First 100 days will make or break UDC govt

During the 2024 State of the Nation Address (SONA) on 19th November 2024, President Advocate Duma Boko declared that “the first 100 days present an opportunity to demonstrate swift, decisive action while laying the groundwork for long-term transformation. The first 100 days is a period of Renewal and Restoration. In the 100 days we focus on three interconnected pillars: Restoring Trust, Revitalising the Economy and Building Equity. We will Restore Trust and Good Governance by: Undertaking a Financial and Forensic Audit; Strengthening Anti-Corruption Institutions; Increasing Transparency in Government Expenditure; Respecting Human Rights and Upholding Dignity and Civil Service Reform.” The aspirations of the 100 days are compelling more so that there are a lot of expectations from Batswana for government to deliver on its pillar of a Transformative Journey. 

Financial and Forensic Audit 

There is a great deal of perception from a good number of Batswana that massive acts of corruption, misappropriation of public funds and malfeasance have taken place during the governance tenure of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) from which the UDC government is taking over from. The Forensic Audit in my view is the most appropriate mechanism to follow in order to unearth any financial misconduct that may have occurred and in the process, take appropriate measures to punish the offenders. It is accepted that a Forensic Audit is not a quick fix process but a long drawn one whose results will take time to achieve. That said, it is argued by some and justifiably so in my view that notwithstanding the Forensic Audit, there are low hanging fruits in terms of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) pursuing corruption and economic crimes that are already under its radar. For example, there was an investigation by the DCEC against the Permanent Secretary to the President Mme Emma Peloetletse flowing from her period when she was the Chairperson of the all-powerful Finance& Investment sub-committee of the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) Board of Trustees. She was a government trustee then occupying the post of Accountant General. 

According to INK reporters article titled ‘How CMB hypnotised Peloetletse’ and dated 15 June 2021, “…In April 2017, Peloetletse and her husband allegedly received air tickets and luxury accommodation to the prestigious Cape Town Jazz Festival worth more than R 98,000 (approximately P 73,000) from CMB without the knowledge of other Trustees and BPOPF management. The trip was allegedly not approved by BPOPF.” To be fair to the PSP, she has vehemently refuted such allegations. But it is only fair as well to fully investigate the allegations in order to come to an informed conclusion and decision. There is also a docket that was prepared by the immediate past Director General of DCEC Rre Tymon Katlholo against the Director General of the Directorate of Intelligence Services (DIS) Rre Peter Magosi and some of his officers on allegations of corruption and abuse of office. If the UDC government exhibits signs of hesitant approach to the low hanging fruit cases, such will diminish any iota of confidence from Batswana. 

Anti-Corruption Institutions 

While it is a welcome development to strengthen Anti-Corruption Institutions, it is important to mention that the current legislation on corruption and economic crime by and large, is fairly sufficient enough to deal with corruption and economic crime. It is only that, as it is widely argued, a lot of political interference has been the undoing of the DCEC performing its mandate. The failure to deal with the allegations against the PSP as reported to the DCEC by Rre Solomon Mantswe as BPOPF Chairman back in 2019 and the failure to proceed with corruption charges against Peter Magosi will only confirm the lurking hand stalling the investigations. There can be no plausible explanation why these investigations have stalled for so long. 

Civil Service Reforms 

On the civil service issue, the President says “You want a trustworthy, dynamic and agile civil service that serves your need. We will implement a code of conduct for public servants….” It will be interesting to see how the contemplated code of conduct will differ if any from the current Public Service Charter. His message elsewhere has been his resolve to employ individuals through a vigorous and transparent process. But we have recently witnessed the appointment of a Deputy DG at DIS who it appears has not gone through that vigorous and transparent process. It is said the individual is a long-time confidante of the President by having worked at his law firm. This could justifiably be interpreted as nepotism or jobs-for-pals kind of thing. It is not about whether or not the individual is academically suited for the job but how he was appointed. Without saying it, it goes against the spirit of transparency. 

There is a policy in the civil service where civil servants are allowed through their companies or those intrinsically connected to their immediate family members doing business with government. This practice poses an inherent challenge of civil servants using the civil service time and resources to pursue personal interests at the expense of the public it is employed to serve. In other words, it stifles in monumental ways, efficient and reliable service delivery. 

There are voices out there including parliament suggesting the UDC government should as a matter of urgency flush out some senior public servants particularly those with chequered history. I couldn’t agree more with these voices. These voices emanate from the UDC’s utterances during campaigning whether directly or indirectly, that such civil servants should be so flushed out in order to purify the civil service and by extension, nip corruption in the bud for efficient service delivery. Part of the achievement of the 100 days will be enhanced by UDC government harvesting the low hanging fruits like Restoring Trust and Good Governance by expediting investigations and prosecution if need be of cases like those of the PSP and the DCEC DG and others like that of the Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Lands and Water Affairs as it was then. Without doing so, the said restoration of trust and good governance will be a pie in the sky. Truth be told, it is desirable that an incoming government is not only seen to be employing its own trusted civil servants particularly at the highest echelons of the service but seen to be doing so in reality. The pace at which the UDC government is moving with respect to harvesting the low hanging fruits to enhance the achievement of the 100 days’ timeframe does not in my view, give confidence that such will be achieved through the timeframe. UDC Ministers and MPs must refrain from overly lamenting the poor BDP record but to provide solutions. That is why they are in government. I am prepared to be persuaded otherwise as always. Judge for Yourself!