Morake deserves state funeral
Mmegi Editor | Friday September 1, 2017 11:18
First it was one of the country’s founding father and second state president, Sir Ketumile Masire who succumbed to a short illness about a month ago. He was shortly followed by former University of Botswana and opposition Botswana National Front (BNF) ideologue Dr. Elmon Tafa of Comrade Moore fame.
As if that was not enough, hardly before the tears dried on the face of the nation, another veteran politician, Kebatlamang Morake, popularly known as ‘Baby Shoe’, has joined other veterans in heaven. His passing on was announced this week Tuesday, after he was admitted to the Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital.
If passing on means resting, then Morake who has seemingly struggled with an undisclosed sickness over the years has been set free of the bodily pains he had suffered. Essentially, Morake has been an active Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) member for about 55 years now, majority of which he spent in Cabinet. He was previously, the party’s founding executive secretary, assistant minister in the Office of the President, assistant minister of the then Ministry of Local Government and Lands and a full minister for education and agriculture ministries. Morake’s elevation to a full minister came simultaneously with the appointments of Dr. Gaositwe Chiepe and Archibald Mogwe to head Commerce and Industry and External Affairs respectively. During Masire’s presidency, he had occasionally acted as President when the President and his Vice Peter Mmusi were outside the country.
Morake will be remembered for his sterling services as minister of education who replaced Ben Thema, Botswana’s first minister of education in 1974.
He is credited for laying the foundation for Botswana’s education reforms. As Minister of Education he presided over the production of Botswana’s first major education reforms, Education for Kagisano of 1977. He took charge of the Ministry of Education at a time when Botswana, owing to a serious drought of local skilled manpower, heavily relied on expatriates even in the public service. He was therefore charged with the huge responsibility of improving access to basic education while nurturing skills relevant to the country’s national development agenda. The 1977 Education for Social Harmony would later become the basis for formulation of subsequent education reforms like the Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE)(1994) and the Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP) of 2015.
Unlike in the neighbouring South Africa where national heroes and heroines such as musicians, sportspersons and others are accorded state funerals, Botswana should pay particular attention to people like Morake who spent their lives serving their country.
Politics is often referred to as a ‘thankless job’ as it is not even pensionable, so much that after exiting Parliament in 1994 as a former Cabinet minister, Morake and some of his colleagues had to start fending for themselves outside politics. Starting a new life as a farmer or so, when already caught up by age, can be a real challenge.
Today’s thought
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.”
- Joseph Campbell