Coronavirus updates suck.
I have had the misfortune to watch Botswana Television (BTv) updates on the Covid-19 pandemic. The presenters, who are mostly ministers, spend almost all their time telling us about the different colours of "permits" without even bothering to explain what the reasoning behind the issuance of each permit is. Government seems to think that, we the people, have no right whatsoever to know why we have to continue being locked down, and for how much longer. They never bother to present an exit strategy.
Another reason why the updates suck is that they are presented in Setswana language. This dialect of the Sotho language really sucks. To many of us the language is more foreign than English. English was the national language of this nation prior to and following Independence. The Setswana speakers then forced their language onto the national scene by outlawing the speaking of other indigenous languages. Think of that: a group of tribes, mostly from South Africa in the last 150 years overturned the national configuration at Independence and imposed their own language on the rest of the population. Now they don't even have the courtesy to explain such things as colours and months of the year to the rest of the population. They speak of our country transitioning to a "knowledgebased economy" and yet such knowledge was acquired through the use of English, a language that they now want to relegate to the rubbish bins of history, in preference to their own Sotho dialect which makes no difference between the green and the blue colour!
I have heard BTv presenters referring to English as "puo ya se-eng", meaning foreign language. These poor souls do not know that at Independence their grandmothers did not speak Setswana, but were forced to learn it by being excluded from government public engagements where only Setswana language was allowed! The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) government has now rendered fourth generation citizens of this country foreigners because they speak English. I have even read an article written by one of their activists who was seeking election in the Nata/Gweta constituency, referring to "real Batswana who have kinky hair"! What rubbish is that ? This nonsense automatically excludes people like Mohammed Khan, a man I would unhesitatingly vote President of this country, from being Batswana.
Another reason why the updates suck is that they are presented in Setswana language. This dialect of the Sotho language really sucks. To many of us the language is more foreign than English. English was the national language of this nation prior to and following Independence. The Setswana speakers then forced their language onto the national scene by outlawing the speaking of other indigenous languages. Think of that: a group of tribes, mostly from South Africa in the last 150 years overturned the national configuration at Independence and imposed their own language on the rest of the population. Now they don't even have the courtesy to explain such things as colours and months of the year to the rest of the population. They speak of our country transitioning to a "knowledgebased economy" and yet such knowledge was acquired through the use of English, a language that they now want to relegate to the rubbish bins of history, in preference to their own Sotho dialect which makes no difference between the green and the blue colour!
I have heard BTv presenters referring to English as "puo ya se-eng", meaning foreign language. These poor souls do not know that at Independence their grandmothers did not speak Setswana, but were forced to learn it by being excluded from government public engagements where only Setswana language was allowed! The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) government has now rendered fourth generation citizens of this country foreigners because they speak English. I have even read an article written by one of their activists who was seeking election in the Nata/Gweta constituency, referring to "real Batswana who have kinky hair"! What rubbish is that ? This nonsense automatically excludes people like Mohammed Khan, a man I would unhesitatingly vote President of this country, from being Batswana.
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