In the evening of the last Sunday of November, a South African television channel 403 screened a talk show on the topic ‘is entry level in our politics too low?’ The anchor, a certain Dan Moyane had assembled an array of distinguished people of different political groupings and background. They tackled the subject with maturity setting aside their political inclinations as they discussed the topic. Among them, were professors, lawyers, doctors, lecturers and so forth. The only one that I recognized was professor Job Mokgoro who is the former North West Premier. I was able to recognize him because he was instrumental in the appointment of the Commission of Enquiry into the bogosi of Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela in Moruleng, South Africa and its relationship with that of Mochudi in Botswana. At the end of the commission’s job, he posed for a photograph in a happy mood with Kgosi Kgafela II. He was subsequently recalled by the African National Congress (ANC).
Views expressed during the television talk show varied and were very enlightening. Majority were agreed that it was time for their country to set entry level in their politics. However, it was with a big but. The majority were agreed that when it comes to corruption, the educated were the culprit in most societies. Citing their country as an example, they were of the view that the enlightened were the majority in the State Capture report compiled by Justice Raymond Zondo. Nevertheless others were of the view that professionalizing the public sector was one way of making things difficult for those who go into politics to loot. Those who were of the view that there be entry level in their politics backed their version by referring to a Norwegian study which has revealed that education makes politicians endure high level of efficiency in their situation. It was stated that in most cases, people go into politics because it is the road to prosperity.
Nevertheless, emphasis was laid on having political leaders with university degree. It was said that the most educated political leader in South Africa is Pieter Gronerwald of Freedom Front Plus with a doctorate degree while Mosioa Lekota of Congress of the People (COPE) has metric qualifications and Jacob Zuma very low qualifications yet he served the country as the president. Participants generally agreed that party leaders should be equipped with university degree qualifications.
When I watched the debate and read the topic for discussion, I wished the discussions would be taking place in Botswana where there is deficit of degree holders at various levels of political and traditional leadership and where looting of state institutions by the elite leads to projects being delayed indefinitely or abandoned. The nearest example is the Tshele Hills Fuel Depot near Rasesa. Construction work there has been stopped ever since it was announced that millions of funds set aside for the project have been misappropriated. I pass through that project every week on my way to the cattle post. I would not be surprised if people would start vandalizing what had been put up before funds found their way into personal bank accounts. The National Assembly is gradually becoming an improved house concerning the level of education. It is no longer like some years back when Dr. Kenneth Koma was the only member with doctorate degree and perhaps Ponatshego Kedikilwe, Archie Mogwe, David Magang, Ray Molomo, Gaositwe Chiepe and Margret Nasha being among a few only ones with university degree. During those olden days there were members who would spend the life of parliament without ever contributing to the debate except for voting. Some would try their best to speak the language of parliament which was English but they struggled. I remember when the artificial insemination scheme was introduced; a member who wanted to argue that the scheme should benefit the small farmer only, his slip of the tongue said ‘the rich must use their own semen’. The unfortunate thing among current crop of members of parliament is lack of discipline. There are some who are ill mannered so much that they don’t feel ashamed to utter insults in front of television cameras.
At councils, the level of education has been disappointing for many years including the period when this country had just attained independence. However, at that time it was understandable to even have councillors who had not been to school. By the beginning of the 90s, surely Botswana’s political parties should have begun to field at least people with Cambridge certificates as council candidates. It has been my wish all along for Botswna to set entry level for politicians and dikgosi.
Sometime in an election year, a team of campaigners arrived at my mother’s home in the Mochudi East Constituency. Their mission was to solicit support for their candidate. After introducing themselves and the purpose for the visit, I asked them why we should vote for their candidate. They said their candidate was better than the rest of the other candidates and that he would bring development closer to our home. I knew the candidate well. H was a form II failure at a community junior secondary school. I asked the candidate to tell me the number of zeros in the figure ten billion Pula. When he could not tell me, I reminded him and his campaign team that gone were the days when council budget were in the region of thousands pula and that councils’ budget had gone up to billions. That meant that it required people with better qualifications to run those budgets. He started wobbling saying he was going to bring us development if elected.
I said to the candidate that, when I grew up we did not have stand pipes in our yards and now we have them. We had only three primary schools and one secondary in Mochudi. The number of primary schools has gone up to 13 including the three which were constructed before independence. I further told him that the number of schools offering secondary education has gone up to seven. The team then left our home unceremoniously saying I was wasting their time. Honestly, I am not highly educated but I considered myself better candidate than the one who wanted me to vote for him so that he represented me at council. I wanted to be represented by a strong person who would understand the work of all council committees and their budgets. Looking at the kgotlas, one sees nothing except an area neglected by the dikgosi themselves and the government. The level of education of people charged with the responsibility to dispense of justice to the community is so poor that one wonders how their judgements fare if taken on appeal to the higher courts.
Using Kgatleng as an example, this is an area where the majority of court presidents have not passed the junior certificate. I read a judgement of one of them the other day. It was a matter between the Pheko family versus another. The matter had been adjudicated by the land board and somehow was registered at the kgotla as a new matter. It was heard by a court president with standard seven qualifications who ended up tempering with a decision taken by land board members majority of who have university degrees. The need for better educated court presidents at the kgotlas is overdue. Kgosi Linchwe II was one of the people who were concerned about the level of education of dikgosi. In a paper he presented at a symposium on the topic, ‘Chieftainship in the 21st Century’ organized in Gaborone by Botswana Society, he said if chiefs were to continue to contribute effectively to the development of Botswana, future chiefs would need to be better educated and more conversant with developments not only in Botswana, but throughout the world. He said if they did not improve their levels of education, ‘we might see an increase in the appointment of non-chiefs as tribal authorities’ undermining the status of hereditary chiefs.