Power of money in BDP politics
Innocent Selatlhwa | Friday August 25, 2017 16:27
Money indeed makes the world go round. On the flipside, it is the same money that stands accused as a source of many evils.
It is because of money that politics has now become big business. Essentially, politics has become a game of men and women of means.
In politics, money is a chief influencer of results, especially in contested political office battles. The picture of money in politics becomes even scarier as in most cases there is no transparency in disclosing the donors of funds in motion within the political organisations. In Botswana, like elsewhere, donors to political parties remain the best-kept secret. It is believed that disclosures of sources of funds could dry the source.
The influence of money has taken over the political process and thereby commercialising politics so much that the amount required to win an election has grown astronomically.
The rich and the powerful have seemingly taken over the political processes through funding politics in a country that has had a one-party state rule from Independence in 1966.
Some of the donors, faceless as they have been, pull strings from behind, determining who occupies political office and what not. Emerging and established rich business moguls have been influencing results through their financial muscles and thereby affecting the right to choose for some ordinary mortals.
In our investigations post the BDP Tonota elective congress, it was not easy to access any official information stipulating the flow of money to and from the BDP coffers. It was however, apparent that there was easy flow of cash movement with a lot of people making a kill from strong party factional riches.
It may sound unbelievable that Team Masisi’s kingpin of logistics, Roseline Panzirah distributed money to the ‘deserving’ people from her beige Gucci bag, which left many people shocked at such a reality.
Given the right to reply, a month ago, Panzirah fumbled and claimed she was too busy to take calls inquiring about claims linking her to possessing a bag full of money ‘buying votes’ at the party national elective congress.
The only answer she could muster was a simple: “I am very busy and you are wasting my time.”
Journalists and other people had seen, with their naked eyes, cash in motion from close range, literally exchanging hands. Keabetswe Newel, a senior reporter with The Business Weekly & Review newspaper was shocked that an individual could possess such huge sums in a personal handbag at an event that had attracted thousands of people from across the country.
An insider whom we shall only identify as Romeo left Tonota village, the host constituency of the congress confused about the riches of the party’s Masisi faction when in reality the party was not financially stable. The story of the Masisi faction funding is well-documented.
He said people who were immediate beneficiaries of the secret funds included chairpersons and secretaries of branches and regions who each pocketed P2,000 whilst other delegates from the branches and regions were given P600 from the party’s 57 branches and 14 regions for their appearances and voting for the pro-Masisi faction.
At the affluent Camp Dubai, besides other provisions of lit tents, comfortable camp beds, blankets and good food, airtime, sim card starter packs and Wi-Fi network were in abundant supply. Members of the winning Team Masisi were given bus fares and pocket money along their trips from across the country to Tonota. This is not a small number by any measure.
Romeo intimated that a lot of money ploughed into the campaigns was hard cash. Benefactors donated other requisite resources as well to the winning team. It is feared that there were people who generally raised cash in Masisi’s name that reportedly could not even reach the intended beneficiary including some of the requisite resources amassed in his name.
It is also possible that as people competed for the attention of Masisi, dirty money could have found its way into the party coffers.
An insider very close to the developments in Tonota estimated the wealth of the Camp Dubai at about P5 million.
The pro-Masisi faction in Tonota appeared wealthier than the financially struggling BDP, which evidently survives on overdrafts.
As if that was not enough, those interested in contesting the party primaries commonly known as Bulela Ditswe were guaranteed of financial support for the role they played in delivering the party chairpersonship to Masisi.
Another strategy was that opponents of the Team Masisi contestants would be duly ‘vetted out’ of Bulela Ditswe to give easy passage to the Masisi crew.
The million pula question is therefore, why Satar Dada and some businesspeople of Indian extraction helped the party faction raise so much money. What is their intention going forward? What do they really want to benefit out of such a gesture?
Dada reportedly coordinates other faceless Indian businesspeople that are loyal to him and the party. As to how they dole out gifts and commit their hard-earned resources to funding a faction of the BDP making it even stronger than the party itself, remains a mystery.
Inside the BDP, people like Romeo are worried about the trend of financial flow in their party, adding that Dada has been the BDP national treasurer for 26 solid years now, yet the party is struggling financially. This is despite the great potential the party has, as articulated by Tebelelo Seretse who had challenged Dada for the party national treasury.
Rather than perhaps relying on individuals’ generosity, Seretse’s take is that the party should utilise the properties it has across the country to generate the requisite income.
The BDP mostly depends on Dada guaranteeing its overdrafts for their survival. There is fear that Dada and company’s financial commitment to the Masisi Camp could be influenced more by a need to gain influence in the heir-apparent, Masisi, who is destined to rise to the highest office in the land, the Office of the President come April 1, next year. But, in so far as the BDP politics is concerned, Dada already wields a lot of influence and as a key enabler, what does he get?
In an earlier interview, Dada had dismissed reports that by funding the BDP faction, it means he and his business friends have captured Masisi and his faction. Explaining why a plethora of donors put their money into the BDP, Dada said: “As you know, as the ruling party we have been doing a good job for the past 55 years, and we are the best governing party in Africa. So we attract attention of these businesspeople. They see the value of supporting us”.
He confirmed that, “if you spend your money on the BDP, it becomes insurance and that the trading environment has remained conducive for our businesses to thrive.”
The mere fact that Dada has started fundraising vigorously for the Masisi faction, it seems he wants to somehow influence the VP. Reports show that both men come from Moshupa.
Ravi Kumar of Jama Investments, another Indian businessman touted to have donated to the BDP congress handsomely, denied doling out any hefty amounts of money, but claimed to have only donated a few fruits and vegetables. He took us through a donation file, which depicted him as a generous donor to a lot of schools, the BDP (many letters soliciting for assistance) and other organisations.
“My case is that I didn’t dole out hefty amounts because I am a small man,” explained Kumar who also insisted that he was only a non-citizen helping out needy organisations.
As for Jagdish Shah, the BDP deputy national treasurer of Indian extraction but a naturalised Motswana never fulfilled his promises of returning to us after he was contacted and promised to create time. The question he has not answered is about his interest in funding a faction of the BDP. We also wanted to establish exactly how much he donated at the BDP elective congress. Reports are that he doled out about P1,750,000 which went towards the purchase of about 500 tents and other things.
As for Samson Moyo Guma, another businessman who is said to have donated handsomely, conceded to have donated to the BDP, but could not declare the value of his donation in Tonota.
Romeo concedes that Masisi is a clean man, just like Dada but he was only worried at the level at which Dada and a group of other Indian businesspeople have gotten closer to Masisi.
At worst, Romeo is worried by the new money culture that is gaining currency in the ruling BDP, fearing that it may overspill into national politics. The ruling BDP has been ignoring desperate calls from the opposition bloc seeking all-party funding as an endeavour to level the political field.
Under former presidents like the late Sir Ketumile Masire, Festus Mogae and the incumbent Ian Khama, Dada and his group of Indian businesspeople never sponsored factional politics the way they do with Masisi.
By vigorously campaigning for Masisi, it raises eyebrows as to what influence they really need as through Dada, the group is already in the corridors of power. Dada is already the party elder who enjoys universal acceptance across the party structures. He is generally viewed as a peacemaker. He also holds a powerful party position as the national treasurer.
Interestingly, in the neighbouring Republic of South Africa (RSA) the first democratically elected president, the late Nelson Mandela had his own Indians, as well as former president Thabo Mbeki had his own.
The RSA's African National Congress (ANC) and state President Jacob Zuma has his own controversial Gupta family and others on his side. Zuma’s relationship with the latter has sparked so much noise that opposition and some within the ANC want Zuma to step down from office as the Gupta brothers have captured him.
Responding to the allegations that the BDP leadership has been captured by the businesspeople that spend their money on it, including him, Dada was dismissive indicating that there is no Gupta in Botswana and that he will not allow it to happen.
“I can’t go to the government and start asking for favours. I am not that greedy. Masisi is a genuine politician and he is very honest and we are just willing to help where it’s possible,” Dada had said in an earlier interview. Unfortunately, he could not elaborate why so much spending on the Masisi faction in a follow-up telephone interview this week.
Although he had denied reports that cash was rolling at the elective congress - estimated at millions of pula- he could not state the exact amount that was raised.
Quizzed this week as to what do they really want to benefit from the BDP by ploughing so much money and resources, Dada was dismissive and quipped before literally hanging up: “I am just too busy I am not going to comment on your funding story.”
On the other side, VP Masisi does not see any threat to democracy when businesspeople and faceless sources pump so much money into party factional politics. Masisi said he did not know of any political party that has a reduced budget in its quest to “motivate” the people to vote for it.
“What we want is to do our best to treat our people with dignity. The money goes into those potable toilets, which were not provided for in the past and the number of people who just come not as delegates but interested parties,” Masisi had said without elaborating.
His line of explanation was that the accumulated funds from the friends of the faction helped in buying food, providing accommodation, water, sanitation and measure of entertainment to the masses. He denied knowledge of votes buying.