control their lives, their children's upbringing and even their personal finances.

Look at this scenario. A police officer, nurse, teacher or any other civil servant happens to be deployed at a village, which is home to some of his or her classmates who may not have been lucky to make it to better careers. All of a sudden, these former classmate(s) learn about this new officer and become jealous.

One Friday evening they meet at a local bar or shop and the villager requests the officer to buy him a drink. The officer, because of poor remuneration, is unable to buy the drink and a trap is immediately set for him.

The following week or month, the President visits the village and local people complain about poor service delivery and their personal problems. One of them complains that civil servants spend most of their time in bars. The President orders that such civil servants in that particular village should face discipline. Indeed, he may not be aware that some people are settling scores and using him as the 'executioner'.

There are characters who are eagerly waiting for the President to pass their way to tell him that their businesses are not doing well because Batswana buy from foreign-owned shops. Is he going to instruct Batswana to buy from these people even when their prices are unreasonable or when expiry dates for their products have long passed? Yeah, maybe civil servants will be instructed to do so or face dismissal. Khama is a booming industry.

During these visits, the President could concern himself with poor roads, water supply, school infrastructure, and health facilities while our personal problems should be left to social workers. There are some people who want to take advantage of the booming industry that is our President and they will definitely achieve their mission the way things are going.

It is not clear whether the President is going to fix each and every problem that we tell him as a nation, though he does not have time to listen to the Parliamentarians we voted for.

If the President is not careful, opportunists will tell the Kgotla meetings he addresses that some beautiful and successful women are rude and that could be the reason many of them are not married. The President will respond thus: 'We are going to discuss the matter with the relevant minister to force them into marriage.'

As time goes on, a person will stand up and say in a Kgotla meeting that he does not like the language used by politicians in rallies, and the next day the President announces that there will be no political rallies. Any person holding a powerful position would be suspicious of motives behind requests made by people they meet and whether such requests are not self-serving.

People know that at the President's meeting, they will see themselves speaking to the nation on national TV for the first time. These speakers know that in defending the President's views on discipline, delivery or alcohol abuse they may be called for a job offer as civil servants or in the party the following day.