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 →
App Companies are a THREAT to WORKER’S RIGHTS when Unregulated.
We all love and seek convenience in everything we do, from food to the way we travel. As technology evolves, there has been an emphasis on this element. But what exactly is the price of convenience? What is the true economic cost? More importantly what is the human cost? Like most of you I love... Continue Reading →
The Response To The BCPYL call for Boko’s Head is Indicative of a Culture of Intolerance Towards Dissent and We should Be Concerned
The Botswana Congress Party Youth League (BCPYL) in a statement that has since been retracted called for Duma Boko to give up the presidency of the Umbrella for Democratic Chance (UDC). The reaction to their position was met with vitriol by members of the Botswana National Front, being Boko’s political clansmen. On Tuesday 20 January... Continue Reading →
Here is to a New Year, New Decade (and hopefully new politics)
As with every year, the beginning of each year is always characterised with a heightened sense of optimism. Whether that optimism is a product of peer pressure or genuine in its genesis matters not. There is optimism floating in the air, it is palpable and sometimes nauseating in its pretentiousness. Add the words “decade” or... Continue Reading →
