Botswana is a rare African success story but not without a few headaches

AN AFRICAN president stepping down of his own accord is still depressingly rare. Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe has been clinging to power since 1980. But next door, in Botswana, a respected president, Festus Mogae, is graciously retiring this month after ten years in office.

Botswana rarely features in the news abroad. With only 1.8m people and the world's largest output of diamonds, it has been a model of stability, avoiding the violence, corruption and boom-and-bust cycles that have plagued so many mineral-rich countries. Yet it had little going for it at independence in 1966. It had only 13km (eight miles) of tarred road. Most of its people, often drought-afflicted, scraped a living rearing cattle.

Largely covered with sand, it had little agriculture—and few white settlers: it never experienced the bitterness of land dispossession and the ensuing disharmony that poisoned race relations in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Mr Mogae's anointed successor, Ian Khama, is half-white, but few people in Botswana think his colour matters.

Diamonds have changed the country's fortunes. Its per capita income of $5,900 is four times the regional average and higher than Malaysia's. The diamond wealth has been spent on roads, sanitation, schools and clinics, not on palaces or Swiss bank accounts. AIDS has hit the country hard, but almost 95,000 patients—86% of those who need it—get anti-retroviral treatment.

In Gaborone, the capital, modern glass buildings are springing up. “Botswana is what it is because of diamonds,” acknowledges Mr Mogae. Yet it tops regional leagues for clean government. Economic growth has been steady, inflation moderate. There are no exchange controls. Taxes are among the region's lowest. The government has recently made it easier for skilled foreigners to come to Botswana for work.

The ruling party has stayed happily in power for 42 years. Lepetu Setshwaelo, who heads a small opposition party, admits it is hard to convince people that their government is no good. “They don't easily see the point of the opposition,” he sighs. Divisions within the two main opposition parties hardly help their cause.

Botswana's democracy is steeped in tradition. In Mochudi, 35km (22 miles) north of the capital, a local chief listens to a resident's complaint on the veranda of a former colonial building, while a clerk takes notes. Every week, chiefs from the area gather in the open space shaded by a thatched roof, perched on an assortment of weathered chairs, sofas and stools. Most villages and towns are still ruled by chiefs, incorporated into the country's administration. Though unelected, they can lose their position if their subjects are unhappy with them and their decisions can be appealed in court.

It could be even better, though
Still, Botswana has its problems. Its government drives the economy; the private sector is feeble. According to the World Bank, local companies are not very competitive compared with those in other middle-income countries. Landlocked and with a minute domestic market, Botswana has struggled to lure foreign investors, bar those interested in minerals.

So unemployment is 18%; about one-third of the people are poor. The income gap between townspeople and those in the countryside is wide and growing. Too much depends on diamonds, which generate over 70% of foreign earnings, one-third of GDP and about half of government revenues. A partnership between a South African giant, De Beers, and the government produces almost all the country's stones. Without new discoveries, diamond revenues may nosedive in the next 15-20 years. Government has not managed to diversify the economy enough.

Large coal reserves and plans to build power stations could lessen reliance on diamonds. Botswana is also banking on creating some niches. Sixteen top international diamond cutters and traders have set up shop in Botswana, now that a fraction of local production is sold locally. The government wants to turn the country into a diamond centre that will not only cut the stones but also trade them and offer security and financial services.

Tourism has potential too. The “No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency” series, Alexander McCall Smith's novels set in Botswana, has helped put the place on the map. Rows over relocating the Bushmen, Botswana's indigenous people (also called the San), from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve has muddied the country's shiny image a bit but has not kept tourists away.

The country also wants to be a regional financial hub, with its low taxes and liberal foreign-exchange regime. Pension reform has already helped foster a small fund-management industry. With lower labour costs and taxes than in neighbouring South Africa, Botswana is a good base from which to export to its big-brother neighbour, which is linked to it by a customs union along with Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland. Outsourcing of government services and planned privatisations should help the tiny private sector to grow.

Too few Botswanans have the right skills, but it was hard, until recently, to bring in foreign staff. Education seems over-geared towards producing civil servants, not business people. Some investors say the locals lack drive. “We've been a nation of beneficiaries,” says Mr Setshwaelo, who, as well as heading the political opposition, also has a fruit-juice business. The state sector's wage bill, as a percentage of GDP, is one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

Mr Khama wants to pep things up. As a former army chief and son of Seretse Khama, the country's much-admired first president, his style will be different. His detractors say he is authoritarian; his supporters call him decisive and efficient. However successful it has been, Botswana may need gentle stirring.


http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10925770

Botswana's HDI is I think at .658 or something, if the AIDS epidemic didn't hit so hard, the HDI probably would of been 65 points higher.

Botswana's HDI is I think at .658 or something, if the AIDS epidemic didn't hit so hard, the HDI probably would of been 65 points higher.

Most definitely. The life expectancy there for those who do not have AIDS is about 74 years, on par with some western nations. The AIDS rate in Botswana has been declining to, so the HDI will start increasing in the next few years just like it did this year.

Hopefully, it will start doing more educational programs that help combat AIDS, that eduacte urban people and ruralers. Botswana should use Uguanda as an example. Uguanda's AIDS population DRASTICALLY went down when education was given.

Botswana and maybe Angola have the potential to be the first African nations with a high HDI (.800 or more), because they have low populations, and vast resources, they just need to hope that their countries have non corrupt leaders in trhe future.:)

Hopefully, it will start doing more educational programs that help combat AIDS, that eduacte urban people and ruralers. Botswana should use Uguanda as an example. Uguanda's AIDS population DRASTICALLY went down when education was given.

Botswana and maybe Angola have the potential to be the first African nations with a high HDI (.800 or more), because they have low populations, and vast resources, they just need to hope that their countries have non corrupt leaders in trhe future.

You don´t know Africa very well. Angola has 15 million people coming out of war, it first has to (re)build physical infrastructure, Botswana has less than 2 million, if I remember well.

Botswana and Gabon might most likely be the first mainland African countries to reach 0.8 mark, in both countries social indicators are showing upwards...and they are both small.

Within my own family there are many above the age of 70 years in Nigeria... due to statistics, concerning Nigeria´s live expectancy they should all be dead by now but they are still "fresh" and alive.

Low life expectatncy also has something to do with high infant mortality.

Is this the new preisdent of Botswana?

http://i29.************/eu3nl0.jpg

Well, he doesn´t look half white/black at all :ohno:what is said in the article (his African heritage is where?) he has more the air of a Lebanese merchant, I am sorry!

But if he is a good man, he should make the job

I have a further question, did the opposition in Botswana ever win an election since independence like in Ghana for example?

You don´t know Africa very well. Angola has 15 million people coming out of war, it first has to (re)build physical infrastructure, Botswana has less than 2 million, if I remember well.

Botswana and Gabon might most likely be the first mainland African countries to reach 0.8 mark, in both countries social indicators are showing upwards...and they are both small.

Within my own family there are many above the age of 70 years in Nigeria... due to statistics, concerning Nigeria´s live expectancy they should all be dead by now but they are still "fresh" and alive.

Low life expectatncy also has something to do with high infant mortality.


Angola does have a tiny population, maybe not as small as Botswana but its still small.

Do you even know the population of Nigeria?

Nigeria has 150 million people, Egypt has 75 million people, DRC has 60 million, Tanzania has 40 million, Kenya has 37 million, Ghana has 23 million. So, yes, Angola is pretty small compared to the vast majority of other nations ESPECIALLY due to its huge size.

Yews, Gabon does have a lot of potential, but, hoards of immigrants on a daily basis, the higher it increases the harder it is to sustain a high HDI. If Nigeria has a population of 30 million or so, the HDI would be HUGE!

Do you even know the population of Nigeria?

Are you kidding?:lol::)

While Angola is more bigger than Nigeria, Nigeria has 8 times more people than Angola. Nigeria has more popel than the largest nation in the world, Russia.

Interesting read, thanks.

Well Matt, Ian Khama is the son of Seretse Khama & Ruth Williams Khama (who is British). Also when speaking of Ian Khama, one can see the local southern African Khoisan influence, phenotypically.

Who cares about his racial backround, lets just hope its not another Mugabe!:lol:

Botswana is the only country in mainland SS Africa that is ran as well as most Western nation. With SA coming second. I shudder to think what countries like Nigeria, Gabon and Eq Guinea would have been like with leaders like this. Go Botswana.

Botswana is the only country in mainland SS Africa that is ran as well as most Western nation. With SA coming second. I shudder to think what countries like Nigeria, Gabon and Eq Guinea would have been like with leaders like this. Go Botswana.

First of all what Botswna has achieved is great but the rest of the continent is not one vast "shithole" like Popa is trying to tell us here.

Popa1980, you know nothing about the above-mentioned countries (so button your lips or get more broadly informed and ..which means getting your source of information not from VH1´s invented TV show "the World of the Fabulous and the Rich":lol:) ....and even your comparisons fall through the net. First of all, learn French properly to get a more in-depth knowledge of certain countries that are non English speaking and secondly, comparing a highly complex country like Nigeria with more than 150 million people and all the ethnic influences to a country like Botswana :ohno:(which is not multi-ethnic!) just shows how biased and awfully ignorant you (sometimes) can be

Aids drugs are also free of charge in Gabon for years now (they are locally produced in ultramodern factories and even exported) and medicine and electricity bills for the poor are paid by the state. Schooling is free, more than 60% of the population is covered by a social security network; a figure that is high if you comapre it with other countries (plans are under way to float a universal social security system that will even affect the non-Gabonese living non-illegally on the territory, too). Every Gabonese student that wishes to study (abroad) receives a monthly scholarship paid by the state for 4 entire years.....

but in Popa´s eyes the rest of Africa is destined to become another Liberia or is already another Liberia ruled by "Mobutos" (unless the countries are not SA, Botswana or Namibia...which means countries more or less run by Whites/White Africans, before someone pisses at me for being racist, no I am not but this is an observation which I have made with Popa1980)



Popa1980, You dislike certain countries in Africa, we know it, it started with the beaches and ends with oil!! So let´s leave it here...I still vividly remember your arguments concerning the Commonwealth Games in Abuja

Still nobody answered my question concerning Botswana. Has the opposition ever won an election in Botswana since independence like it was the case for Ghana, Senegal, Kenya or Sierra Leone?

PEACE:)

Mathias. Mathias. Mathias.

I hate to break it to you but most african nations fit the category of being "shitholes".

Such as;

DRC
Mozambique
Zimbabwe
Ivory Coast
Sudan
Comoros
Somalia
Tanzania
Cameroon
Zambia
Madagascar
Central African Republic
Burkina Faso
Malawi
Sierra Leone
Niger
Chad
Benin
Mali
Liberia
Djibouti
Eritrea
...I'm leaving a few out because alot of poeple are from these countries and I don't want to start anything.

There are only a select few "decent nations" in Sub-Africa;

1. Botswana
2. South Africa
3. Ghana
4. Gabon
5. Eq. Guinea
6. Namibia
......and none of these countries have a population higher than 25 million.

I don't mean to offend but I don't make this stuff up, these are solely based on HDI. Sure some of the nations in the first list might have some pretty buildings going up but it doesn't mean a country is perfect. Do I want these lists to be true and Africa to be in the current position that its in? No! But the truth is the truth.

Lagbuja, Matthias is beyond reasoning. It is only a matter of time before he labels you as a racist or throws one of his now infamous "virtual tantrums". Mark my word.
I wont embarass him by posting some of the immature, offensive messages he has sent me- one titled "You pisshole".

This guy reckons VH1 made up a show to discredit Gabon. As if rich American media moghuls give a damn about that nation!

He claims to have been to Gabon (which I dont believe) and has some blind obsession with the country. Btw I would add Senegal to your list of "decent nations" and Tanzania/Mozambique too.

Most SS African countries are ridiculously mismanaged. Thats just a fact you will to deal with. Why do you think Botswana is run by white people, Matt?

Popa1980, I won´t comment on your provocations and lies. I have made myself clear and I am not obsessed with Gabon like you say, I just visted the country once, the reason for my interest..but I just can´t swallow your ceaseless bias, misinformation and some mean feelings (given the fact that you don´t even understand French to get a more indepth knowledge) that you inwardly cherish towards certain countries in Africa....although I have provided you articles that you are not willing to read, you keep on showing us your links of the VHI´s World of the "Rich and fabulous"

Why do you think Botswana is run by white people, Matt?

I said more or less, less than SA or Namibia in particular, but more than Zambia, for example


Originally posted by a member called Khalafani

Botswana citizenship favours SA whites

01 February, 2002

Kgosi Tawana of Batawana says there is corruption in the processing of Botswana citizen applications and it is next to impossible for blacks to get citizenship but for South African whites it is almost guaranteed.

House of chiefs chairperson said there were people who had been in Botswana for more than 20 years but were denied citizenship while those who had been around a few years get citizenship. Tawana also said the system of identifying illegal immigrants was racist and only targeted blacks when certainly there were white illegal immigrants in Botswana.

"I have never heard of the police raiding whites, but black Zimbabwean illegal immigrants are often carried by trucks back to their country," he said.

Tawana's comments were prompted by the answer by Baledzi Gaolathe who was responding to Kgosi Basiamang Garebakwena who wanted to know the number of immigrants who have been granted citizenship, those rejected and pending since independence.

Garebakwena also wanted the minister to say whether or not he has had any constraints in processing citizenship applications, and if so, enlighten chiefs on the plans to improve the situation.

Gaolathe, who was standing in for labour and home affairs minister, said 25 594 applications for Botswana citizenship were received out of which 25 327 were approved and 44 rejected.

In addition, 223 files received countrywide which were being processed and have been referred to the police for vetting.

With regards to the constraints, Gaolathe informed the chiefs that in the past they experienced delays in the processing of citizenship because of other government law enforcement agencies where they were sent for further processing.

In order to address these delays, he said consultations were held with stakeholders and an undertaking was made by those involved that the processing would be expedited.

"I am pleased to inform this House that we are no longer experiencing any major constraints in the processing of citizenship applications." On Tawana's concerns, Gaolathe said the processing of citizenship was thorough and it was not only a question of how long a person stayed in Botswana but also what the individual had been doing. Gaolathe said government has zero tolerance to corruption and if any public officer processes citizenship application on the basis of corruption and racism must be reported.

Responding to a question by Kgosi Toto of Kgalagadi on what caused delays in the construction of the Tshabong stadium, Gaolathe said he was informed that preparations were on schedule as the design and drawings have been finalised.

He said department of sport and recreation and that of architecture and building services plan to consult with district authorities in February 2002.

http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi%3Fd%3D20020201




Ethnic groups: Tswana 79%; Kalanga 11%; Kgalagadi, Herero, Bayeyi, Hambukush, Basarwa ("San"), Khoi, whites 10%.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1830.htm

COMMENTARY ON POOR TREATMENT OF ZIMBABWEANS IN BOTSWANA


Xenophobia against Zimbabweans in Botswana has reached alarming levels amid allegations that locals are being brutally assaulted and subjected to dehumanising and humiliating treatment by authorities in that country. Zimbabweans are also being deported en masse from Botswana and told never to set foot in Gaborone or risk being thrown in jail (...)

http://www.queensu.ca/samp/sampresources/migrationdocuments/commentaries/2002/botswana.htm

Even their flag bears witness to white presence in Botswana

http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/06/69/22206906.jpg

Botswana's flag was introduced at Independence in 1966. It represents the sky above and rain water - pula - below, with the black and the white people of Botswana in the centre. The strong portrayal of black and white people together was a deliberate reflection of the country's willingness at Independence to accept white people as Batswana - the people of Botswana, despite the ongoing difficulties the new country had been having with the apartheid laws of its neighbour.

Pula means 'rain' and 'blessings', hence it also became the name for the country's currency

http://www.pulapulapula.co.uk/About%20Botswana.html

Ok, I will stop here. A political scientist called Kenneth Good also wrote quite some revealing stuff about Botswana, you can google for his name. Whites have always formed a backbone of Botswanan society and strategic positions of the country have always been occupied by Whites since indpendence in 1966. (in the administration and in the business)

I am not saying that this is automatically bad, no I am not a racist against white people before some people begin to accuse me of it again, but presenting Botswana as the "exception to the rule in Africa" only tells half of the story.

Having said that, nobody can deny that Botswana is doing fine.:)

Almost every African country is predominantly ruled by certain ethnic or racial group, however unlike most of Africa people haven't killed themselves over that in Botswana. Nor do people seem to care in voting for a president thats half white, maybe a degree of maturity and tolerance is warranted for other nations. That said even African nations with a considerable white minority still have black governments that represent the majority. The inequalities exist economically, but its the responsibility of the government not private sector to close these gaps by implementing just laws to address the issue. While its been far from perfect Compare nations like Namibia, South Africa and Botswana 10 years ago to now.

Also whats key to Botswana's success is not only finding other mineral export markets but entering the service sector which includes diamond cutting. This is essence of diversification.

Matt, I never though I would here you of all people coming out with this. The guy who LOVES the fact that so many Portuguese have emigrated to Angola, who weeps that they ever left Angola in the first place, and who rubs his hands in glee that so many Chinese are coming to Africa. What an amazing turnaround.

It is well known that in your Gabon there are many jobs being done my expat whites which could be done by locals. That is a feature of Francophone excolonies.
A foreign British company in Ghana and Nigeria woud have black bosses e.g. Barclays. In a country like Gabon or even Senegal- it would be a white French boss. I think Senegal has twice the expat population of larger Ghana for example.

Have you ever thought that white SA have easier times to get citizenship because they will be educated middle-class people working in mining, as opposed to poor immigrant Zimbabweans who will be a strain on the economy? Would a rich, educated black SA be treated any worse than a white SA.

In any case, you are more likely to see a black boss of a big minig company in Botswana than in Total Elf in Gabon.

Whites make up 3% of the populace in Botswana. The white population post-independence was TINY. Whites were more the backbone of the Ivorian "miracle" than in Botswana.

Btw, if you send me any more offensive messages I will you report you to the moderators so dont even try it!

Alex, they are making serious attempts at diversification in Botswana. Unlike other AFrican nations they are not waiting for their main source of income to be depleted. First with cutting diamonds, and the tourism sector is ALREADY highly developed. The mistake they made was trying to attract heavy industry, I think BMW used to assemble cars there. Botswana due to its low population will have to develop specific 'niche' markets. I see financial services and high-tech industry being the backboe of the economy in future.

I think the 1st President of Botswana has not got the due credit of making this little oasis of stability and non-corruption.

Well, whites definately don't run the country, governmentally, but whites own about 20% of all the business's in Botswana, about, which actually surprises me because in most countries, the whites own the majority of business's.

So, Botswana is one of the VERY rare instances, where the blacks control their own economy for the most part.

Popa1980, you are defintely not a Ghanaian...if that is the case then I am the son of the last shah of Iran. OKPOH!

popa1980, ooooohhhh, did I hit you on your head or what?:fart:

it just shows how ridiculous you are, you seem to feel cornered now and you explode all of a sudden and twist around affairs entirely...glued in your stupid stereotypes, ignorannce and misinformation about Nigeria and francophone Africa...and even your "homecountry" Ghana...countries that you inwardly seem to dislike a lot (given what you have told about them here in the past one year of your presence)
btw, the head of Total Gabon is white, yes, but the head of Comilog is a Gabonese and not white.

Moreover, get your statistics right first, you won´t find many whites in the adminsitration in Senegal or Gabon Ivory Coast or in Mali or Burkina Faso nowadays. it is no longer the 1970´s

I think the 1st President of Botswana has not got the due credit of making this little oasis of stability and non-corruption.

suprisingly, every other nation is Africa is trash, in your eyes, and therefore destined to failure except Botswana...well, they have got a BMW assembly plant, so their future after diamonds are saved... you run from thread to thread by telling only bad things (something what you have done with many countries in the past) but ONLY bad things about other countries which are not Bots, Nam or SA...Hilarious!


You go about telling this but when someone calls something critically into question as far as Botswna is concerned, you explode by going as far as to say that you will report me:lol:....hhhmm, wasn´t it you who once said that we should be more critical, if I remember it right in our past discussions.

Anyway, i just wanted to display a grain of "criticism" (you are very quick at adding that particular grain when it comes to other African countries)..but unwilling to swallow not a slice of "bitterness" yourself. SHAME ON YOU

Sorry, Dantexavier, but Popa1980 is just ludicruous....if he is more restrained in his criticims towards other countries in Africa too ..I will keep my mouth sealed as far as Botswna and the rest is concerned.

I do have nothing against Botswana or even Namibia , I have even contributed pictures, you know that but I hate it when people can only point to the negative when it comes to certain countries in Africa (this is not fair!!!) and present the rest of Africa as "shitholes"...in their reductionist and simple-minded ways.

I still rmember when Popa1980 came and said that onyl ill-educated whites are emigrating to Angola just because he apparently talked with one white Portuguese in Lisbon. He just wishes doom and gloom to the rest of Africa as long as it is not Botswan, SA and Namibia...I don´t like this kind of behaviour.

Matthias, your Ivoran 'miracle' would not have been possible without the tens of thousands of French and the even bigger Lebanese community. Botswanas economic growth was much more indigenous-led.

Well you dont believe Im Ghanaian? Thats fine, I dont believe you have ever been to Gabon (amongs other things).

And yes, it is only a matter of time that you get yourself banned on SSC- as said on the 'best country' thread- tone it down.

Popa1980, you are just ridiculous and so shamelessly one-sided in your comments again!!! Botswana´s economic growth was certainly not less indigeneous led than that of the Ivory Coast...certainly better planned by a local elite but expats made up a great chunk of it!! So stop betraying the people before I start to vomit (I will refrain from posting articles that I have uploaded concerning Bots..but a word of advice: read some articles about political scientist and economist "Kenneth Good" or if you have time some of his books about Botswana....revealing stuff, telling a lot about the Botswana story and some facts that the press never writes about)

I won´t enlarge on it any more..--it is useless and time-consuming..our time could be invested for more useful things than this...you are just inwardly rejoicing at other country´s failure in your Glasgow´s home (someting which you have shown in the Abuja thread)...I give a toss of what you believe where I have been to , I know where I have been too I am not suffering from amnesia (yet)...moreover, I have reported you for coming to other thread and talking badly about them, the banning message concerns both of us, you and me and potentially others!

So let´s keep a distance!...I don´t go and comment badly about Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan or whatever country...

This is primarily a picture and project forum. let´s not forget this!

PEACE

Popa1980, you are just ridiculous and so shamelessly one-sided in your comments again!!! Botswana´s economic growth was certainly not less indigeneous led than that of the Ivory Coast...certainly better planned by a local elite but expats made up a great chunk of it!! So stop betraying the people before I start to vomit (I will refrain from posting articles that I have uploaded concerning Bots..but a word of advice: read some articles about political scientist and economist "Kenneth Good" or if you have time some of his books about Botswana....revealing stuff, telling a lot about the Botswana story and some facts that the press never writes about)

I won´t enlarge on it any more..--it is useless and time-consuming..our time could be invested for more useful things than this...you are just inwardly rejoicing at other country´s failure in your Glasgow´s home (someting which you have shown in the Abuja COMMONWEALTH thread)...I give a toss of what you believe where I have been to , I know where I have been too I am not suffering from amnesia (yet)...moreover, I have reported you for coming to other thread and talking badly about them, the banning message concerns both of us, you and me and potentially others!

So let´s keep a distance!...I don´t go and comment badly about Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan or whatever country...

This is primarily a picture and project forum. let´s not forget this!

PEACE

Matthias, you are right, Botswana's economic growth was certainly not less indigenous than Ivory Coast!

You need to move on from the whole Commonwealth thing by the way. It was ages ago! I was just in Glasgow the other day looking to buy a flat in the area where many of the investments will be made. I should make myself a tidy profit.

you can never stop, can´t you?



Anyway, I have to leave now got something else to do, keep talking to yourself in the meantime, if you are fine with it!:)

So PEACE

I was just reading an article about the new President of Botswana he seems a very sensible man and is the son of who I consider has to be the greatest post-independence leader in Africa. Botswana;s long-term stability and its status as an oasis of peace and stability looks like it is assured for a long time at least.

Botswana's new President

By WENE OWINO, NATION Correspondent in Gaborone, Botswana
Last updated: Wed, Apr 02, 2008 17:29 PM (EAT)

Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - Ian Khama took over as Botswana’s fourth president on Tuesday, with his people unsure of what kind of person he is.

Though Mr Khama has been in public life since 1977, when he reputedly became the youngest brigadier at 24, he remains an enigma. His people do not understand him because he rarely talks or responds to critics.

But who is Ian Khama and what does his leadership portend for the country?

The new Botswana president is the son of the country’s respected founding president, Sir Seretse Khama.

Khama, 55, is a bachelor and teetotaler. His education is sketchy, and emphasis has been put mainly on his military training at Britain’s famous Sandhurst Academy (he insists on being be referred to as Lt-Gen).

When he became deputy commander of Botswana’s new army in 1977, his boss was Lt-General Mompati Merafhe, a policeman-turned-soldier-turned-politician. Mr Merafhe who has been Botswana’s long-serving Foreign Minister, was appointed Vice-President by Mr Khama on Tuesday.

The future President took over command of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) in 1989 when Merafhe retired to join elective politics.

In 1998, Mr Khama was plucked from the military by his political mentor and predecessor, Festus Mogae, and appointed vice-president. Then – and perhaps now – Mr Khama was seen as the messiah who would save the Botswana Democratic Party from incessant infighting and an imminent rout at the 1999 general elections.

In the 1994 elections, the perennially poorly-performing main opposition party, the Botswana National Front (BNF), had caused a major shock by winning 13 of the 40 elective seats.

As the 1999 general elections approached, a divided BDP was facing the possibility of losing power for the first time since independence in 1966.

The party went looking for a political strategist and came up with South African Lawrence Schlemmer who, among other things, recommended that the old guard give way to younger blood, and that a popular figure be found to unify BDP.

That was how Sir Ketumile Masire left the presidency for his deputy, Festus Mogae, who sought a “political messiah” in Khama to end factionalism in the BDP.

Mr Khama was attractive to the BDP because of the family name, and the fact that he is a paramount chief of the influential Bangwato. His late father is still a revered figure in Botswana, while the traditional hereditary chieftainship carries a lot of weight and attracts praise, unquestioning loyalty and authority.

The younger Khama was appointed vice-president and entered Parliament when his MP, Roy Blackbeard of Serowe North (now Serowe Northwest), resigned and was appointed Botswana’s High Commissioner to Britain.

Besides the vice-presidency, the new MP was given the powerful Presidential Affairs and Public Administration docket.

Botswana's new high flyer

Seretse Khama Ian Khama

Wednesday, 2 April 2008 08:53 UK

By Letlhogile Lucas
BBC News, Gaborone

Botswana's new president, Seretse Khama Ian Khama, is a man who likes to fly high.

A general and pilot in the army before he entered politics, he insists on flying military aircraft himself when on official trips.

It is an issue that caused much controversy during his 10-year tenure as deputy president of arguably Africa's most successful country.

The official opposition has bitterly complained, as by law only serving officers should fly military planes.


You have let me succeed my father as king
Seretse Khama Ian Khama quoting from the Bible at his inauguration

But Mr Khama, the son of Botswana's renowned first leader Seretse Khama, has stuck to his guns and still take the controls.

During his inauguration on Tuesday, Ian Khama made a Biblical allusion to his dynastic roots.

"That night, the Lord appeared to him in a dream and asked him, 'What would you like me to give you?'" he said, quoting from 1 Kings.

"Solomon answered: 'Oh Lord God, you have let me succeed my father as king, even though I am very young and don't know how to rule. So give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice, and to know the difference between good and evil.'"

Thousands of people, dressed in the national colours of black, blue and white, attended the short ceremony where Festus Mogae stepped down after serving two five-year terms.

Some have criticised the fact that Ian Khama is inheriting his father's mantle, without an election - as parliament appoints the president.

But MPs recently rejected a call for the president to be elected directly by the people, so Ian Khama will lead the ruling party into elections next year.

And the crowds joked about how the smooth transition of power bucked recent African history and was in marked contrast to the current dramas in neighbouring Zimbabwe.

Bucking tradition

By virtue of his birth, Ian Khama is a paramount chief of the Bamangwato people, the largest ethnic group in Botswana.



However, although made a chief in 1979, he has never assumed the responsibilities of traditional leadership in his village.

He has bucked tradition too, by not marrying, something culturally expected of paramount chiefs.

Mr Khama was born in 1953 in the UK, where his father, had married an English woman, Ruth Williams.

Their romance scandalised both nations and Seretse Khama was deposed as Bangwato chief and exiled by the British.

But the family returned in 1956, 10 years before Botswana gained independence.

Fitness fanatic

Ian Khama attended school in his father's village of Serowe, in the central district, before proceeding to study in other countries including Zimbabwe, then Rhodesia, Swaziland, Switzerland and the UK where he graduated from the Sandhurst Military Academy.

After completing his studies he began a long and distinguished military career which saw him rise through the ranks.

He is credited with playing a pivotal role in developing the army into a professional force, which participates in peacekeeping missions, disaster relief and anti-poaching activities.

Wildlife, for which Botswana is renowned as well as diamonds, is his unrelenting passion, and he is also a fitness fanatic.

Otherwise, he is said to be a quiet person.

Even those close to him in the ruling party have complained that it is difficult to know what he is thinking and what his next move would be.

However, he says he will continue the policies of his predecessor - a man he described as a democrat who upheld the rule of law.

Business as usual, says new Botswana president

Gaborone, Botswana
01 April 2008 12:52
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The new president of Botswana, one of Africa's wealthiest countries, pledged on Tuesday that there would be no radical change in policy as he took the oath of office at a ceremony in Gaborone.

"Change of leadership does not mean radical changes in the way we have been setting out our objectives as agreed upon by the ruling party and government for this nation," Seretse Khama Ian Khama said in his inauguration speech.

"In the course of the incoming administration you may detect a change in style and special emphasis on a number of issues. This should not cause any alarm or uncertainty."

A former army chief whose father was the country's first post-independence president, Khama promised to uphold democracy for which his country has been known since independence.

"I am a democrat. I have always believed in democratic ideals and joined the military to defend this democracy," said Khama.

"Only democracy guarantees human rights, the rule of law, accountability and basic freedoms that we have enjoyed over the years."

Khama (55) replaces Festus Mogae, who was president of diamond-rich Southern African nation for the last decade.

The former lieutenant general has come in for criticism for a somewhat autocratic leadership style that contrasts with the more approachable Mogae.

On taking office, he listed the challenges facing his government as employment creation, poverty alleviation, health, housing, fighting crime and environmental pollution.

He warned that his government would phase out what he called "excessive or counter-productive bureaucracy" and encourage accountability and hard work.

Khama took the oath of office before Botswana's chief justice, Julian Nganunu, at a ceremony in the country's Parliament.

Khama, who spent his early childhood in England while his parents were in exile, first entered Parliament in July 1998.

After joining the Cabinet as the minister of presidential affairs and public administration, he went on to become vice-president and be elected chairperson of the Democratic Party which has dominated power since independence in 1966.

Mogae, who was present at the ceremony, attended by businessmen, company executives, senior government officials and foreign diplomats, did not make any speech. - Sapa-AFP

Botswana's smooth transfer


Mail & Guardian reporter
06 April 2008 06:00

While most eyes in Southern Africa were glued to the unfolding drama in Zimbabwe this week, Botswana remained true to its reputation as Africa's most stable country, quietly transferring power from one president to another.

On April 1, Festus Mogae, president for the past decade, handed power to his hand-picked successor and vice-president Ian Khama Seretse Khama, a fellow member of the Botswana Democratic Party, which has ruled Botswana since independence.

Khama (55) is the son of Botswana's revered independence leader, Seretse Khama, and the paramount chief of the Bamangwato, the country's largest Setswana tribe. He has a military background, serving as head of the Botswana Defence Forces (BDF).

Until his appointment as vice-president five years ago, he had little experience in government; critics have voiced the fear that his military background could usher in a more autocratic style of leadership.

Three years ago, Australian academic Kenneth Good, a politics lecturer at the University of Botswana, was expelled from Botswana after writing a paper criticising Mogae's plans to hand the reins to Khama without direct endorsement from the electorate.

According to Africa Confidential, very little is known about Khama's leadership style. The publication refers to him as a "remarkably secretive politician" and says that not even Mogae can predict what type of president Khama will make.

It also says that Khama is expected to reach out to the country's political opposition, and to appoint members of the Botswana National Front and the Botswana Congress Party to his Cabinet. The country faces general elections in 2009.

Khama takes the reins of a country with the highest GDP per capita in sub-Saharan Africa, now forecast to reach $8 453 this year. The International Monetary Fund expects national GDP to grow at 5,2% in 2008.

Although Botswana has managed to avoid the instability that has plagued many other African states, there has been growing criticism of its human rights record, in particular over the removal of the San Bushmen from their ancestral lands in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, an area that has been opened up to diamond exploration. In 2006, the Botswana High Court ruled that the removal was illegal.