Review of our Republic's constitution

 The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) which by the way has ruled since our attainment of Independence in 1966, promised us voters at the last election (2019) that it would conduct a review of the republic's constitution if returned to power. BDP was returned to power, and so it is expected that the constitutional review will start soon.

As I have posted before, constitutional review is best done top/down; not bottom/up. But there is an even greater concern than the direction of review. Our current constitution was drawn under the direction and tutelage of Great Britain as the then colonial master. At the core, the document is based on what the British called "a tribe". There are, mentioned  in there, Principal and other tribes. 

But the British never defined "tribe". Presumably, as the colonial master they did not have to. But should we have carried on using the document as an independent country for half a century without even trying to define the word "tribe"? I don't think so. I mean we do not even know what the British had in mind when they based our constitution on that word. 

And so in my view, no sensible constitutional review can take place without the country's constitution first defining the word "tribe". The concept of "tribe" is so central to our current constitution that the whole constitutional review exercise can be initially restricted to just the definition of the word "tribe". Let the nation have its say!