Shashe

There is an intriguing irony in the Tswana language name that our country obstinately uses to refer to the “Bushmen” people. Granted, the name “Bushmen” itself, is derogatory; but it is the name by which Bakhwe are known in the wider world.  Our country officially calls them “ Basarwa ” (singular –“ Mosarwa ”) in the Tswana language, a language derived from, and closely resembling ancient Sumerian language. “ Basarwa ” leaders have pointed out that the name extrapolates to “ Ba-sa-rua ” which in Tswana means “those that do not rear animal stock”. But here is the irony: anyone who owned a water well in our country before the European colonizers arrived, will tell you that his/her water well was dug/constructed by a Mosarwa artisan! So, those who “did not rear animal stock” were the artisans that dug wells for those who did rear animal stock. The irony reveals who the “ Basarwa ” really are: a mixture of Bakhwe and Ba-tsha-ina (Chinese).  This mix of nations is not unique to...

 It is generally accepted that the cradle of humanity (Homo sapiens) is here in southern Africa. It is also established that the World’s most unequal societies are in countries that are here in southern Africa. I wonder if there is any correlation between those two situations. What I do not wonder about, but am quite convinced about, is that massive inequality in the standard of living of a country’s inhabitants leads directly to social instability and conflict. People at the bottom of the social ladder simply never accept that they work less hard than those at the top. That is one reason why the former resort to taking drugs to “ease the pain”; digging up their own infrastructural copper cables to go sell and support their drug consuming habits; picking up arms to engage in cash in transit heists etc.  Southern Africa must remove this stigma of “most unequal” societies. I don’t believe that the road to a just and equitable society lies in “confiscating land” with or without c...

In answer to President Boko’s suggestion that the nation engage in discussions about whether or not to increase our soldiers’ retirement age from 45 years to 62 years I wish to register my emphatic “No, keep it at 45 years, please. Not only that, but actively consider reducing it to be the same as that of professional sportsmen such as Frankie Fredericks, Roger Federer, Serena Williams etc.” Although we habitually see the camouflage-clad pot bellies on our streets, we “civilians” hardly understand just how unfit for purpose our soldiers are, until a situation like the recent Mozambique emergency arises and our soldiers get called to go and fight the insurgents. Then all sorts of revelations come to the surface: many are on Antiretroviral (ARV) medication; hypertension treatment (high blood) etc. The majority of the rest are simply not physically fit to fight a war. Armies, whether guerrilla or conventional are expensive propositions, If we are going to keep an army, it should be a well...

Notwithstanding the fact that someone somewhere knows what happened to little Joshlin; notwithstanding the fact that Kelly Smith is the biological mother of little Joshlin; notwithstanding the fact that one of the three accused is the “biological” father of little Joshlin; Judge Nathan Erasmus has found all three accused guilty of human trafficking, and has imposed life imprisonment on all of them! Interesting precedent indeed AsP Chigala, don’t you think?  

When President Boko says that Parliament’s core function is to make laws, he is right, and most reasonable wo/men agree. The reason I agree is because for fifty-eight (58) years I have heard it repeated over and over again by our then ruling party, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) that our country was governed according to the rule of law, therefore one would assume that the making of those laws was the core function of Parliament even under BDP rule! But was it? The reason I ask is because as I write, the BDP is gathering in Maun, the tourism capital of Botswana, to elect new leaders. But as I look at the recently published list of prospective leaders, I see among them, Messrs Slumber Tsogwane, Mpho Balopi and Nonofo Molefi. Each of these three gentlemen has been a member of at least one parliament before. In the case of Slumber Tsogwane, probably as many as four (4) parliaments before. One parliament lasts for five years! So, if parliament’s core function has been the making of la...

 One reason why the civil service is so inefficient and not customer-centric is because officials occupy offices that they are not qualified for. This is especially true for high level officials such as permanent secretaries, directors etc. Most of these officers are political appointees. A political appointee does not have to be a card-carrying member of any political party; all they have to do is to consistently wear the colours of the ruling party. I don’t know if that practice continues even after the change of government from the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) to the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).  Under the BDP rule, even President Ian Khama kept a watch on peoples’ wardrobes! I find it hard to believe that his wardrobe monitoring only applied to politicians, and not to civil servants and the general public. You see, the practice of civil servants identifying with the ruling party in dress code has a demoralizing effect on the real hardworking lot who believe in ...