Editor
12 November 2009
The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has once again proved that when left to its own designs, it abuses the political process even when wise counsel dictates otherwise.
That is the sickening truth found in the fact that the BDP has appointed 106 nominated councillors for itself and gave the opposition a measly eight.
This is flagrant abuse. We all expected the BDP to get the majority of the nominated councillors as it had 53 percent of the vote in last month's general election. But to take a massive 106 and leave the opposition with only eight is not fair. The combined opposition got 47 percent of the vote and if the BDP was fair, it would have appointed councillors according to party strength in the election.
What is the rationale behind the disgraceful disparity between the opposition and the BDP? Of course even the BDP does not have a proper answer, other than to admit that this is due to self-interest.We are told that at independence when the system was first adopted, it was purely to help bring into political leadership people of rare skills who may not be available among the elected leaders. The situation has since changed drastically from what obtained in 1966. The leadership is enlightened. The civil service that supports the leadership is skilled such that the need to have specially elected councillors has been negated. The tragedy however is that these nominated councillors gobble millions in earnings when this should not be the case. Why is the tax payer burdened with paying people that should not be paid in the first place? Some of the nominated councillors are rejects from the election.
The reality is that the BDP has just hired 106 of its cadres who will now be well resourced to help the party in its future campaigns. How smart! The BDP is now assured that an additional 106 of its cadres will have financial resources and cars bought using government schemes and thus adding to its existing unfair advantages that it enjoys over the opposition.
If President Ian Khama honestly believes in transparency and democracy as he says, this is one blight that he urgently needs to remove from the face of democracy. It is a huge wart on our face and it does not bode well for this country.
Today's Thought
"Abuse is the weapon of vulgar"
-Samuel Griswold Goodrich
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If you neither live nor have relatives in Botswana, then what you are saying is hearsay. If there was no form of democracy in Botswana then that country would resemble the stinking hole that is Zimbabwe today. If there were gross and blatant human rights violations to the people of Botswana by President Khama, then President Obama would not have had such praise for him and instead, Obama would have made human rights violations the main issue of their meeting. This is what I feel would have been the course of events if there was abuse of the political process, but as I neither live nor have relatives in Botswana, I too disqualify myself on passing any judgment.
Hey Rosie, whatever you have against the President of Botswana is your own business but as far as I know Botswana is as stable and sound as any country can be which has a president with two feet on the ground. Just today I read a survey by organizations such as the Economist Intelligence Unit and the World Economic Forum suggesting that Cape Verde, Mauritius and Botswana were ranked the top three non corrupt countries in Africa, with Kenya, Guinea and Zimbabwe singled out "for failing to address the vicious cycle that links corruption to poverty." I have never heard of the Batswana fleeing their country by the millions to neighbouring countries because of brutality by their leader as in Zimbabwe. Have YOU?
WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME SUCH A NOINSENSE:
"THE PRESIDENT OF BOTSWANA HAS TWO FEET ON THE GROUND"?
WE ALL HAVE TWO FEET ON THE GROUND OR YOU HAVE MORE THAN
TWO FEET.do you?
Ian Khama may have THOUSAND ffet on the ground...regrettably Ian KHama
DOES NOT KNOW ANTHING ABOUT CONSTITUTIONAL LAWS!
Regrettably Ian Khama DOES NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CIVIL
RIGHTS and he is sending everybody,who dares to OPPOSE HIM,to
oblivion.
As a lawyer I WAS THOUGHT TO LOOK AT THE FACTS and the facts
tell me,that he circumvents the PARLAMENT(Assembly) in Botswana and
makes his OWN decisions,without consulting anybody.
The WESTERN POWERS LOVE Ian Khama because HE IS SINGING THEIR
SONG!
They do not bother about the INTERNAL AFFAIRS of Botswana and how
Khama is treating his COMMRADES in the BDP.
Rosie just because you have never heard of someone stable being described as "having two feet on the ground" or having "both feet on the ground" or having "a good head on their shoulders" does not mean I am talking nonsense. You must be a very stupid lawyer who does not even know that a lawyer making an issue about something they have "heard from friends" or anyone else, or read in newspapers is HEARSAY - not even admissible in a court of law.
Exuse me ...WE ARE NOT IN A COURT OF LAW,or are we?!
This here is a PUBLIC FORUM of www.allafrica.com and everybody could
post her/his opinion as long as S/he obeys to the rules of this website.
I DO NOT FORM MY OPINIONS AS I SAID IN MY PREVIOUS POST based
on what I heard or read in the newspapers.
I JUST STUDY THE BOTSWANA CONSTITUTION,The Criminal laws (which are very similar to the Anglo-Saxon laws) and I read also
the Constitution of BDP.
NOW...for a lawyer the CONSTITUTION of BDP is NOT a BOTSWANA law.
As i wrote in my posts in PALAPYE.com,
these are JUST INTERNAL rules of a VOLONTARY ORGANISATION,
which are binding ONLY PARTY MEMBERS.
These rules are SUBORDINATE TO THE constitution OF BOTSWANA
and in a court of law the Judges will NOT take them in concideration
as I said,they are NOT LAWS.
Before you speak about HEARSAY...DO NOT TEACH ME WHAT A
"HEARSAY" IS AS I HAVE TWO LAW DICTIONARIES IN FRONT OF ME and
I know what the UNIFORM RULE OF EVIDENCE 63(USA Federal rules of
Evidence) is saying.
Rosie I know we are not in a court of law thankfully or you would have been thrown out. Hearsay is tantamount to spreading a lie about someone because for all you know, you may be getting information from an organization or someone who is disgruntled doing their level best to malign someone else. If Botswana had free and fair elections, and the majority of people voted for President Khama, then your accusations of him do not hold water and I hope I do not have to you explain what that term means. One thing I must say though, is that you are on the money about issues relating to the Mugabe brainwashed fools.
I AM NOT SPEAKING ABOUT BOTSWANA'S ELECTIONS...I do NOT give a
damn,if BOTSWANA elections were conducted according the ELECTION
LAWS of BOTSWANA.
What I said is,tha Ian Khama does NOT know the CONSTITUTIONAL LAWS of Botswana,
OTHERWEISE HE WOULD NOT HAVE SAID to thr electorate:
"If you take your President to the Court,
that is how you will end...like Motswaledi...I will throw you NOT just out of
BDP,but I will ruin your political carrier!"
If Khama knew the Constitution of Botswana,he ought to know,that
EVERY CITIZEN OF THIS COUNTRY HAS A STANDING TO SUE!
If you do not know the LEGAL meaning of the term"STANDING TO SUE",
buy yourself the CIVIL PROCEDURE of Botswana...then you will know.
See all comments (46).
Oh...Dos the abbriviation BDP stand for Botswana DeMOCRATIC Party or
for BOTSWANA DESPOTIC PARTY?
According to the attitude of BDP leaders,BOTSWANA BELONS TO BDP
and they have THE RIGHT to use and abuse it!
I do not live in Botswana,therefore I am NOT afraid to say what I mean about
the"pseydo-democracy" in this country.
Ian KHAMA is telling FAIRY TALES to his friends from the WESTERN
HEMISPHERE!
It is TRUE...Botswana is A PEACEFUL COUNTRY....but HEY!
The peace in Botswana reminds me of the scary SILENCE in a CEMETERY!
When I read on-line the ZIMBABWIAN newspapers,there are MUCH MORE citizens,who dare to criticize Mugabe or the political situation in the country.
In BOTSWANA nobody dares to criticize as they are afraid to fall in the
"ENEMY" list of Khama.