GOVERNANCE

(Define governance, government, constitutional democracy)

Governance - A manner in which political leadership of a country manage its public affairs,
uses its public resources properly, protects and promotes human rights.

Government - A body that has the authority to rule or run the affairs of a country. or
Collective group of people that exercises executive authority in a state.

Constitutional democracy – a system of government in which the power of government or

political authority is defined, limited and distributed by the constitution.
Such government promotes accountability, transparency, free and fair regular elections.

Good governance - how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public
resources.
The act of controlling a country,( its people and resources) in an acceptable way.

DISCUSS THE STRENGTHS AND WEKNESS OF THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM IN

BOTSWANA

Election is a mechanism through which the electorates exercise their right to vote their
representatives. Every 5 years in Botswana general elections are held and various political
parties contest for government. Botswana uses a territorial or regional representation election
system in which a person is elected in a territory called a constituency. The method of voting
and counting is known as ‘First–Past-The-Post’. Each voter has one vote in a constituency.
The candidate with the most number of voters than the next best candidate in a constituency
becomes a MP or councillor.

STRENGTHS
- It allows the opposition parties to have seats in parliament thus encouraging the ruling
party to make good decisions knowing that they can be criticised.
- It allows many political parties to contest for elections, thus preventing abuse of
power by the ruling party as people will have other options.
- It is easy for people to understand because it does not involve complicated
calculations like the proportional representation.
- It produces decisive results in elections ( counting decide the winner)
- One party wins overall majority.
- It is conclusive to a strong and stable government as it promotes representation of all
regions and minority groups.
- Bye elections operate as indicators of political opinion. This means that if the
electorate vote a different party they are not satisfied with the previous one.
WEAKNESS
-The number of seats a party wins nationally generally does not match the number of votes
they get. For example:

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 CONSTITUENCY BDP BNF BCP

Kanye Central 40 30 30

Serowe Central 15 70 15

Tonota Central 50 30 20

Total 105 130 65

ANALYSIS
a) BDP wins two of the seats in parliament because it has balloted majority votes in
Tonota and Kanye constituency.
b) BNF wins one seat in the Serowe constituency while BCP does not take any seat.
c) In this way BDP forms majority in parliament even though in total BNF balloted the
highest number of votes.

- This system favours stronger parties. It disadvantages small political parties

representation in parliament, gives the winning party more seats in parliament.
- The system does not reflect the actual strength of a party.
- It results to dominance of parliament by one party. This makes certain constituencies
safer for certain parties.
- It does not allow direct presidential elections.
- Bye elections are expensive
- A party can be represented by people of low calibre.

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION
In this system, seats in parliament are allocated according to the overall percentage of votes
per party in the general elections. For example,
If BCP obtains 40 %, BDP 30 %, BNF 20 % and BAM 10 %, it means that in a parliament of
50 seats BCP takes 20 seats, BDP=15 seats, BNF=10 seats and BAM= 5 seats in parliament.
In this system voters elect a party not individuals.
ADVANTAGE
- It favours small parties which usually or frequently lose under ‘First-Past-The-Post’.
- It allows a wider voter choice since it gives you a number of parties to choose from.
- It allows power sharing.
DISADVANTAGE
- It rarely leads to a result with one clear winner.
- There is poor link between MP and their constituencies.
- It can be complicated to count an exact result.

DEMOSTRATE HOW ELECTION ARE CONDUCTED IN BOTSWANA

1.Generally campaigns by different political parties are always ongoing but usually
heighten around the election year
- Political parties fund/sponsor themselves i.e. raise money to buy all the necessary
tools to enhance their campaigns and attracts masses of people
2. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as the body responsible for the
general election announces dates of registration to voters at least a year before the
general elections.

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 - Each political party also registers its candidate for the different constituency.
- Registration takes place at a polling station in each constituency.
- Voters are encouraged to register in the constituency in which they live. They
should be 18 years and above and must have a valid Omang card.
- The president dissolves parliament and announces the exact date of the general
election at least a week before. (Announces a writ of election).
- The day before election i.e. at midnight all campaigns by all different political
parties are ordered to stop by the IEC.
- On the Election day, voters are not allowed to come dressed in party colours or
shout their party slogans.
- T o show that international standard are maintained and met, the elections observers
from around the world are invited to come and watch if the election are free and fair.
- Voters stand in line and wait their turn inside the polling station where they go in
privately to cast their vote.
- Inside the polling station the voters thumb is dyed in a special ink to prevent them
from going elsewhere to vote again. (Now the voter’s cards are signed at the back).
-Voters vote for a councillor of a ward in the constituency and the member of the
constituency.
- Doors at the polling station close around 7 pm and everyone in the polling station
will be allowed to vote.
- After the last voter has voted the ballot boxes are taken to a central point for
counting of the ballot papers.
- Counting is done publicly in the presence of party representatives and the general
public and the winners are announced.
- In case of a tie, by-election are called for, the IEC sets a date and re- elections are
carried out and this usually solves the problem.

EXPLAIN THE REASONS FOR VOTER APATHY IN BOTSWANA

Voter apathy means low turn outs in general elections. In Botswana some citizens who are 18
and above do not take part in general elections for various reasons. The evidence for this is
the numerous supplementary registrations, low attendances at political rallies and disparity
between the numbers of those who registered for elections and those who actually voted.
Reasons include:
● Inadequate of voter education- some people doesn’t have adequate knowledge
about the importance of voting. They think its meaningless and waste of time.
● Problems with Omang/ Identity card- some don’t vote because they don’t have
Omang cards. They may be misplaced, lost or expired.
● Loss of confidence in politicians- people no longer trust politicians as they think
they represents their own personal interest not those of the electorates. Some
politicians are often involved in corrupt practises and other forms of economic crime.
● Dominance of one party since independence- this has been the case since
independence and thus demoralised voters especially those who are against BDP.
● Long queues on Election day- people are discouraged by long and slow queues on
Election Day and end up not voting despite having registered.

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● Lack of direct presidential elections- in Botswana the leader of the winning party
automatically becomes the president. This makes elections less interesting as there is
no direct presidential election.
● Lack of transport to polling station- some people want to be transported from their
residential areas to the polling station especially those living without polling stations
like in cattle post. Failure to provide such people with transport often result in their
refusal to vote.
● Lack of voting remunerations- some people regard voting as a big task and so want
to be paid for taking part in elections.
● Absence of transfer voting – employees far from their home areas are unable to vote
for the candidate in their home areas
● Poor timing for elections – voting coincides with examination time in senior
secondary schools thus high school students are technically excluded from voting

EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ELECTED AND

ELECTORATE AT LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEVELS

Elected- councillors and members of parliament

Electorates-voters

Voters choose certain people to be in positions of responsibility at local level

(councillors) and national level (members of parliament).

There is a social agreement/ contract between the electorate and elected.

Social contract refers to an unwritten agreement or a relationship between leaders and
people who elected them into power. This agreement is to work together to bring
developments in their constituencies. Councillors represent a community of about 1000
people. They meet at district level to discuss concerns of their communities and come up
with development strategies.

MP’s represent constituencies at a national level i.e. parliament. MP’s are accountable to
the electorates and have to keep them informed about government policies in their
constituencies. The electorates have to support government policies I their constituencies
by attending meetings and contributing ideas. They must also participate in local
government policies such as VDC and Crime prevention.
In a constitutional democracy e.g. Botswana, political authority lies in the constitution.
Leaders rule according to the constitution. Laws that violate the constitution are declared
invalid.

Parliament/ Representative Democracy/ Multi party democracy

A system of government, where people elect representatives to take decisions on their
behalf. It is also called a multi party democracy because the system is made up of a
number of political parties.
CHARACTERISTICS/ FEATURES
- People can choose their leader.
- Representatives are accountable to people.

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 - There are guaranteed basic freedoms, e.g. freedom of speech.
- The law apply to everybody ( equality before the law)
- There is more than one political party.
- Everybody is free to vote after a specific age, Botswana is 18 years.
- There are regular or periodic elections, Botswana every 5 years.
- A party with the majority forms the government and the leader of that party becomes
the president of the country.
- There is limited use of force and citizens participate in policies by joining political
parties.
ADVANTAGES
- There is popular participatory in decision making.
- Development is relevant to the people it is intended to serve.
- There is accountability, transparency and decisiveness in governing people.
- The constitution is upheld.

DISADVANTAGE
- Elections are costly ( time consuming)
- Party formed along tribal, ethnic, religious, racial and other reasons ( national unity is
compromised)
- Political turmoil because of indecisive election results or election rigging.
- Consultations of people at grassroots is delaying and a financial waste
- Abuse of freedom of speech into character assassinations and mud slugging.

Describe the formation of government in Botswana

(i) Registration of different political parties

(ii) Campaign for power by different political parties
(iii) Registration of voters
(iv) Holding of general elections/Voting
(v) The party with the majority of votes wins
(vi) President from the party that won election leads the country
(vii) Parliament formed by those who won elections from their constituencies
(viii) President appoints cabinet and senior government officials

Explain characteristics of good governance such as accountability, transparency, the

rule of the law, etc.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE

Accountability - Government should be able to give reason for its decision and accepting
responsibilities for the consequences. A government should also be in a position to explain to
the people how and why it makes such decisions.

Transparency - A government should be open about its decisions. It should let people know
why, how decisions that affect them were taken. The information should be freely and easily
available and understandable to the people. In this way there will be no abuse of power and
no corruption.

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Participation - Citizens should be allowed to take part in making decisions that affect them
and their country. This could be done through referendums and general elections. Citizens
should have freedom of expressions and association i.e. belongs to or for organisation that
represent their

Effective and Efficiency - Government should produce desired results (or effective) and
work well without wasting time/ resources (efficient). Government and leaders should make
decisions that meet the needs of the people.
Respect for the rule of law -This means acting according to the laws of the country and its
constitution and having no one being above the law, not even the government. Whoever
disobeys the laws of the country is brought to justice according to lawful processes.
In Botswana all laws and rules are contained in the constitution like all the countries that have
the rule of law. Botswana is governed according to the constitution. The government can’t
make laws or policies that violate the constitution, as such policies are made on people best
interest are fair and reasonable.
The courts, judges and magistrates are independent; they cannot be influenced by government
or individuals. Everyone is equal before the law and trials are held in an open manner and
judged fairly. Laws made by parliament are just reasonable and fair. Human Rights are
respected and protected and those who violate other people’s rights are arrested and tried in
courts.

Respect for human rights - Respect for fundamental human rights is a foundation upon
which each country should carry out in order to build good governance and democracy.
Human rights are basic laws that protect all human beings. Such protection should be granted
to all people and in full (not deciding which human rights should be granted to people).

Regular free and fair elections - Good governance is enhanced by a peaceful transition of
leadership after an open representative election.

ANALYSE THE ROLE OF VARIOUS INSTITUTION IN PROMOTING GOOD

GOVERNANCE

OMBUDSMAN
- The office of the ombudsman aims to prevent bad administration in the government
- It examines and reports complaints by ordinary citizens about the government and public
authorities
- It has the power to investigate any action or behaviour by the public servants that is
improper and recommend solutions
-the office handled the complaints about the former vice president flying the BDF aircraft --
They investigated, found it to be true and recommended that the practice should stop
MEDIA
-A vigilant and free media enhances good governance. The media has to be free to
discriminate or publish report any matter concerning government
-the media is the public watchdog and also be able report and expose any abuse of power by
those positions of influence without fear or harassment
DIRECTOR OF CORRUPTION AND ECONOMIC CRIME (DEEC)
-It protects the country from corruption
- It prevents corruption by educating the public against evils of corruption
- It encourages the public to support the fight against corruption

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- It takes people who are charged with corruption to court
- It investigate report of corruption and economic crime
- DCEC acts against mistrust. If there is corruption citizens will mistrust the government
- It acts against waste of public funds where by huge sums of money are transferred from
government to pockets of politicians and government officials
NTLO YA DIKGOSI
- It has a traditional institution of authority
- It advices government on matters about traditional customs and laws, comments and views
to be present on national assembly
- It provides an opinion on any matter any minister request them to discuss
NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION
a) Ditswanelo
- Promotes respect for human rights
- Lobby and advocate for the abolishing of the death penalty as it disrespect the right to life
- Promote legal services to the disadvantaged members of the society so as they get justice eg
in the CKGR case against the government
b) Emang Basadi- Encourages women to participate in politics and stand for elections
- Educate them about human rights
c) Botswana Council of Non Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO)
- Advocates for transparency, public participation, accountability in government and other
sectors of society
d) Media Institute For Southern Africa (MISA)
- Expose corruption, nepotism, favouritism, tribalism
- Watchdogs of the public i.e. see to it that there is good governance

EVALUATE THE ROLE OF OPPOSITION PARTIES IN ENSURING GOOD

GOVERNNANCE IN BOTSWANA
- They see to it that the government rules well while they are still preparing themselves to
take power in the next general election
- They keep the ruling party/government on its toes as such curbing laxity in the process
- They oppose any abuse of power by those in authority. They offer alternative views in
parliament, opposing or supporting or supporting the motions in parliament.
- They criticise the government both inside and outside parliament
- In Botswana opposition parties are yet to make an impact. Government can afford to be
lax or relax because they feel there is no opposition. On the other hand there is no financial
back up which reduces the effectiveness of political parties. Also having many political
parties weakens the opposition by splitting the vote of those who want to change government.
Too many political parties also compromise the quality of opposition
However off of late we are seeing new dimension in opposition, the BDP back bench had
been vocal, strongly opposing their government on certain issues e.g. Boyce Sebetela
strongly opposed the government on the decision of privatisation and was supported by
Dumelang Saleshendo of BCP. Opposition parties have also been trying to form a pact to try
to unseat the ruling party.

DESCRIBE THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT

The constitution clearly states that government powers and functions are divided or separated
between the executive, legislature and judiciary. This separation of powers help to prevent
and limit abuse of power by those in government. This also helps the three branches to check
and balance each other’s decisions so that none is more powerful than the others and does
another’s task.

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BRANCH OF MEMBERS POWERS
GOVERNMENT

EXECUTIVE - President - Initiates government

- Vice president policies.
- Ministers - Put government
- Assistant ministers programmes into practice
- Public service through the public service.
- Propose new
- laws, amendments to old
laws, new changes to the
constitution.
- Plan the development of
the country.
- Plan the annual financial
year.

LEGISLATURE - National assembly (members of - Make laws.

parliament). - Make changes to the
- Ntlo ya Dikgosi. existing laws.
- Approve or criticises
government policies
ensuring they benefit the
people.
- Approves the government
National Development
Plan, annual national
budget.
- Authorises the
government to borrow
money from other
countries or banks.
- Chiefs’ advice govt on
laws and issues that affect
culture and tradition.

JUDICIARY - Chief justice - Administers justice by

- Judges trying and judging criminal

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 - Magistrates and civil cases.
- Law courts - Punish those guilty of
- Dikgosi crimes.
- Interpret the constitution.
- Ensure that laws made by
parliament do not violate
the constitution.

EXAMPLES OF CHECKS AND BALANCES IN THE POWERS OF THE BRANCHES OF

GOVRNMENT
1: Parliament may pass a vote of no confidence in government as long as amendment is the
motion is supported by the majority of MPs. This could result in parliament being dissolved
and general election being held
2: The executive cannot implement its national development fund and annul budget until
proved by parliament
3: A bill can only become a law after being signed by the parliament
4: The president can dissolve parliament and call for general election if there are serious
disagreement between legislature and the executive

EXPLAIN THE STAGES OF LAW MAKING IN BOTSWANA

How a bill becomes a law or act

1. It begins when cabinet minister of private member decides that there is need for a new law
to be enacted on an existing law to be changed
2. The minister submits the proposed bill to the cabinet. If the cabinet approves the draft bill,
it is published in the government gazette for at least 30 days
- a private member has to table a motion in th
e house first - if it is approved the
member draft the bill and has it published in the government gazette for at least 30 days

How a law is made

Fist reading
- The minister/private member introduces the bill to the parliament
- No debate takes place at this stage but member of parliament (MP’s) have to approve the
first reading by means of a vote
Second reading
- The bill is explained in details by the proposal
- MP’s the decide the general principles ( implications ) of the bill
- A vote can be taken either approve or reject the second stage. Members can either vote
for or against the bill
Committee stages
- Clauses or paragraphs of the bill are discussed in details and if need to be changed,
changes are made
- A vote is the taken to either reject or approve
Third reading
- It is the final stages of the passage of a bill
- There is generally no debate during the 3rd stage

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- Changes and additions to the bill are allowed
- Members can vote for or against the bill
- If voted for, the bill becomes an act of law of parliament awaiting the president to sign it
The president assent
- The president may sign or not sign the bill
- If the president does not sign the bill it is returned to parliament to undergo the first four
stages
- If the president signs the bill becomes the law of the country

NB. The are two ways of coming up with a bill in Botswana

A) Top down approach- this is whereby a cabinet minister proposes a bill/idea and passes
it over to the public/electorates to discuss its weakness and strengths.
B) Bottom up approach- this is whereby the bill is proposed by the public/electorates
through the MPs or minsters to government

BOTSWANA’S CONSTITUTION

Constitution is a set of laws and rules that determine how a country should be ruled/run. The
constitution provides a guideline of how the country should be ruled. The government cannot
make laws out of constitution i.e. all laws should be within the limits of the constitution. If
there is a need the government can amend the constitution in consultation with Batswana. To
amend the constitution means to include or exclude something on the law or to update it. An
amendment can only be done if a recommendation has been done by the government.
Examples of laws amended in Botswana
- The Marital power Act that was amended to give married women power.
- The Citizenship Act which was amended so that Batswana women married to
foreigners could pass on the citizenship to their children.
-
DESCRIBE THE MAIN FEATURES OF BOTSWANA’S CONSTITUTION
Botswana’s constitution can be summarised into nine (9) chapters

Chapter 1 – The Republic

It declares Botswana a sovereign state or Republic: thus she shall rule herself without any
external interference and governed by elected representative of people and led by the
President.

Chapter 2 – Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of individuals

It declares the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of person in Botswana
regardless of race, place, origin, political opinion, colour, creed or sex. These include;
- Protection of the right to life
- Protection of the right to personal liberty
- Protection from slavery and forced labour
- Protection from inhuman treatment
- Protection for privacy of home and other property
- Protection to secure protection of the law
- Protection of freedom of conscience
- Protection of freedom of expression
- Protection of freedom of assembly and association

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 - Protection from discrimination on the basis of race, sex etc.
Chapter 3 – Citizenship
It states how citizenship in Botswana is acquired
For example by birth, descent, naturalisation, presidential decree, adoption

Chapter 4 – The Executive

It states how a president is to be elected after dissolution of parliament
- A presidential nominee has to consent to being a candidate
- Has to be nominated by more than 10 members of the national assembly
- All the members of the national assembly are entitled to vote except the speaker and
attorney general.
- A candidate should be-
N.B The president cannot hold office for more than 10 years or two terms. Whenever the
president dies, resigns or ceases to hold office the vice president shall assume office as
president immediately.

Chapter 5 - Parliament
It states that the parliament of Botswana shall comprise of-
- The president and a national assembly
-That the president is an ex officio member of the national assembly, (being part of a body by
virtue of holding office).
That the parliament shall also consists of 57 elected members, 4 specially elected members,
the attorney general, the speaker of the national assembly and deputy speaker.
It states the powers of parliament. These are largely legislative or law making powers for
peace, order and a good governance of Botswana.

Chapter 6 - Judicature
It states the judicial fraternity e.g. judges, magistrates etc. It has powers to hear and judge any
civil or criminal cases.

Chapter 7 – The Public Service

It states the public service qualifications for certain offices, appointments of public offices.

Chapter 8 - Finance
It explains about governance finances, withdrawals, authorization of expenditure, and
remuneration of officers.

Chapter 9 - Miscellaneous
It also states other things such as resignation of public officers, reappointment etc.

EVALUATE THE CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITATION ON THE POWER OF

GOVERNMENT IN BOTSWANA

Examples
1: The government cannot go into war without consulting the constitution and nation
2: The president’s choice in selecting the cabinet is limited to only the member of parliament
beside the four who are specially elected
3: The president has too much power and has the influence over the three branches of
government (eg)
- In the executive he appoints the ministers choosing who he wants

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 - In the legislature he approves on disapproves the laws
- In the judiciary he has power to pardon sentences
4: Government can be challenged by civil society ie appealing to courts of law of the state
and suing the government if they feel its laws are unjust eg Unity Dow challenged some
sections of the constitution that were gender discrimination successfully
5. Government’s power to challenge the constitution is limited. Any proposed change has to
be published in the government gazette at least 30 days before being published in the
parliament. A vote is then carried out through a national referendum where people can show
whether they agree or disagree with the proposed change in law

DESCRIBE NON DEMOCRATIC FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

DEMOCRATIC- here citizen elect representatives to form government. By so doing they are
giving them mandate to rule. The elected are supposed to represent the interest of the nation
not their own personal interests. Here more than one political party’s contests for elections
and the party winning most seats govern the country.
MONARCHY-a system of government where the head of government is a king or queen e.g
Swaziland and Morocco’s.
Characteristics
Leadership is hereditary
Head of government is king or queen.
Over time monarchy has become irrelevant and has since been replaced by constitutional
monarchy, where the head of government is a prime minister and is elected e.g Lesotho.
ONE PARTY STATE-a country where there is a single party and it’s the ruling party.
Characteristics
-There is a single political party.
-They may be elections by candidates would be from the same party.
-Opposition is illegal and officially suppressed.

Advantages
-Unity is important, they claim parties may sacrifice unity.
-They prevent tribal conflicts.
-There is continuity, a party can plan for longer periods for its guaranteed a continuous reign
-Development comes first, people need to be developed first and democracy comes later.
-The system is seen as synonymous to African traditions.
-Avoid social class formation.
-Costly elections are avoided.
Disadvantages
-Basic freedoms are denied.
-Irrelevant development.
-No accountability and transparency.
-Popular participation unknown-all dictated from above.

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DICTATORSHIP/AUTOCRATIC STATES-An autocracy is kind of movement which is
controlled by an individual who is not restricted by the constitution or law. A dictatorship is a
form of autocracy.
-Ordinary citizens have no say in the running their country.
-There is use of force to crash the opposition [Iraq under the rule of Saddam Hussein was an
example of a military dictatorship]

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