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.
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.
I AM NOT GIVING A DAMN ABOUT YOUR "WONDERFUL" BOTSWANA!
I have been following the Botswana press recently and listening what some friends tell me.
Actually recently somebody wrote in the American newspaper TOPIX.com
"I am afraid to comment on Ian Khama...I stlll want to live!"
TO TELL YOU HONESTLY,my dear PROBABLY LIKE MOST Americans OBAMA did not know where Botswana is LOCATED untill he was told,
thatthe President of this country shall visit him.
I lived for years in USA and I know what is the geografic knowledge of the Americans.
FACT is: KHAMA suspended MOTSWALEDI just of POOR VIGILANCE.
MOTSWALEDI was RIGHT and KHAMA was wrong...
I STUDIED AND CONTINUE TO STUDY THE LAWS...
It is a"CONFLICT OF INTEREST" in the jurisdiction of the Western countries
to appoint your PRIVATE LEGAL ADVISER to issue a statement on your performance as a PRESIDENT.
KHAMA ought to reinstate MOTSWALEDI.
I had had very good opinion of KHAMA,when I saw and heard him talking on AFRICAN VOICES but months later I realized,
HE IS NOT DIFFERENT THAN OTHER BRITISH HYPOCRITES!
On one site he is crying CROCODILE tears HOW MUCH IS HE CONCERNED WITH THE LOT OF THE POOR BATSWANA...
on the other site...he bought himself a CARAVAN for €200 000,-
and a NEW JET...
The GREEDINESS OF THE POLITICIANS IN AFRICA DOES NOT END!
Rose i wish you could get your facts right before commenting on matters of other countrires especially when the best source of your information is "friends " and the newspapers that have lost credibility in their homeland. First let me say i am motswana, i follow politics and i know what i am talking about. to start with the presidential jet that has been commissioned to be bought is a replacemetnt of the presidential jet, OK ONE, which is maily due to its safety issues. in one occassion, OK one had a safety scare when of its door during the time of Mogae's precidency and the matter was brought to parliment and has since been agreed by all members of parliment to replace it. such a replacement unfortunately ran concided with the finalcial meltown somewhere along theline and that is when the opposition , eying the election campaigns declared that such a move should be called off. but due the poor reporting of my countryme, and this i am not very proud of, they made it look like khama was buting himself a new plane, while infact the argument was since the plane was near copletion, and has been cutom build to specifications as it is always the case , it will be a waste of money to pay the cancellations and repair the old one as the opposition was advocating. a very clear and sound reason looking at the fact that should they decide to to do as the opposition, the plane was always going to be replaced anyway so they might as well do away with what they stared.
now on the caravan, let me highlight you on this, botswana does no have easy access to the media facilities that you in the west so much enjoy. the people who have such previlages are those in cities and the infaratracture and peharps the population is not like in your highly developed countries where there is a hotel everywhere. just to give you clue, botswana is approxiamtely the size of france and it has a population of less than 2 millon which is scattered all over the country. so while in our country is easy to have online polls which reflect the whole nation and can in my country consultation is still done on what we call Kgotla meetings, which are ward meetings at regional levels therefore, the caravan is a necessity for him to be both on time and be able to carry such consultation otherwise the view expressed will be those of the city people.
i see you get your facts from your friends, and i wish i could have a lawyer that is naive. and on the part of the media, just to highlight you, the very newspapers you are most likely to be talking about will be MMEGI, and sunday standard, while mmegi is starting to get the light, i can confirm to you that they are self confessed anti Khama newspapers, and most of their news seriously lack depth and there is no suprise they do not want the media bill to be introduced.
See all comments (14).
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.