A tragic national crisis
In just under one year, President Dr. Mokgweetsi Masisi has proven his political mettle by drastically shaking the very foundations of this democracy. He has unmasked the sham, the deceit and the lies of our government. Sadly, his mission risks being curtailed midway by his indecision and sometimes ill-advised decisions – for instance his penchant for foreign travel. Me thinks the President must put the brakes on his foreign travels and turn his full attention to the crisis at home. I daresay it has degenerated into a tragic national crisis.Fresh from a six-day private visit to Mozambique with the First Lady Mma Atsile, the President is once more away this week this time on an official visit to Davos, Klosters, Switzerland, where he is attending the World Economic Forum. He is accompanied by trade and investment minister, Bogolo Kenewendo and other senior government officials. The political temperature at home is at a tipping point and sadly it is impacting on government business. It may not be that obvious, but the rift between Masisi and his nemesis and predecessor, Ian Khama is gradually proving a weary burden on the general populace. A collegaue confided in the office how the dispute has cost his child Tsa Bana at the clinic! And talking about the clinic and healthcare, I hear there are no birth cards for newly-born babies at Princess Marina Hospital. This is not to say anything about other needs that are constantly in short supply.Certainly it’s ill-advised for President Masisi to be away on foreign trips every month whilst his party and government are tussling with a stubborn and intractable problem at home. Masisi must learn to delegate. Kenewendo seems well-disposed to handle trade related issues such as fourth industrial revolution; infratrsucture and urban development and anything to do with sustainable development goals - in the same way that foreign minister Unity Dow is trusted to handle international relations. Masisi must just look next door in Zimbabwe to see how domestic tensions can disrupt a national economy and life in general. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has just been forced to abort his foreign trip to return home to deal with the people’s disenchantment with his economic policies. Masisi must contend with the political uncertainty in his party. The Botswana Democratic Party is due for an elective national congress in July where he is being challenged for the position of party president. In fact, all the key positions – Chairman and Secretary General – are being contested. There is a reason why Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi took the bold decision to break the party tradition by challenging for party presidency in a general election year. We are all privy to how the BDP under Khama was hijacked by tenderpreneurs and capital – these are wolves in sheep clothing! It’s an open secret that the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services was set up specifically to protect these selfish interests and not necessarily national security.So, it doesn’t surprise us at all when the former DIS boss Isaac Kgosi unashamedly makes treasonable comments by threatening to “overthrow this government” if only to resist by any means, his arrest. Kgosi’s relationship with Khama is well documented. His threats cause us to speculate possible scenarios one of which is that he is a close ally of the New Jerusalem faction in the BDP, which is believed to be associated with Khama. Above all else Masisi must turn his attention at home. He must start moving his pieces in this chessboard. He must strike whilst the iron is hot. The country’s third president, Festus Mogae and other party luminaries have provided him the powder keg. He must pull the trigger. But alas! There is absolutely no political mobilisation on the ground. Council and parliamentary candidates haven’t even started campaigning for the elections because they don’t know which side to align with before the decisive national congress. However, we may posit that the national congress may not be an elective one given recent developments in the Women’s and Youth Wing, in which case we can expect a replay of Botswana National Front’s 1994 Palapye congress that bequeathed us the Botswana Congress Party. This means that if the July congress turns out as suggested, we are likely to see New Jerusalem emerge as a fully-fledged political party with Tshekedi Khama as its President and Moyo Guma as Chairman. Already the faction is canvassing support within the BDP throughout the country in anticipation of the inevitable come July. Cava must also prepare itself for the July showdown.