Corruption and Mismanagement in Botswana: A Best ... - See also

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CORRUPTION AND MISMANAGEMENT 50Iof deference easily stifled public questioning. Aspects of the presentproblems over land-sales, housing, and the abuse of loan-funds, havequite evidently germinated over a period of some IO-I5 years.I. Supply of Teaching Materials for Primary SchoolsResponsibility for primary education in Botswana is shared betweenthe Ministry of Education, the professional and policy-formulatingbody, and the Ministry of Local Government, Lands, and Housingwhich is concerned with the infrastructure and general management ofschools, including the provision of books and equipment. The contractfor the supply of teaching materials for the country's primary schoolsin i990 was awarded to the International Project Managers (1PM)without any examination of the company's employees or of theirqualifications. No tender competition was conducted, and no propersurvey of experienced agencies in the field of educational procurementwas made. The contract was not approved by the Central TenderBoard, and what the Presidential Commission of Inquiry described as' a series of breaches of Tender Board and Financial Regulations' soonfollowed.The consequence of several gross errors was that P27 million wasdissipated, largely unaudited, on the tender, of which P23 million hadbeen given to a locally-based company which was without financialstanding and headed by an insolvent.6 Rather more than Pi millionwas lost in the mis-allocation and delivery of books. The IPM had infact no experience of any kind in the purchase and supply of schoolmaterials.The two Ministries had earlier established a Reference Group and aTender Panel supposedly to plan and co-ordinate the procurementexercise, and it was on the Chairman of both these bodies, LeonardMukokomani, that the Presidential Commission placed 'the mainresponsibility for this debacle'. He had been influenced by the 'illconsideredadvice' of the Principal Finance Officer in the Ministry ofLocal Government, Roger Bowyer, although 'ultimate responsibility'rested with the Permanent Secretary and Accounting Officer, MeshackMokone.76 The Pula was worth 0-53 US dollars in 1990, 0-50 in March I99I, 0 48 inJune 1992, and 0-41in I993. Barclays Botswana Economic Review (Gaborone), selected issues.7 Republic of Botswana, Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Supply of School Booksand Materials to Primary Schoolsfor the 9ggo School Year (Gaborone, i6 April i99i), pp. I-' I, 13, i8,50, 55-6, and 60-63.
502 KENNETH GOOD2. Illegal Land Transactions in Peri- Urban VillagesLocal Government was the Ministry chiefly responsible for themismanagement and waste of the IPM, and it was also entirelyaccountable for the far greater malpractices which surfaced in I 99 I andI 992. Operating the gates through which all must pass in search of landand housing, its systemic and societal importance is outstanding. Thisis reflected in its size, the possession of two Assistant Ministerships, andits large financial allocations. Under the I 994 budget it received I 8 percent of recurrent expenditure which, at P58i million, was the secondlargestoutlay. It also got an additional 2I per cent of developmentspending, P335 million, the largest share.' As the agency forgovernment policy in key areas, it might well be termed 'a flagshipMinistry'.9The Presidential Commission of Inquiry into illegal land transactionsin peri-urban villages near Gaborone concluded its work in Decemberi99i. The Chairman, Englishman Kgabo, was explicit regarding theorigins of an acute public problem which had steadily worsened overa decade. People had moved to the Kweneng District, and moreparticularly into Mogoditshane, because of the critical shortage ofaccommodation in Gaborone; and this was 'a serious indictment ofGovernment itself since it failed to provide shelter to its people.' Thedifficulties faced were indeed exacerbated by the relevant agenciesoperating under the purview of the Ministry of Local Government.Land allocations had remained frozen in Mogoditshane since the mid-I 980s, and the Botswana Housing Corporation had virtually suspendedthe construction of houses, while the servicing of plots had also sloweddown. The Commission managed to identify as many as 84I plots thatwere illegally acquired, but felt that the actual figure was higher. 'Itwas a grave mistake' to suspend allocations for so long a time, Kgaboconcluded, without any alternative being provided by the Government.While many residents were well-nigh forced into unlawful landtransactions, they were also encouraged to act illegally by theparticipation of certain parliamentarians and leading ministers in suchactivities. The Commission found evidence of the use of high office forpersonal gain, and named the Vice-President and Minister for LocalGovernment, P. S. Mmusi, and the Minister of Agriculture, D. K.Kwelagobe. The latter had claimed to have been given a parcel of land8 'Budget Speech, I994' by the Minister of Finance, Festus Mogae, Gaborone, 7 February1994, Pp. 2I1-3.9 Roger Charlton, 'The Politics of Elections in Botswana', in Africa (London), 63, 3, I993,P. 359.
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