Botswana no change.

NEW AFRICAN CARRIED A STORY in its April 2009 issue, titled "Botswana: Will Power Ever Change?". That story raised some issues that I would like to comment on. We laud Botswana for being one of Africa's oldest democracies. But it is equally important to point out that Botswana's democracy is old and outdated in many respects. It is a democracy which has been stagnant and has never evolved for the past 43 years.

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Botswana has failed to invest in and develop democracy. The ruling BDP refuses to allow the state to fund political parties to help nurture democracy. The BDP, because it controls the government, has never struggled to secure sponsors to run its election campaigns. Rich business people and corporate bodies have always sponsored the BDP. They are in turn rewarded with multimillion pula tenders by the BDP government. Because it is the incumbent party, the BDP uses government resources in its election campaigns, and because of these resources at its disposal, the BDP has always managed to field candidates in all 57 constituencies while the opposition has failed to do so due to lack of resources.

The BDP monopolises the government media, whose coverage is skewed in its favour and that of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP). The BDP is still rooted in the old winner-takes-all system of elections which has been found wanting in many aspects of governance.

The BDP has failed in the past 43 years to give political education to the people of the country. This lack of political knowledge has a negative impact on our democracy. There is a lack of debate culture in Botswana, and the media and civil organisations have failed to fill this void.

We can no longer afford a democracy which drains the opposition of their funding, and by extension seats, while the BDP gets all the accolades for running "one of Africa's stable democracies".

Western governments have also succeeded, starting from 1994, in reversing the gains made by the opposition Botswana National Front (BNF) in the early years of independence. Bait was thrown to the pro-socialist BNF and was taken by some party members and MPs who went on to form, in 1998, the breakaway pro-capitalist Botswana Congress Party (BCP), which is today heavily funded by the Westminster Foundation and the UK's Labour Party, just as they fund the MDC of Zimbabwe and other pro-West opposition parties in Africa. this has demoralised people who thirst for change in Botswana. The formation of the BCP definitely weakened the BNF and reversed whatever gains it had made hitherto.

Though from abroad everything seems rosy in the country, opposition supporters who live in Botswana think otherwise. The education system has failed to empower most of the people. The country is struggling to feed itself. The largest producer of diamonds in the world still cannot employ less than two million people--and that is the population of the whole country! There are lots of challenges faced by the people. Yes, the results of the 16 October elections say power has not changed, but it does not mean all is well in Botswana. The BDP has failed a lot of people in the country.

On 16 October, Botswana held its 10th general election since independence in 1966 to elect new members of parliament for the country's 57 constituencies, and also to elect local councillors. Parliament has 61 seats but four seats are co-opted--elected MPs vote for who occupy them.

Botswana does not hold direct presidential elections, so MPs appoint the president, and as the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) won the most seats on 16 October--45 of the 57 at stake--the incumbent president before the polls, Lt. Gen Seretse Khama Ian Khama will continue in office until 2014.

Seven political parties and 15 independent candidates contested in the 57 constituencies, but the real race was among the top three parties--the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), the Botswana National Front (BNF), and the Botswana Congress Party (BCP).

The results revealed no surprises. The BDP, which has won all 10 elections in 43 years of independence, romped home, followed in the far distance by the BNF with 6 seats, the BCP with 4 seats, and the Botswana Alliance Movement with 1 seat.

The BDP has been dominant since independence on 30 September 1966, and if the current state of play continues, the party will dominate forever. Jalo Gaotseneloe, writing from Mmatshumo, Botswana, presents here the opposition point of view on the way things stand at present.