With US President Donald Trump’s second administration having wasted little time in testing the boundaries of executive authority, many expected President Boko to show his presidential prowess with a series of executive orders in the first 100 days. As a new government took over after 58 years of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) rule, many expected heads to start rolling with multiple senior officials fired, reassigned, or even designated to be laid off. With the government change from red to blue, some expected some un-elected bureaucrats who served under the previous administration to be axed. The expectation was that even non-political employees who serve in senior positions should have been sent home right away to allow the new administration to review staffing as it aligns the UDC’s priorities. They believed that top positions should be staffed with people who support Boko’s goals. Some also felt that politically appointed diplomats who have been favoured ahead of senior career diplomats should also face the exit door. But Boko has not yet fired any of the many politically appointed diplomats so far. Critics, however, opined that the mass firing of political appointees across government would be a waste of taxpayers' money and would not improve the day-to-day lives of Batswana who voted for the UDC. They argue that rushed moves could end up raising legal and constitutional questions that could take years to be fully resolved.
They feel that an aggressive approach similar to what Trump is doing in the US will create chaos rather than fix the problems Boko was elected to solve. They further said it could instead cut deeper national divides and unleash pain for the people who elected him. They said for a nation that already has an unemployment crisis, removing everyone labelled BDP could also spike job losses. After taking over from the BDP, the UDC leaders are said to have realised that dismantling the old order government could also turn out to be dangerous. For a party that inherited empty coffers, a clean sweep could be expensive since it involves releasing high-earning officials from their contracts. It is said that Boko knows that changing everything at a lightning pace could pose political and economic risks. While some UDC supporters demand the wielding of vast executive power to show that the coalition has arrived, leaders are fearful that it could come across as an overreach that ignores voters’ most pressing concerns such as unemployment and underemployment. Just like it happened with former president Mokgweetsi Masisi when he took over from Ian Khama in 2018, a changeover in government is normal when a new administration comes into power. Just like Masisi fired the late former DIS Director General (DG) Isaac Kgosi and former government spokesperson Dr Jeff Ramsey in 2018, presidents regularly dismiss appointees selected by predecessors. But the UDC supporters are shocked that Boko is still keeping seniors from the previous administration such as the current DIS DG Peter Magosi ad Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP) Emma Peloetletse, just to name but a few.
