The 2011 Public service strike remains ingrained in the minds of many. It’s effect on the political landscape was, at the moment, seismic. The power of the labour movement was laid to bare, sending the ruling party scampering as it faced the biggest threat to its hegemony in decades. There was a swagger about the... Continue Reading →
“We’re All Alone in This Together”
Friday, 3 September 2021 was characterized by the eyes of the nation glued to their TV screens at 1900hrs for the President’s update following the imposition of more strict regulations to combat Covid-19 three weeks ago. There were a few take-aways from the address, being; the relaxation of Covid-19 regulations which includes the resumption of... Continue Reading →
The Govt’s Censure of People for Holding Contrarian Views Is Wrong.
The Republic of Botswana, this is what my beloved country is formally known as across the world. It is further known is a sovereign state and above all known as a constitutional democracy. All these bring with them various presumptions. The first being that we are not ruled by any foreign power. This means that... Continue Reading →
Dear Mr. Speaker, You dropped the Ball: An Open Letter to the Speaker of Botswana’s Parliament
Dear Mr. Speaker I write this letter with a broken heart. I never thought the day would come where I would feel a tinge of shame for being a citizen of this country. My shame emanates from what happened in the august house of Parliament on the 16th day of September 2020. I watched with utter... Continue Reading →
UB’s rebuke of Protesting workers was misguided and abrogation of its moral duty
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to bear its ugly head. For those in the informal economy, the effects have been devastating as the economy sheds jobs on a daily. In Botswana, our economy has been predicted to shrink when compared to other years. In these trying times one would hope that there is a unity of... Continue Reading →
Dear Young Person: You want a Revolution? Be the Damn Revolution
Dear Young Citizen of Botswana There will be no revolution, no thunderous waves of angry voices marching in the streets of Gaborone, Francistown or that dusty place called Serowe. There will be no youth revolt like the Arab spring or an enduring movement like #occupywallstreet. But there will be clout chasing, limelight hogging, defence of... Continue Reading →
Of President Masisi and His Business Dealings: It’s not about Legality but Optics
As parliament readies itself to receive and debate a proposed law on citizen economic empowerment, an equally important debates emerges from the shadows. And No, I am not talking of the question of who is the ‘citizen’ who is going to be empowered. Here I am referring to the incestuous relationship between business and politics.... Continue Reading →
Botswana’s Response to Covid-19 exposes chinks in its armour: A neglected informal economy/sector
The modern welfare state or to be more precise the remnants of it as we know it today was established in the post-World War II era. The fall of the Bretton Woods regime and the infamous marriage of Thatcher and Nixon heralded the beginning of an aggressive move to systematically to dismantle the welfare state.... Continue Reading →
Botswana’s Response to Covid-19: A few thoughts- On the informal sector, workers and the homeless (Part One)
We live in unusual but not unprecedented times. We have had pandemics before in the world but at varying degrees of severity. Old timers will talk about the Spanish flu, in Mexico they will talk about the small pox that nearly wiped out the population of their indigenous peoples from the face of the earth.... Continue Reading →
Landless amidst plenty: Plight of the modern day citizen of Botswana
Almost a decade ago I was part of group of concerned who undertook the momentous task of delivering a petition to government for land policy reform and called for an audit. Among the brave souls that spearheaded the campaign were Jimbo James, Joe Serema, Tebogo Mogaleemang and Motlhaleemang Moalosi among others. This was a committed... Continue Reading →
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