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| Botswanan President Ian Khama |
This is the second time in the past three days that some story about African elites criticizing Botswana's center-right government has crossed my path. Never mind that Botswana has been Africa's most stable democracy since independence in 1966, its per capita GDP is about 60% higher than that of South Africa, and it's consistently rated as Africa's least corrupt country. Botswanan voters — for whatever reasons — freely choose to keep electing center-right politicians as their president. We learn that it's Botswana's "conservative" constitution that doesn't tolerate "living constitution" foolishness that Professor Charles Fombad, head of University of Pretoria's law department, finds so problematic. From the Botswana Gazette: "But in spite of the twenty-two amendments that it has undergone, in comparison to the constitutions of most other African countries that are either new or were substantially revised after the wave of democratization that swept the continent in the 1990s, the Botswana constitution can be described today as conservative. Fombad says unlike the majority of modern African constitutions in which most of the constitutional goals, values, and principles are expressly stated, these are only implied in the Botswana constitution; none of its many amendments have been significant enough to change the basic framework and structure."
Professor Fombad also doesn't like that President Khama — clutch the pearls! — holds African leaders accountable and values its sovereignty: "But since President Ian Khama came to power, the country’s foreign position on many issues has been controversial, Fombad says. For example within SADC [Southern African Development Community], the country has been pushing for firmer and more decisive action against the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. It has also been outspoken about the so-called Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. But the country’s own most controversial action has been not merely the refusal to join the New Partnership for African Development/African Peer Review Mechanism (NEPAD/APRM), but the reason given for refusing to join: that it had nothing to learn, Fombad says. 'It has also refused to sign AU [African Union] and UN anti-corruption conventions, as well as many international human rights instruments. Years of receiving lavish praise as Africa’s least corrupt country and a shining example of democracy have given rise to good governance complacency and isolationism,' he observes."
