Boyce Sebetela: The interview

GIDEON NKALA
Staff Writer | Friday November 16, 2007 00:00

 

Mmegi Staff Writer shadowed Boyce Sebetela to Palapye where he announced his resignation to his constituents. Two days later he catches up with the MP before he flew to Rwanda where he is on his last parliamentary assignment.

Mmegi: You would have to agree with me that you shocked many when you announced your resignation as an MP. Why are you leaving? 

Sebetela: When I joined politics I was in my 30s. I told myself that I would leave politics to do something else when I reached my mid 40s. I have been lucky that my desire has been fulfilled. I joined at 37 and I leave at 47.

I have always believed that the Botswana private sector needed to be driven by Batswana. We cannot all be in government. My leaving is not an accident. I believe 10 years of service in politics should be enough. For me the time to move into the private sector is now. Let's just say I had choices to make.

Mmegi: In 2004, you were appointed to a cabinet post which was immediately withdrawn and for three years you were an ordinary MP after serving as a cabinet minister. At the BDP congress in Molepolole this year, you got lower votes and as such you failed to get the nod as an additional member into the central committee. Are you disillusioned with your party and government?

Sebetela: I am a strategic planner and thinker, I cannot be disillusioned. I have always been above BDP factions. I have always known that cabinet is appointed at the pleasure of the President and I accepted his decision on the matter. Even the cabinet appointment that you talk about, there was a discussion; it was not withdrawn without any discussion. I know that my expertise is in the area of trade, finance and science. I would want to serve where I have skills and interest.

Mmegi: There is talk that you could be running away from Vice President Ian Khama. Is this true?

Sebetela: I do not know where this comes from. My relationship with Khama is very fine. I talk to him all the time. If it were true that we do not see eye to eye, do you really think he would allow me to sit in the boardroom of Debswana?

Mmegi: You said at the Palapye Kgotla that you asked both President Mogae and Vice President Ian Khama to help you look for a job, wouldn't this offend principles of ethics and good governance?

Sebetela: Sentsho Malatsi suggested this at the kgotla meeting and I think this view is wrong. I was informing them as my principals. It is well known that if you get placement in international bodies, you need the support of government. I asked them to help me get a job in parastatals, SADC, the AU and other international bodies while I was to do my bidding in the private sector. They did not get me this job, I saw an advert in your papers and I informed them that I was going to apply and they gave me the go-ahead. I had applied for other posts. In the others I was not successful, while in other instances we could not agree terms.

Mmegi: There is a view that the government is shunting you out to Debswana because recently you have proved to a hot potato to them. What's your comment?

Sebetela: I applied to Debswana because I wanted to take up the challenge; nobody applied for me. I am a very independent minded person. Both the President and the Vice President know my views. Yes, at times I can be rough. I do not fear to speak my mind, but there were no hard feelings.

I will tell you that I had been well received in the party. I had a wonderful time. I have never been punished for my views no matter how outlandish they might have been considered. Whenever the President was in Palapye, we would go together ko-bo Seokeng re batla meraka. We always had meals at his place whenever he was in Palapye.

Mmegi: Is this a money issue? We understand that the Debswana package is many times superior to your current package that you draw as an MP. Is this why you are leaving parliament to join rich Debswana?

Sebetela: This is a career move which is not motivated by money. I do not have financial problems because I lead a simple lifestyle. For obvious reasons, I cannot talk about my package, but you are free to speculate.

Mmegi: Let's talk about the imprint that you leave behind. How has the Palapye political landscape changed from the time you joined?

Sebetela: When I joined BDP politics in Palapye, it was taboo for the BDP and opposition members to openly interact. There was a lot of tension. We could not openly chat or even visit each other. It was considered selling out if you opened up to members of the opposition. I knew this was wrong, and I started on a mission to cultivate the spirit of open interaction between our members and the opposition.

We could be on opposite sides of the political fence, but we were by no means enemies. There was no need for animosity. At our meetings, I started offering a seat to the likes of James Olesitse of the BCP. We attended their rallies and they came to our rallies. I am happy that I have been able to change the mindset of most of our members and I believe my policy has had the same effect on opposition members in Palapye.

Mmegi: You have resigned as MP for Palapye after serving for 10 years, what has been the major success of your representation?

Sebetela: I have been able to induce a very difficult but important dialogue with the people of Palapye on critical issues. I believe so much in what JFK has now popularised as a cliche: 'Ask not what your country can do for your but what you can do for your country.'

At all times I tried to educate the electorate that they should only expect government to provide them with 20 percent of their needs while 80 percent should come from them. I am a firm believer in the principle of Ipelegeng. In 2003, we started a process of objectively looking at the list of destitutes in Palapye. On that list, there were able-bodied young people who were mentally fit. I was not impressed with the list and I started a process of expunging names of those that I thought should not have been included. Of course some people were not happy, but it was the right thing to do. Elderly villagers supported it.

I have made sure that Palapians are all informed, from protocols to new government schemes. It never occurred to me to keep weighty trade protocols from them under the guise that they would not understand. I told them everything that they needed to know and I can confidently tell you that Palapians are very informed.

Mmegi: At the kgotla meeting in Palapye, some youth seemed to have been raving about you. Did you make a strong connection with the youth?

Sebetela: I wanted the Palapye youth to be go-getters and not sit idle waiting for food rations. I asked all of them to go out and reclaim their parents masimo so that they could go back to the basics of podi, kgomo and temo.

You see, when all the diamond and mining grind to a halt, we will have to rely on what we know best, and that is farming. I deliberately set out to revive farmers committees in my constituency so that they could aggregate and benefit from such schemes as NAMPAAD. I am happy that schemes such as ALDEP 1 and 2 have been utilised in Palapye.

Mmegi: Besides the success that you had, what were the daunting challenges that confronted you?

Sebetela: Delivery of services and finance projects were a sore thumb. Every year there would be shortage of receipts, ARVs, school exercise books, gloves, condoms and many other things. I remember at one point it became my job just to make sure that condoms were made available at Palapye clinics. Sugar diabetes treatment is usually not available at government clinics, and it becomes a huge challenge because the drugs are very expensive when you buy them off the counter. So a lot of people really suffered. 

Delivery of projects is a serious challenge. Government has long approved funds for the construction of a police station in Palapye and to-date that police station has not been built. We found a site for a hospital during the tenure of Joy Phumaphi, but up to this day we are still waiting. What is disheartening is that an airport that was supposed to be built in Palapye, but now we hear the site on which it was to be constructed is unsuitable since it is on top of a mine.

How can this be possible when we have so many educated people? Palapye needs a decent regional airport because it is in the centre. You know about the second university; it was supposed to have enrolled students by now, but everything seems to be going very slowly. You cannot believe that a big village like Palapye had been going for a very long time without a meat inspector. The rehabilitation of the main road took forever.

Mmegi: You have been an MP and a minister in government. What do you think is the reason for this sloppiness and how can it be addressed?

Sebetela: Procurement in government is very slow. Timeous delivery of service ka botho is a big challenge. In my view, the slow delivery of government projects is caused by government being dependent on one body for its massive procurement needs. PPADB does all the procurement for all government ministries. The Department of Buildings and Engineering Services (DBES) does all the building and engineering plans for government.

This is an impossible task. There is just too much centralisation and it frustrates the whole system.

In my view, government should decentralise by giving permanent secretaries autonomy to be accountable for all the projects in their ministries. At the moment, Permanent Secretaries can only approve tenders of up to P5 million and that is not enough. The PPADB should be a quality assurance, standards body that sets tendering procedures for the ministries other than the cumbersome work of tendering.

As experts, the PPADB should also be retained as an appeals body to provide recourse once there are tendering disputes. The Botswana Housing Corporation and BOTEC do not have to go to the PPADB for their tenders; this is the route that should be followed to expedite the process of procurement. DBES should also decentralise. This is the route that the developed world has followed, and I think we should do the same to help with service delivery and project implementation.

Mmegi: Let us talk about your effectiveness in parliament. How many motions and questions have you put before parliament?

Sebetela: You must realise that I have served parliament both as an MP and a cabinet minister, and as a minister you do not get to ask a lot of questions. I have only brought one motion which was on a subject that is close to my heart - citizen economic empowerment. Questions that I asked in parliament must be in the hundreds.

Mmegi: What reforms would you want to see effected in our public life?
Sebetela: I am a great supporter of hybrid electoral systems and I would like to see a merger of proportional representation and the First-Past-the-Post system implemented. The current system should be enhanced by PR to accommodate other interest groups. Where people feel excluded and marginalised they will not march with us in one direction. I do not believe in PR, but I believe it can enhance the current system.

If, as a leader, you do not involve others, we cannot even raise any legitimate noise that we have majority rule because it would mean that the majority rule is not inclusive, and hence defective.  

Mmegi: What will you miss from your life as an MP?
Sebetela: Leading debate on public sector reform and I think even my colleagues will miss my contributions in that area. Otherwise I do not have regrets because I believe I gave it my best shot.

Mmegi: You have been painted in different colours, shapes and sizes. How would you describe yourself?

Sebetela: I am a change agent, a leadership and management enthusiast. My philosophy is that if you invest one thebe, you should get more than one thebe as your output. This is what defines my life.

Mmegi: A lot of people say that you do not suffer fools. Do you believe that you are arrogant?

Sebetela: It is nonsense. I am just a simple guy who leads a simple life. I drive an old car and I wear my khakis and jeans. All what I have I share with my family, brothers and sisters. I do not know where the arrogance comes in.

You see, there is a difference between the first world and the developing world. In the developed world, it is 'give credit where it is due', but here people say 'he is good but...' We are still dominated by the 'o a nkgaisa' syndrome and then we pull each other down.

Mmegi: In Palapye, it is said that you can be so rough that you attacked the Palapye Kgosi at a public gathering. Did you attack an elder in public?

Sebetela: There is a context to this. It was at a funeral of a BDP councillor who had died in a car accident. But in his remarks, Kgosi stated that 'Mokhanselara o jelwe ke domkrag.' I took offence and said that what Kgosi said was heretic and unchristian. Ke rile o bua bo-Saatane. Yes that is what I said. I was just setting the record straight, especially that people where mourning.

Mmegi: As Minister of Communications, Science and Technology, you were criticised for dictatorial tendencies, often resulting in the chopping off of popular radio and television programmes. Is this the legacy that you are proud of?

Sebetela: This is one thing that makes me unhappy. I have been disappointed with the media for whom I feel I have done a lot. I literally threw the media bill that they viewed as draconian into the dustbin. When I recieve executive decisions to cut some programmes they blame me even when they knew that these were executive decisions which I could not challenge or resist.

I however believe that my record at that ministry speaks volumes, and I am proud of it. I caused both Radio Botswana and Btv to interview all parliamentary contestants live on radio and a select few on TV during the 2004 general elections. That was a first. Today the Daily News is so presentable and readable. The Daily News carries job advertisements and special promotions that can now be seen by people in rural areas, and this is a great service to them. I know the private media complain that the Daily News has taken their business and even resulted in some newspapers closing down. I accept that this could be so, but you must look at this from a service point of view. The motive was not to punish anyone but to bring service to the people. I am proud of my record at the ministry.

Mmegi: Is this your amen in politics or we will see you come back in some capacity. Would you want to be the President one day?

Sebetela: I have not resigned from politics. I have just resigned as an MP. I am still a member of the BDP, although I will no longer be active. You know you can never say never; perhaps I might come back into politics. I do not think I have the ambition to become President; the thought of that is just scary. Nna ke bona ele tiro e e tsohatsang, ha!ha!ha!