KHAMA UNPLUGGED
President Ian Khama is the Margaret Thatcher of modern politics. His uncompromising leadership style, his economic initiatives aimed at improving livelihoods, his popularity during challenging economic times and his ability to reduce the power and influence of trade unions – have all the hallmarks of the Iron Lady. “The intention is to ensure that during the downturn, poor people did not slip further into poverty and those who were not living in poverty didn’t themselves go into poverty,” says Khama as we settle in his office.
In three days, Khama will be celebrating 1825 days in office and has already dealt with disapproving comments about his numerous poverty eradication initiatives. “The intention,” he emphasises, “is to close the inequality gap between the rich and the poor.” His strategy has been focused on keeping over 60 000 unemployed youth off streets in the next three years and temporarily employing 55 000 adults in Ipelegeng. Khama is an odd combination of shyness and self-confidence. Socially reserved – though less so than he used to be – he nevertheless enjoys interacting with Batswana in kgotla meetings and giving out blankets. “If you go out there and talk to Batswana like I do, that’s why I hold kgotla meetings, you will hear then showing appreciation. For me that is my check and balance – kgotla meetings.” There is conviction rather than rhetoric in Khama’s voice.
He has been hands on over the past four years, but critics say his weakness lies in trying to personally reach out to every citizen with a food hamper on one hand and a blanket on the other. “The President must lead by example,” Khama says with a straight face. “You can not ask people to do things when you can’t lead by example.” When discussing poverty eradictation initiatives, the former army commander’s face lights up and dispels his unsual demeanour of deep concentration and seriousness of purpose. “And I can not understand why somebody will want to criticise anybody for helping people in need.” But despite his efforts and conviction, poverty has entrenched itself in rural areas and this requires close monitoring by trained personnel on the ground with sustainable safety nets and job opportunities.
To that, Khama responded with Ipelegeng, a short-term poverty eradication scheme which pays its 55 000 beneficiaries a living wage of about US$2 a day, barely exceeding the international poverty measure of US$1.25 a day. Ipelegeng, which seems to lack long term substitute, has also cast city and district councils in confusion as in some cases Ipelegeng workers duplicate council employees. However the initiative remains Khama’s bragging point. The Youth Employment Scheme’s boot camp has attracted sharp criticism. “Boot camp is essentially about descipline. It is not just the military nature… we are saying, please take these people and grow them,” Khama responds.
Botswana might be an Upper Middle Income country, but many of its citizens are not. Statistics from the Department of Social Services show that over 31 000 destitute persons rely on government. This is an increase of 4 percent when compared to the 2008 figures when Khama came into office. The mineral led economy has not been on an impressive trajectory during Khama’s years. Growth shrank 4.9 percent below zero in 2009 as the global economic crisis made itself felt. In 2010, growth eased to 5 percent, but seemingly not enough for the undiversified landlocked economy. The economy is expected to grow by 5.9 percent in 2013.
However, growth is not panacea for all of Botswana’s economic ills, and Khama believes further reforms will enable the country to get back its mojo as new diamond-rich kimberlites continue to elude geologists. “The good news is that we are working on a coal plan to mine coal and export. We also have significant good quality copper. We have also found uranium and Iron ore,” he says. Botswana has vast coal reserves and Khama is convinced there is life after diamonds. “Certainly after diamonds our coal and copper will take us in that trajectory of growth. It is certainly an encouraging growth.
Those minerals are well posed to take us over and even better than diamonds.” If it were not of recession, most of the minerals would have been exploited. On the political front, he does not regret the steps he took to bring order to the faction ridden Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) during the early years of his presidency, saying that measures had to be taken to correct behaviours of over ambitious party members. But tellingly the party suffered massive setbacks as disgruntled members clubbed to form a rival Botswana Movement for Democracy. “Factionalism had been allowed to manifest itself for over several years and nothing much was done about it,” Khama observes, obviously throwing a jab at his successor, former President Festus Mogae, who was considerd too accomodative and liberal.
He faults deepseated indiscipline by overly ambitious people who allow self-interest to take precedent over the interest of the party. He sees himself as the medicine man for BDP’s ailments; in fact he believes that he has healed the divisions that used to dominate the ruling party. “When I took office I would not tolerate acts of indiscipline and I took action.” Heads began to roll as Gomolemo Motswaledi, Botsalo Ntuane and many other senior party officials were shown the door, while others resigned in protest. The mistaken assumption by “many people” was that he was targeting some members of Barataphathi faction. “That is why some of them left.” He said he somehow knew that with time and with healing the defectors would eventually grow to understand that what he wanted to do was in the best interest of the party. “We are seeing some of these people who left coming back to the BDP and I think in that case I feel vindicated in the actions that I took,” he said further adding that the party is going through relative peace and stability.
The decision by Thapelo Olopeng – his personal friend to contest elections in Tonota South constituency shocked Khama. “He informed me sometime last year and I expressed surprise. And the reason why I expressed surprise was that all along he had told me that he did not really think he would ever play an active part in politics or stand for elective office. He preferred to be a behind the scene activist. But people as life goes on you change your ambitions.” Khama further dismissed suggestions
