Ever since our country attained self-government, and independence two years later in 1966, we have been ruled by one and the same party, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). You see, our country is democratic; so once every five years we hold general elections. We have held eleven (11) general elections so far, and they have ALL been won by the BDP . The validity or otherwise, of the wins is not my concern in this piece. What I want to point out is the incongruity between where the Government/BDP claims it wants to lead our country, and what they (BDP) actually practice.
After every election, when the freedom-square rhetoric suddenly becomes unfashionable, the government/BDP proclaims that it wants to ensure that it is the private sector that "drives the economy" of our country, and not government as such. To achieve that objective they promise to diversify the economy from its over-reliance on diamonds.
Well, they have not succeeded so far. But should we really believe them? Should we take them at their word that they want to diversify the economy? Let's analyse their claim.
Diversifying the economy means LOSING considerable economic muscle to the private sector. It means the government/BDP losing the economic power that they currently enjoy, of ruthlessly punishing the private media by witholding advertisements from alleged "troublesome, opposition-aligned" newspapers. These, by the way, are simply newspapers that are critical of the way government/BDP wastes national resources through lack of accountability and corruption.
Diversifying the economy means government/BDP losing its grip on Business Botswana. Business Botswana is what used to be called Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM). A truly "private sector", driving a truly diversified economy, would not "coincidentally" elect former permanent secretaries and ruling party activists to lead it year in and year out. Even where such coincidence happens if at all, it would be very unlikely that such an organisation would encourage government (it's economic competitor) to levy a tax on an already struggling private sector entity - the private press. The fact that Business Botswana is encouraging government/BDP to levy a tax on the private media, an integral part of the private sector, shows you just how "private" the sector run by Business Botswana really is.
In conclusion, it is clear that government/BDP can really NOT afford to diversify the economy of this country. They cannot afford to share economic power deriving from diamonds with anyone else. But the accolades keep coming in:- most democratic country in bla bla; upper middle income country, bla bla...
Monday, March 21, 2016
Saturday, March 5, 2016
God save our motherland!
I am sitting here, a frustrated, angry man today. When I went to bed around midnight last night, I had planned that today I would be engaged in an economic activity fifty (50) kilometers away. I was supposed to get up at six (06.00 Hrs) a.m, and drive 50 Km to my destination. But alas, that was not to be.
A "church" service, conducted all night, through a loudspeaker, kept me awake until half past five (05:30 Hrs) this morning. As I lay in bed, unable to sleep, I kept writhing and cursing all political forces that have caused my country to be what it is today: the British Imperialists for imposing their rule on our country some one and half centuries ago; the same Imperialists for imposing their son-in-law, Seretse Khama on our country as President, through a possibly rigged election some half century ago; the corrupt establishment that has inherited the privileges bestowed by Imperialism on those that it left in charge of our country when it supposedly "gave us independence and retreated" in 1966.
What makes me absolutely mad is the fact that yesterday evening, an announcement was shouted out of a loudspeaker to the effect that today there would be a meeting at the traditional administrative center, the Kgotla, to prepare for the fiftieth independence day celebrations due later this year. In other words, the government workers who traveled from Gaborone, who are paid through my taxes, were in this town/village last night, nonchalantly awaiting the attendance of a citizenry that had been deprived of sleep, right in their faces! And in Gaborone, an unconcerned President Khama was having a nice sound sleep in the Tshaba Ntsa neighbourhood where not a sound of loud music could be made any time, day or night. And not very far from him, in the Parliamentary flats, a contented Haskins Nkaigwa MP was sleeping soundly, no doubt dreaming about how he would once more bring to Parliament, his motion to declare this country a "Christian" nation. And I couldn't sleep; the Christian "Haleluya" blaring from the loudspeaker and drilling itself right through my weary brains.
You see, in a country where there are no rules enforceable by law enforcement agents, backed by law courts accessible to the vast majority of citizens (who are overwhelmingly poor), CITIZENS CEASE TO HAVE ANY RIGHTS. Whenever your rights as a citizen are violated, and you report such violation to "authorities", you are merely encouraged to write or go to the president, who "will solve all your problems". If by some miraculous stroke of luck you reach some official at the President's office, tea is put on the table. The first comment, and possibly the last, from the official is likely to be "being such an intelligent person, when are you going to join the (political) party?"
And so here I sit, fifty Km away from where I should be working, because I feared that I might capsize my vehicle on the way to work, for lack of sleep. God save our motherland!
A "church" service, conducted all night, through a loudspeaker, kept me awake until half past five (05:30 Hrs) this morning. As I lay in bed, unable to sleep, I kept writhing and cursing all political forces that have caused my country to be what it is today: the British Imperialists for imposing their rule on our country some one and half centuries ago; the same Imperialists for imposing their son-in-law, Seretse Khama on our country as President, through a possibly rigged election some half century ago; the corrupt establishment that has inherited the privileges bestowed by Imperialism on those that it left in charge of our country when it supposedly "gave us independence and retreated" in 1966.
What makes me absolutely mad is the fact that yesterday evening, an announcement was shouted out of a loudspeaker to the effect that today there would be a meeting at the traditional administrative center, the Kgotla, to prepare for the fiftieth independence day celebrations due later this year. In other words, the government workers who traveled from Gaborone, who are paid through my taxes, were in this town/village last night, nonchalantly awaiting the attendance of a citizenry that had been deprived of sleep, right in their faces! And in Gaborone, an unconcerned President Khama was having a nice sound sleep in the Tshaba Ntsa neighbourhood where not a sound of loud music could be made any time, day or night. And not very far from him, in the Parliamentary flats, a contented Haskins Nkaigwa MP was sleeping soundly, no doubt dreaming about how he would once more bring to Parliament, his motion to declare this country a "Christian" nation. And I couldn't sleep; the Christian "Haleluya" blaring from the loudspeaker and drilling itself right through my weary brains.
You see, in a country where there are no rules enforceable by law enforcement agents, backed by law courts accessible to the vast majority of citizens (who are overwhelmingly poor), CITIZENS CEASE TO HAVE ANY RIGHTS. Whenever your rights as a citizen are violated, and you report such violation to "authorities", you are merely encouraged to write or go to the president, who "will solve all your problems". If by some miraculous stroke of luck you reach some official at the President's office, tea is put on the table. The first comment, and possibly the last, from the official is likely to be "being such an intelligent person, when are you going to join the (political) party?"
And so here I sit, fifty Km away from where I should be working, because I feared that I might capsize my vehicle on the way to work, for lack of sleep. God save our motherland!
Friday, January 22, 2016
Homosexuals etc.
I will be blunt. Someone who has vested interests in the moral breakdown of third world countries' populations is behind this homosexual, lesbian phenomenon. The phenomenon itself is one big conspiracy, a hoax that is anchored on our predictable revulsion and consequent impulsive reaction.
I remember reading, in a local newspaper, about a conversation between two ladies seated in a minibus. The gist of the conversation was that of the two "holes", only number one should be presented to a husband. If you present hole number two, the husband will be captivated by its tightness, and before you know it, he will be off to look for another man to sleep with. Presumably the reason he looks for a man and not a woman is because a woman might want to entice him back to hole number one - a boring, emotionless hole that he no longer wants to have anything to do with. I am not concerned with the merits or demerits of this conversation, but with the fact that some couples occassionally use BOTH holes.
Now how would we as a society react if some married couples came forward and "confessed" that they only use hole number one when they want to make a child, otherwise their hole of first recourse, is hole number two. I think our response would be "so what ?". And what if the couples' shocker was then delivered - "we want to register our society of sexual orientation, we will call it HOLE TWO else ONE. We are doing this because society is descriminating against us."
I think you get the point. To parade bedroom matters in the street, in the name of pursuing sexual equality is at best hypocritical, and possibly conspiratorial. Last week I watched in horror as a young "twerker", wearing tight fitting "leggings", gyrated. She was standing with her legs apart . Her head was lower than her knees. The music was blaring and she was gyrating; gyrating like she was flaunting her holes to an Anunnaki somewhere out on planet Nibiru. Fortunately the camera was focussing on her from the back of her head, and not from the "interesting" side. In my view, she took her bedroom potential out on to the street. Is that really necessary?
Now contrast that with the reaction of new year revellers in a German town who were allegedly "groped" by people who looked like North Africans or Arabs!. These were revellers. None had her hole penetrated. Some might even have been accidentally bumped into by these "darkies". I am not condoning the behaviour of the "darkies". I'm only showing the contrast between a girl who does not feel insulted when strangers gawk at her gyrating bottom in the street, and a reveler who feels insulted and humiliated if a darkie gave her a pat of appreciation on the bottom.
"So why the homosexual and lesbian conspiracy?", you may ask. The intention is to create chaos and confusion in our societies; to cause us to impulsively react by passing laws that WE CANNOT ENFORCE, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BE IN THE BEDROOM TO GET THE NECESSARY EVIDENCE FOR CONVICTION. As soon as the laws are passed, the conspirators have achieved their objective. The rest will be sorted out, if at all, between the impulsive legislators, and those who claim that their bedroom exploits are being legislated against. For crying out loud, we don't even know that the people who claim to be homosexuals and lesbians actually practice that in their bedrooms. Nor need we to know.
To call the conspirators's bluff, to expose the hoax, all we need to do is repeal any laws that we might have impulsively promulgated against this "imaginary" group, and steadfastly REFUSE to register their bedroom organisations in our statutes. That's my two pennies' worth.
I remember reading, in a local newspaper, about a conversation between two ladies seated in a minibus. The gist of the conversation was that of the two "holes", only number one should be presented to a husband. If you present hole number two, the husband will be captivated by its tightness, and before you know it, he will be off to look for another man to sleep with. Presumably the reason he looks for a man and not a woman is because a woman might want to entice him back to hole number one - a boring, emotionless hole that he no longer wants to have anything to do with. I am not concerned with the merits or demerits of this conversation, but with the fact that some couples occassionally use BOTH holes.
Now how would we as a society react if some married couples came forward and "confessed" that they only use hole number one when they want to make a child, otherwise their hole of first recourse, is hole number two. I think our response would be "so what ?". And what if the couples' shocker was then delivered - "we want to register our society of sexual orientation, we will call it HOLE TWO else ONE. We are doing this because society is descriminating against us."
I think you get the point. To parade bedroom matters in the street, in the name of pursuing sexual equality is at best hypocritical, and possibly conspiratorial. Last week I watched in horror as a young "twerker", wearing tight fitting "leggings", gyrated. She was standing with her legs apart . Her head was lower than her knees. The music was blaring and she was gyrating; gyrating like she was flaunting her holes to an Anunnaki somewhere out on planet Nibiru. Fortunately the camera was focussing on her from the back of her head, and not from the "interesting" side. In my view, she took her bedroom potential out on to the street. Is that really necessary?
Now contrast that with the reaction of new year revellers in a German town who were allegedly "groped" by people who looked like North Africans or Arabs!. These were revellers. None had her hole penetrated. Some might even have been accidentally bumped into by these "darkies". I am not condoning the behaviour of the "darkies". I'm only showing the contrast between a girl who does not feel insulted when strangers gawk at her gyrating bottom in the street, and a reveler who feels insulted and humiliated if a darkie gave her a pat of appreciation on the bottom.
"So why the homosexual and lesbian conspiracy?", you may ask. The intention is to create chaos and confusion in our societies; to cause us to impulsively react by passing laws that WE CANNOT ENFORCE, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BE IN THE BEDROOM TO GET THE NECESSARY EVIDENCE FOR CONVICTION. As soon as the laws are passed, the conspirators have achieved their objective. The rest will be sorted out, if at all, between the impulsive legislators, and those who claim that their bedroom exploits are being legislated against. For crying out loud, we don't even know that the people who claim to be homosexuals and lesbians actually practice that in their bedrooms. Nor need we to know.
To call the conspirators's bluff, to expose the hoax, all we need to do is repeal any laws that we might have impulsively promulgated against this "imaginary" group, and steadfastly REFUSE to register their bedroom organisations in our statutes. That's my two pennies' worth.
Friday, January 1, 2016
Devil's Advocate - 2019
Tsholetsa Domkrag! When we ask for your votes, and you give us your votes to rule, we immediately start ruling; just as we have been doing for the last 50- something years. We do not, after getting your votes, start fighting (read negotiating) on how to rule you.
The UDC has been "negotiating" for the last ten years. But these negotiations have not been on HOW to rule you, should they win the elections; no, not at all. The negotiations on how to rule you will start when you have voted them into Government. In other words when they are supposed to be governing you, they will be starting serious negotiations on how (in heck) to do that - which party takes wich Ministry and which Parastatals. They can't agree on these issues BEFORE elections, because they don't know which of the cooperating parties will win in their allocated constituencies!
So you may want to know what exactly they have been negotiating on during the last ten years. They have been carving up the country like the Imperialists did to Africa from the comfort of their European sofas in or around 1885. Bane ba gopela lefatshe! You the voters were not consulted at all. You were only told at the end of ten years, which cooperating party you must vote for. And now they want you to believe that "carving up Government responsibilities" among themselves can be done in 3 or 4 days after elections? Ao, Bathong do these guys think you are idiots or what?
Yes, they have produced a joint manifesto under the UDC umbrella concept. Even though they call UDC a party, in reality it is just a concept because you can't join it. A joint manifesto is not a contract. Any of the cooperating parties can decide to pull out of the umbrella the day after the elections.
Ask yourselves - if they can produce a joint manifesto and REALLY mean what they have written in that manifesto, what then prevents them from UNITING their parties into ONE party with such manifesto as the guiding document? The answer is simple - The "joint manifesto" is just to fool you, the voters. Vote them in and they will tear the manifesto apart and resort to government ala-Palapye 1998 solution!
The UDC has been "negotiating" for the last ten years. But these negotiations have not been on HOW to rule you, should they win the elections; no, not at all. The negotiations on how to rule you will start when you have voted them into Government. In other words when they are supposed to be governing you, they will be starting serious negotiations on how (in heck) to do that - which party takes wich Ministry and which Parastatals. They can't agree on these issues BEFORE elections, because they don't know which of the cooperating parties will win in their allocated constituencies!
So you may want to know what exactly they have been negotiating on during the last ten years. They have been carving up the country like the Imperialists did to Africa from the comfort of their European sofas in or around 1885. Bane ba gopela lefatshe! You the voters were not consulted at all. You were only told at the end of ten years, which cooperating party you must vote for. And now they want you to believe that "carving up Government responsibilities" among themselves can be done in 3 or 4 days after elections? Ao, Bathong do these guys think you are idiots or what?
Yes, they have produced a joint manifesto under the UDC umbrella concept. Even though they call UDC a party, in reality it is just a concept because you can't join it. A joint manifesto is not a contract. Any of the cooperating parties can decide to pull out of the umbrella the day after the elections.
Ask yourselves - if they can produce a joint manifesto and REALLY mean what they have written in that manifesto, what then prevents them from UNITING their parties into ONE party with such manifesto as the guiding document? The answer is simple - The "joint manifesto" is just to fool you, the voters. Vote them in and they will tear the manifesto apart and resort to government ala-Palapye 1998 solution!
Monday, December 28, 2015
Paulson Majaga for Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) President
A trully earth-shattering political development recently occured in our parliament. Not surprisingly most of the mainstream "independent" news media either did not notice the political significance of the move, or being BDP at the core, feared possible repercussions on BDP's lack of accountability.
The leader of the opposition, Duma Boko was rightly critisizing President Khama's government for "approving" some P800 million without presenting it to parliament for debate and approval, or rejection! It boggles the mind how any responsible politician in Parliament can accept Khama's signature as the only necessary authority for such humongous expenditure, given the vast amounts of money that just disappear without trace (dwt) under Khama's government: P38 million (dwt) at Water Utilities Corporation; P38 million (dwt) at Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board; Several billions (dwt) at the Fenghue Glass factory in Palapye etc.
Fortunately, in the midst of the snoring majority BDP MPs there are still some who are willing to "take risks" in pursuit of their oath/vow to protect the interests of the motherland. They do not fear to take a firm stand against the dictates of their party leaders, where the interests of the country (their electorates) are being abused willy-nilly. The member of Parliament for Nata/Gweta, Paulson Majaga is such an MP. Despite him being a BDP MP, he backed the leader of Opposition in voicing his opposition to President Khama "authorising" close to a billion Pula without Parliament's approval. Such MPs are an invaluable asset to the national psyche. Their existence in our Parliament gives us reason to hope that even with the continuous rigging that our elections are subject to, the government may one day fall through a vote of no confidence.
It is for this reason that in my view the BDP should seriously consider promoting the member of Parliament for Nata/Gweta, Paulson Majaga, to the position of Party President. Paulson Majaga as President would probably not be enough to save BDP from the chop at the next (hopefully, unrigged) elections, but his sense of accountability would be like a breeze of fresh air as compared to the current stifling BDP administration.
The leader of the opposition, Duma Boko was rightly critisizing President Khama's government for "approving" some P800 million without presenting it to parliament for debate and approval, or rejection! It boggles the mind how any responsible politician in Parliament can accept Khama's signature as the only necessary authority for such humongous expenditure, given the vast amounts of money that just disappear without trace (dwt) under Khama's government: P38 million (dwt) at Water Utilities Corporation; P38 million (dwt) at Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board; Several billions (dwt) at the Fenghue Glass factory in Palapye etc.
Fortunately, in the midst of the snoring majority BDP MPs there are still some who are willing to "take risks" in pursuit of their oath/vow to protect the interests of the motherland. They do not fear to take a firm stand against the dictates of their party leaders, where the interests of the country (their electorates) are being abused willy-nilly. The member of Parliament for Nata/Gweta, Paulson Majaga is such an MP. Despite him being a BDP MP, he backed the leader of Opposition in voicing his opposition to President Khama "authorising" close to a billion Pula without Parliament's approval. Such MPs are an invaluable asset to the national psyche. Their existence in our Parliament gives us reason to hope that even with the continuous rigging that our elections are subject to, the government may one day fall through a vote of no confidence.
It is for this reason that in my view the BDP should seriously consider promoting the member of Parliament for Nata/Gweta, Paulson Majaga, to the position of Party President. Paulson Majaga as President would probably not be enough to save BDP from the chop at the next (hopefully, unrigged) elections, but his sense of accountability would be like a breeze of fresh air as compared to the current stifling BDP administration.
Friday, November 20, 2015
Correction - "Tribes of the Kalanga nation"
In the post entitled "Tribes of the Kalanga nation" on Thursday 9 July 2015 I erred (lied?) when I wrote:
The Mokoba/Moyeyi controlled the human "traffic" with the help of a branch of a very prickley tree. The Tswana call the tree "Mokoba". In Kalanga, the tree is called "Nkosho", MEANING THAT IT SPENT THE DAY (KU SHWA) NEXT TO THE DOOR/MOYEYI(NKOBA)The capitalized phrase above is what is wrong. The prickley tree is called Nkosho alright, and the word "Nkosho" breaks down to two parts as I stated "Nko" from Nkoba, and "Sho". But the "Sho" does not derive from (Ku shwa). The "Sho" means "Prickley", as in the words "ishosho" , meaning a prickley plant prevalent in the correspondingly named village "shoshong"; a scorpion is called "leSHOkgo" in Setswana language; the hedgehog is called "iSHOni" in Kalanga; and of course the good old "SHOndo" meaning "I prick :)!
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Smartphoners, beware of lightning!
It looks like the rainy season has now begun. In addition to thanking God that the rains are finally knocking at our doorstep, we need to caution young people about their current trend of wearing what amounts to lightning-attracting gadgets on their ears - music ear phones!
A year or two ago, some kids from Naledi Senior Secondary School, while wearing those gadgets during a lightning storm, were struck by lightning.
A year or two ago, some kids from Naledi Senior Secondary School, while wearing those gadgets during a lightning storm, were struck by lightning.
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