Botswana quickly went from being one of the 25 poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country. In the main, there is a broad consensus on citizenship and the legitimacy of the nation-state. The spokesperson of the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), Justice Motlhabane, was accused of "an insulting statement against the government" and "degrading and mistreating the leadership". The BPF is a breakaway party from the BDP and Ian Khama is its figurehead.
Members of the executive branch are removed from parliament and are bound by the concept of collective responsibility. With regard to section 17 of the country's constitution, President Masisi announced a state of public emergency to control COVID-19. The state of emergency was approved by the National Assembly due to the numerical strength of the ruling party.
The opposition unsuccessfully objected to the state of emergency and instead advocated using the Public Health Act to contain COVID-19. However, its political independence is questionable as the head of the agency is appointed by the president. Opposition politicians accused President Masisi of using state agencies (e.g. the BURS and MIVD) to harass his opponents, especially the leader of the UDC, Duma Boko.
Despite the clear structural flaws plaguing some of the country's institutions (eg parliament, Independent Electoral Commission, DCEC and Ombudsman), commitment to democratic institutions remained somewhat intact.
Economic Transformation
The government has continued its efforts to attract foreign direct investment even after President Masisi took office in April 2018. The government has maintained its policy of openly allowing and encouraging the private sector to play a vital role in the economy, promoting free trade and foreign direct investment. According to the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom 2020, “The total value of exports and imports of goods and services is equivalent to 76.6% of GDP.
Although the state has a role in the banking sector, there is no obvious interference in the operations of private banks. However, it fell below the defined range to 2.2% in September 2019 and to 1.8% in September 2020, although the government announced that it would return to the central bank's defined range. The government is committed to curbing public debt, which is in line with its medium-term debt management strategy.
According to the Heritage Foundation's 2020 Index of Economic Freedom, "public debt equals 12.9% of GDP." The country also received positive ratings from Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's, maintaining the sound credit ratings the country received during BTI's previous review period. This is supported by the maintenance of partnerships that the government has established and continues to establish with the private sector. The government has also maintained its policy of consulting the private sector on a regular basis, inter alia through the High Level Consultative Conference and the National Business Conference.
This proves that the government considers the private sector as a partner in economic development. In response to the severe drought in 2019, the government expanded its subsidy program to the agricultural sector.” Despite the government's efforts to diversify the economy, the private sector remained small and largely dependent on the government. The government continued to provide affordable health care for almost everyone and responded decisively to the challenges of HIV/AIDS by implementing effective strategies and programs.
Meanwhile, the government continued to receive support from development partners to address the threat of HIV/AIDS, including the provision of free antiretroviral treatment to foreigners residing in the country (approximately 2,965 people) as of December 2019. Since independence, the government has consistently made access to education a priority that devotes considerable resources to it. In November 2020, President Masisi reiterated the government's commitment to the Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP, including the implementation of outcomes-based education).
The country has actively demonstrated its commitment to environmental sustainability by establishing an institutional framework – the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, Conservation and Tourism – that enforces laws and policies designed to address environmental issues in order to realize sustainable development. Undoubtedly, the government has maintained its commitment to the conservation of its natural resources, habitat and wildlife, including making the fight against poaching a top priority as they are a major source of tourism and revenue for the country.
Level of Difficulty
This is partly due to government policies (i.e. legislative obstacles) which have undermined the emergence of vibrant civil society groups, particularly those perceived as a threat to the government. A clear example has been public sector unions affiliated to the Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU), which has been a thorn in the side of the government since the country's 2011 public sector strike. This gave rise to prolonged tensions between President Khama's government and public sector unions, particularly those that fell under the BOFEPUSU umbrella.
It also resulted in the termination of BOFEPUSU's membership and participation in the Public Service Bargaining Council (PSBC) in April 2017, although BOFEPUSU stated that it would return to the PSBC in 2019, as it anticipated a change in government following the 2019 general election. is. These hopes were partially dashed, as a faction of the BMD split on 20 September 2017, to form the Alliance for Progressives (AP), while the conflict-ridden BMD was overthrown by the UDC on 25 October 2018, following its suspension. . Given the question marks over the survival of the coalition, 2019 has been considered a critical moment in Botswana's history.
Due to tensions between President Masisi and former President Khama, which erupted immediately after Masisi succeeded Khama, a faction of the BDP split in 2019 to form the BPF, with Ian Khama as its figurehead. The opposition UDC lost the most seats in its traditional strongholds in the south of the country, and its losses were partly blamed on its association with Ian Khama, who has openly criticized the opposition parties for poor governance during his presidency. Although President Masisi promised to revive the PSBC after taking office in April 2018, tensions between the government and public sector unions continued.
Despite President Masisi's pledge, public sector wage negotiations had not yet concluded in January 2019, with unions accusing government officials of giving the president bad advice. Due to delays in reviving the PSBC, it was decided in December 2018 that wage negotiations for 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 would be conducted outside the PSBC - in accordance with the collective agreements of the respective unions. This suggested that relations between the government and BOFEPUSU remained cold, even during the administration of President Masisi.
A well-known conflict with ethnic connotations involved the San and the government and was resolved through the courts. The public spat between President Masisi and former president Ian Khama did not develop into open conflict, but it led to concerns that the country would be divided between north and south. Botswana's constitution prohibits discrimination and its political culture does not tolerate violence or open conflict.
Governance Performance
Meanwhile, the government has maintained the Economic Diversification Drive (EDD) and other programs that draw on the government's purchasing power as a way to improve the country's productive capacity (Budget Speech 2020). Overall, the country's political leadership mainly maintained its policy learning capacity, but its flexibility remained limited. The government's limited flexibility became more pronounced between 2008 and 2018 under former President Ian Khama, who appeared to be the most divisive president in the country's history to date.
President Masisi stated that the government would revive the PSBC, but this has yet to materialize at the time of writing (January 2021). The failure to restore the PSBC as per President Masisi's promise suggests that the government has not learned from past mistakes. Despite this, the government continued to consult stakeholders, including private sector actors, but these consultations were suspended during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic is centralized under the Office of the President and directed by the Presidential Task Force, which appears to have more power and influence than the Department of Health and Welfare. The government stated that the economy was expected to shrink by about 8.9% in 2020 due to the disruptive shock caused by COVID-19. The government has taken measures to maintain and revive the economy after COVID-19.
The government had to allocate additional resources to support the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. When President Masisi took office in April 2018, there was a sense of optimism that the fears that had gripped the country under President Khama would subside. Meanwhile, Survival International's criticism of Botswana's tourism industry, citing the government's poor treatment of the San minority group, has lessened.
Since taking office in April 2018, President Masisi has demonstrated his inclination to positively promote the country's foreign policy. The country has maintained its commitment to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its position towards the ICC has not changed under President Masisi. The unemployment situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which the government says has led to an unprecedented contraction of the economy of 8.9% in 2020.
Second, the effectiveness of the government's response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and its economic consequences remains critical to Botswana's political future. In this context, it is crucial that the government accelerates the economic diversification that has so far largely eluded the country.
