Nothing transparent about TI
Thursday, December 05, 2013
We have also allowed Transparency International (TI) to do its assessment and perception surveys without commenting its findings. We feel obliged, however, to respond to the latest ranking by TI that put Botswana as the least corrupt country in Africa and amongst the least corrupt in the world. First of all, Transparency International is an invisible creature whose face we have never seen in any public meetings where corruption is discussed. The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crimes (DCEC), the Commonwealth Centre Against Corruption, government departments, and foreign missions often hold seminars and workshops to discuss corruption and how to combat it. Never have we seen a face or writing from TI at any of these events.
The BDP as a party known to have ample resources has always held its primaries well in time, but this time around that was not the case. The first leg of the primaries was held last weekend, with the final leg being billed for the coming weekend. This time around, the BDP failed to shine in its primary elections. The elections were chaotic; most if not all polling stations didn't open at the specified time of 6am. Loyal BDP members braved the...