Rural Development Post 1965 � Theory and Practice

The 50th anniversary was the ideal opportunity to re-examine and challenge the major issues of past years. As far as I know, however, only Professor Part Mgadla seized that opportunity - the fare on offer, in general, being little more than a recitation of well-known occurrences.

Perhaps coincidentally, Professor Jeremy Seekings of Cape Town University, however, did move into that gap with two important, interesting academic papers both of which caused me a degree of unease.

Let me take the first, Drought Relief and the Origins of a Conservative Welfare State in Botswana, 1965-1980 in which he identified the Seretse/Masire rural idyll as forming the basis of domestic policy during those years.  

Editor's Comment
Morwaeng’s rants: Leaders must listen

Kabo Morwaeng, a senior BDP figure known for always defending the President and also sent to do some shocking stuff in his capacity as a Minister, has defended the former Cabinet against claims it failed to advise ex-president Mokgweetsi Masisi, contributing to the party’s defeat. While he insists Cabinet discussions are “secret” and that the President holds “enormous power,” his defence misses a crucial point: Batswana deserve leaders...

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