Botswana is not a name that appears often in the Western media. The country has been keeping a low profile, but it’s doing its homework. Actually, an acquaintance who visited Gaborone recently described its residential areas as being similar to Wisteria Lane in Desperate Housewives. The city is clean and orderly, the stores close early, and people are friendly and polite. So how did Botswana transform itself from the Least Developed Country (LDC) it was at the time of its independence in 1966 into an upper middle-income country that is internationally recognized as being the fastest growing and the least corrupt in Africa? How did Botswana sustain economic growth of 9% a year, on average, between 1966 and 2007?
The answer is good governance and mineral resources. Unlike many of its African counterparts, Botswana is a functional multiparty democracy that has held free and fair elections ever since it became an independent state. A tradition of accountability in leadership of the indigenous Tsawana tribes, as well as the successful integration of tribal institutions into a state bureaucracy based on the British model starting in the 19th century set the foundations for the future democracy. And under the leadership of Presidents Seretse Khama, Quett Masire and Festus Mogae, the country utilized its diamond resources wisely to support economic growth and promote social development. Over the past decade alone, the poverty rate was slashed from 47%, down to 30%.
And Botswana won’t stop here. Current incumbent Ian Khama, the son of Botswana’s first president, Sir Seretse Khama, had made economic diversification a priority because it would be the best way of reducing poverty and inequality. President Khama understands that, although Botswana is the leading diamond exporter in the world, the country’s resources will not last forever. And that the high level of inequality in income distribution in Botswana needs to be tackled before the country can access the next level of development, which is the status of a developed country.
A former air force commander and son of the country’s first president, Mr Khama represents a new generation of African leaders. Tall, athletic, single, he is known as a man of action whose no-nonsense approach to government has attracted a great deal of international and popular support. He broke with the consensus among regional African leaders and was the first to criticize the democratic abuses of the Robert Mugabe regime. A cable leaked from the US embassy in Gaborone describes him as a maverick, a reformer, a visionary and an autocrat all at once and proceeds to say that he is ¨a committed environmentalist who is most at ease with longtime friends and who chafes at the barriers that separate him as President from ordinary people.¨ His military background and zeal to get things done have often times been at odds with the consensus-based and laissez-faire political system in Botswana. More than once President Khama has solved a problem by giving orders and expecting direct action, most often in relation to the problems faced by local communities he visits. He has travelled the country extensively and is in touch with the problems of the Batswana. People feel close to him and like him because he understands their problems.
Mr Khama is popular because he gets things done. And the main thing on his to do list right now is to put economic growth to the service of his people by promoting non-mineral sectors of the economy like agriculture and services.And when he accomplishes his goal, we might see the emergence of a new phenomenon in Africa- that of developed countries.
The answer is good governance and mineral resources. Unlike many of its African counterparts, Botswana is a functional multiparty democracy that has held free and fair elections ever since it became an independent state. A tradition of accountability in leadership of the indigenous Tsawana tribes, as well as the successful integration of tribal institutions into a state bureaucracy based on the British model starting in the 19th century set the foundations for the future democracy. And under the leadership of Presidents Seretse Khama, Quett Masire and Festus Mogae, the country utilized its diamond resources wisely to support economic growth and promote social development. Over the past decade alone, the poverty rate was slashed from 47%, down to 30%.
And Botswana won’t stop here. Current incumbent Ian Khama, the son of Botswana’s first president, Sir Seretse Khama, had made economic diversification a priority because it would be the best way of reducing poverty and inequality. President Khama understands that, although Botswana is the leading diamond exporter in the world, the country’s resources will not last forever. And that the high level of inequality in income distribution in Botswana needs to be tackled before the country can access the next level of development, which is the status of a developed country.
A former air force commander and son of the country’s first president, Mr Khama represents a new generation of African leaders. Tall, athletic, single, he is known as a man of action whose no-nonsense approach to government has attracted a great deal of international and popular support. He broke with the consensus among regional African leaders and was the first to criticize the democratic abuses of the Robert Mugabe regime. A cable leaked from the US embassy in Gaborone describes him as a maverick, a reformer, a visionary and an autocrat all at once and proceeds to say that he is ¨a committed environmentalist who is most at ease with longtime friends and who chafes at the barriers that separate him as President from ordinary people.¨ His military background and zeal to get things done have often times been at odds with the consensus-based and laissez-faire political system in Botswana. More than once President Khama has solved a problem by giving orders and expecting direct action, most often in relation to the problems faced by local communities he visits. He has travelled the country extensively and is in touch with the problems of the Batswana. People feel close to him and like him because he understands their problems.
Mr Khama is popular because he gets things done. And the main thing on his to do list right now is to put economic growth to the service of his people by promoting non-mineral sectors of the economy like agriculture and services.And when he accomplishes his goal, we might see the emergence of a new phenomenon in Africa- that of developed countries.
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