Australia and the World Past and Present

Botswana is one of Africa’s success stories.

In a continent known for it’s instability, Botswana has remained stable for decades. Botswana boasts the longest uninterrupted democracy in Africa.

For a landlocked country, this is not the easiest thing to achieve. A lack of access to your own port can often hinder trade and development. But this hasn’t stopped Botswana’s trade and growth.

Most of the country is desert – over 70%.

The country’s population of over 2 million is ethnically rather homogeneous with over 80% identifying as Tswana. This reality has helped Botswana to avoid much of the inter-ethnic violence which has beset other countries around the continent.

Prior to 600 AD this part of Africa saw successive waves of Bantu migrations as they spread from the center of the continent to the south.

Botswana experienced a period of British colonisation from the 1880s until independence in 1966.

2024 was the first time that the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) hadn’t managed to form a majority in parliament. In the 2024 election, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) managed to pick up 36 seats (out of a total of 69) while the BDC had a disastrous result – picking up only 4 seats. The latest president, Duma Boko, is the first president that hasn’t come from the BDP. He hails from the UDC. The country has managed the transition to a new political reality well.

Mining and tourism are the most important sectors of the economy.

Botswana is the largest producer of diamonds in the world. Debswana is the largest diamond mining company in the country and the government holds a 50% stake in the venture. Mineral wealth provides around 40% of Botswana’s revenue. If the country didn’t have the mineral resources that it has it would be in a much more precarious situation. If the population were significantly higher, this too would present larger problems for Botswana’s government.

After independence, Botswana wanted to ensure that it’s diamond industry was not dominated by South Africa. So it approached investors in the US, Australia, Britain and Canada in an attempt to get them involved as a counterweight.

Botswana was not able to totally exclude South African interests. Anglo-American Corporation did manage to make headway into the diamond sector in Botswana but the government was still able to ensure good terms upon Anglo’s entry into the sector.

Per capita GDP is one the highest in Africa. Despite this, unemployment is relatively high and is a significant problem.

Botswana has been able to avoid taking on large amounts of foreign debt. The country has ample foreign exchange reserves and is noted for its strong sovereign credit rating.

While many admire the political stability of Botswana some have criticised the dominance of the BDP. Much of the politics of Botswana has played out not between different parties but among different factions within the BDP.

Besides having Western-style political institutions, tribal chiefs also have some say via the Ntlo ya Dikgosi. This body acts in an advisory capacity to the parliament. It has 35 members but only 8 hereditary chiefs. Members of the Ntlo ya Dikgosi are not allowed to be a member of a political party and can not have been involved in politics in the last five years. The body must be consulted on bills concerning tribal organisation, tribal property, customary law and customary courts.

Botswana’s Defense Forces were set up relatively late, in 1977. The government made the decision not to immediately set up a defense force at independence and to concentrate its efforts on combating poverty. Delaying the creation of a defense force certainly allowed more funds to be redirected towards a different priority. Defense material is expensive – no doubt about it. For a time there was hope that Botswana could survive without the need for armed forces. However, it was surrounded by groups in armed conflict with one another. The Rhodesian Bush War was in full swing and at times Rhodesian forces would enter Botswana’s territory. This conflict had ceased by 1980 but issues remained with South Africa. Anti-Apartheid groups had been using Botswana as a base for operations. In response, the South African Defense Forces would, at times, make incursions into Botswana. The 1985 Raid in Gaborone that resulted in the deaths on members of the Medu Art Ensemble at the hands of the South African Defense Forces was a shocking event for the people of Botswana. Medu was an artistic and cultural organisation.

Since the 1990s, the Botswana Defense Force has pursued twin roles. On the one hand it has been active in peace keeping operations – particularly in Africa. It has played a role in missions in Somalia, Mozambique, Rwanda and Lesotho. It is well respected for the role that it has played.

On the other hand, the Defense Force has played a vital role in the domestic sphere. It has focused on combating animal poaching and responding to natural disasters.

The treatment of minorities has been as issue for Botswana. There has been criticism in the past over the treatment of the San population with allegations of forced removals and poor conditions on reservations.

Botswana has been an island of stability in a dynamic region. They keys to it’s success has been a relatively small population and an absence of inter-ethnic violence. The country is also blessed to have been endowed with mineral wealth and post-independence governments have been skilled in ensuring that Botswana receives its fair share in return for the exploitation of its resources. Finally, Botswana has refrained from direct military conflict with its neighbours. This, along with the fact that Botswana’s leaders have tended to be less pro-communist and more pro-capitalist has buffered the country from much of the destruction that has occurred in other Southern African states.