03 Jul 2022

The current administration, as did those that came after Sir Seretse Khama, is determined to keep his vision of a Botswana that is financially self-sufficient, with healthy, balanced development in all sectors, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has said. 

He was addressing the nation on founding President, Sir Seretse Khama Day Friday. He said Sir Seretse envisioned a healthy, prosperous Botswana, hence his hard work to get the economy working and setting the country, which had been impoverished by years of colonial misrule, on an ambitious development path. 

His dream lived on, through the current administration, said the President. “While we may not be there yet, allow me to assure you that we are [moving] forward towards Achieving Prosperity for All in 2036,” he said. 

He said Sir Seretse was worth emulating, for despite inheriting from the colonial government an ill-equipped and ineffective administration machine, he did not despair, but working with a team of like-minded individuals, instigated renewal of the economy and set in motion the country’s development agenda.

Such was Sir Seretse’s determination that, “armed with the nationalist zeal and fortitude that, together with his assembled team, following the landslide Botswana Democratic Party victory at the 1965 general elections, they could wrestle with it, and were going to do it,” said Dr Masisi. 

And they did it with pride, refusing to lead a nation of beggars, despite its inglorious dependence on foreign aid for more than half of its revenue at the time.

Instead of waiting for handouts, Sir Seretse encouraged Batswana to be industrious, and charted a path of shrewd financial stewardship for succeeding administrations, said President Masisi. 

He said the founding president’s birthday, celebrated under the theme, “Sir Seretse Khama: A Visionary and a Democrat,” ushered in a sense of renewal and reconciliation where differences existed.

Sir Seretse, he said, lived on in the soul of the nation through his espoused vision, which transcended the socio-economic and political transformation of the nation. 

His enduring legacy, was the fruits of democracy that Botswana continued to enjoy and nurture.

Said Dr Masisi: “With his nation-building, he pioneered the legacy of Botswana, and with his foresight, engraved its future.”

He said alongside other national stalwarts, Sir Seretse reformed local and territorial government leading to political rebirth and greater decolonisation efforts in other frontiers. 

The President also said Sir Seretse believed Botswana’s coinage of its national principles of Puso ya Batho ka Batho (Democracy), Ditlhabololo (Development), Boipelego (Self-Reliance) and Popagano ya Setshaba (Unity), were not mere imported slogans, but were rooted and applicable in the people’s social and political culture. 

These were clearly typified in efforts to educate Batswana, for at the time Sir Seretse led Botswana to independence, the country had a largely uneducated population, and the immense responsibility and burden of self-rule rested with a few Batswana with secondary education or higher. 

And Sir Seretse was determined to change that, with subsequent administrations equally set on the same vision. 

“We are living testimony of this vision; of having built this country from scratch, exercising restraint on expenditure and upholding unquestionable frugality with every trickle of revenue gained from mineral exploitation,” said Dr Masisi. He added that throughout his presidency, Sir Seretse maintained on the one hand the firm belief that all were equal, which was the basis for his outspokenness against repressive white minority regimes, while on the other he worked to consolidate democracy. 

A true democrat Sir Seretse was, as he never doubted the voice of Botswana, however small, and believed in its immeasurable contribution to the democratisation of Southern Africa, said President Masisi. 

Thus, Sir Seretse’s visionary leadership put into proper perspective, the undeniable prominent role and contribution of Botswana in the liberation struggle against white settler domination. Ends