Botswana hit the ground running this month of August 2024 as she chairs the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU)).

On Tuesday this week, Botswana’s Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Permanent Representative of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Tebelelo Alfred Boang chaired the AU-PSC Open Session on Constitutionalism, Democracy and Governance.

In a phone interview with Botswana Guardian later that day, an exultant Ambassador Boang paid homage to Botswana’s democratic ethos, and expressed their commitment in performing the mandate for which the AU PSC was established under a Protocol to the AU Constitutive Act.

He explained that Botswana is holding the rotational chairmanship of the AU-PSC this month and will be guided by the two AU flagship programmes - the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on the economic and development side and the ‘Silencing the Guns’ on the political and responsive governance side.

Botswana’s chairmanship of AU-PSC will emphasises a commitment to constitutionalism; rule of law, promotion and respect for human rights, hence the open session on Monday 6th August 2024 on Constitutionalism, Governance and Democracy.

“From the Botswana side, it was deliberate in that when you speak constitutionalism, governance and democracy – these are the three cardinal principles of and constitute the basis for a sustainable African polity”.

He said it is for this reason that Botswana subscribes to the AU Constitutive Act Protocol on Peace and Security Council of which we are a member and Chairperson for the month of August.

Cognisant of the ongoing crisis in the continent that pose a challenge for respect of and adherence to constitutionalism, governance and democracy, Ambassador Boang is buoyed by an enduring faith that the challenges “are not insurmountable”.

He said they agreed during the Open Session to continue dialogue, and remain inclusive – the gateway to which is the recognition and utilisation of the system that “we already have, even at traditional level, especially in regard to governance”.

“Our chairmanship of PSC is premised on preventive diplomacy that recognises the efficacy of the continental early warning system in terms of being aware of what disrupts the peace. “Consequential to that, you have to be able to take remedial action, which is preventive. This is an approach that the African Union Panel of the Wise has recommended in its report of 15 March 2024”, he advises.

According to Botswana’s Chief Delegate at the African Union, the Panel of the wise was very clear that early warning and preventive diplomacy require pro-activity from the initial signs of potential disequilibrium to peace.

“The Panel also advised that we should not try to bury our heads in the sand if we are genuine about the pursuit of efforts to sustainable peace”, he says.

Further, the Panel advised that “we should handhold those that are in the process of addressing the potential disequilibrium to peace – meaning that we should handhold them through the transitional process to sustainable constitutionalism, governance and democracy.

The Panel of the Wise emphasised the efficacy of supporting and further handholding “our brothers and sisters into post-conflict sustainability” – a wisdom that Ambassador Boang says the republic of Botswana intends - to “live true to”.