27 Jun 2017

It is a mammoth task to try and describe a man of former President, Sir Ketumile Masire’s stature.

Words alone seem to fail wrapping up his 91-years of life, and when the task was thrown to the former minister in his era, Mr Boometswe Mokgothu, he equally found it quite a challenge, but finally found solace in describing him as “Monna yoo neng ana le namane e tona ya tebelo pele, a abetswe boeteledi pele, ale tsebe ntlha go reetsa.”

Having started to closely interact with Sir Ketumile in 1984 when he first went to parliament as the representative of the then Kweneng West constituency, Mr Mokgothu said he was stunned by Sir Ketumile’s vision and leadership qualities.

“I don’t recall him going for any leadership courses. He was just gifted in leadership and always wanted the best out of his ministers,” he said.

Mr Mokgothu said when he got to Parliament in 1984, he was a backbencher until in 1992 while on his second term that Sir Ketumile elevated him to the position of Assistant Minister of Local Government, Lands and Housing, focusing on the rural areas part of the portfolio.

Mr Mokgothu said his portfolio required him to accompany Sir Ketumile to kgotla meeting across the country, and “that is where I got to appreciate that he was really gifted in people management.

There were many instances where I looked with admiration as he answered people who tried to ask question that would otherwise push one into a corner.
 

He had a way of studying a person even before they finished asking a question, and when he answered it would be like he had foreknowledge,” he said.

A parent and disciplinarian, Mr Mokgothu said Sir Ketumile always demanded the best out of his ministers such that before they presented any bills before cabinet, they had to brief him first.

Mr Mokgothu also hailed Sir Ketumile as a unifier, citing the period when he got the presidency from his predecessor, Sir Seretse Khama as one of the periods when his good management skills came to light.

Further, Mr Mokgothu said that through his great vision, most of the developments in the country such as mines and roads infrastructures were realised during Sir Ketumile’s era, especially that he previously oversaw the then Ministry of Finance and Development Planning before his presidency.

“So many development projects were mooted under his wing as the minister responsible for finance and development planning, and when he became the president it was just continuity,” he said.

For all the achievements that he realised during his tenure, Mr Mokgohu said he would always admire and hold him highly for introducing automatic succession to the presidency.

He said that Sir Ketumile realised that presidential succession had the potential to throw any country into turmoil.

“Through his vision he came up with this concept such that when the sitting president vacates the office by any means possible, then the county would have the next president sworn into office within 24 hours and without having to hunt for the replacement, and there was no better idea than the automatic succession,” he said.

He said this concept won Sir Ketumile admiration amongst his peers in Africa. “He showed them that the presidency is not an inheritance, but a relay race where one gives the baton to their successor, then spur them on and let them finish their lap,” he said.

In his parting shots, Mr Mokgothu, who also once served as Botswana’s Ambassador to Sweden between 2006 and 2010 sent condolences to the Masire family and to the entire nation, and urged them to admit that it was time for Rre Masire to go.

“It is God’s plan that all should come to an end one day  and so was the case with Rre Masire and all we can do is send condolences to his family and the nation and urge them to continue his glittering legacy,” he said. ENDS