Look what Kenneth Koma spent his life telling us!

I am angry. Actually, I am hopping mad, because my fears have been confirmed. Our country is the worst managed country in the whole world. In my view, a good measure of how well managed a country is, is the degree to which its wealth is equitably distributed among its citizens, or equitably generated by its citizens. I have just read an article entitled “Mining: The super-rich and the poor” by one Roman Grynberg in the Friday 27 April edition of Mmegi. I quote:

“…The three most unequal countries in the world are Namibia, South Africa and Botswana (CIA factbook)...”

Given that both South Africa and Namibia have only recently (compared to Botswana) emerged from institutionalized inequality engendered by, and enforced through apartheid, what the above statement really says is that the most unequal country in the world is Botswana. This is the painful truth that I wish Basubiya politicians would tell Basubiya in Chisubiya language; Bakhoe politicians would tell Bakhoe in their different “Khoisan” languages; Bakalanga politicians would tell Bakalanga in Ikalanga language, Bayeyi politicians would tell Bayeyi in Shiyeyi language, etc. etc.

Perhaps then, the various nationalities would understand why their languages are not allowed on the country’s airwaves – to hide the truth about just how unjustifiably deprived they, and the poor Tswana language speakers, really are. Perhaps it would make our people understand that instead of “a shining example of democracy in Africa”, what we really have is “a disgusting enclave of enforced deprivation in Africa”.

After we attained Independence, the new mining investors dutifully respected the mining agreements that they had signed with the Government, and turned over the nation’s share of the mining profits to Government. It was Government who screwed up. Realizing that the new-found wealth represented raw economic power over all things living within their borders, the Government wielded the wealth as a stick to beat into submission anyone who dared question the wealth’s skewed distribution. The victims included opposition political parties, individuals, non-governmental organisations. The wealth has been held in trust, as it were, for one entity – the ruling elite. Consequently, those who have been denied their share of the national wealth, have had no choice but to join the ruling party as members. This is the reason for the much vaunted “stability” of the ruling party. The reality is that the national wealth is being used by the party which has been in power since independence 46 years ago, to sustain itself in power by sheer brute economic repression of the masses of our people.

I refuse to believe that if the national wealth had been handed over to our kings, rather than to Government, the level of inequality would be what it is today. After all this inequality did not exist before or during colonial times, when our kings, in their limited ways, had power over our wealth – the land! I believe this is what Kgosikgolo Kgafela ii is trying to open our eyes to; pity that our politicians can only roll up their sleeves for the imminent fight at Mahalapye special congress! Fighting over what, one may ask oneself?