Botswana
Botswana, officially the
Republic of Botswana (
Tswana:
Lefatshe la Botswana), is a
landlocked nation in
Southern Africa. Formerly the
British protectorate of
Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming
independent within the
Commonwealth on
September 30,
1966. It is bordered by
South Africa to the south,
Namibia to the west,
Zambia to the north, and
Zimbabwe to the northeast. The economy, closely tied to South Africa's, is predominated by
mining (especially
diamonds),
cattle, and
tourism. The country is named after its largest ethnic group, the
Tswana.
In the late 19th century, hostilities broke out between the
Shona inhabitants of Batswana and
Ndebele tribes who were migrating into the territory from the
Kalahari Desert. Tensions also escalated with the
Boer settlers from the
Transvaal. After appeals by the Batswana leaders
Khama III, Bathoen and Sebele for assistance, the British Government on
March 31,
1885 put "
Bechuanaland" under its protection. The northern territory remained under direct administration as the
Bechuanaland Protectorate and is today's Botswana, while the southern territory became part of the
Cape Colony and is now part of the northwest province of South Africa; the majority of
Setswana-speaking people today live in South Africa.
When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 out of the main British colonies in the region, the Bechuanaland Protectorate,
Basutoland (now
Lesotho), and
Swaziland (the "High Commission Territories") were not included, but provision was made fortheir later incorporation. However, a vague undertaking was given to consult their inhabitants, and although successive South African governments sought to have the territories transferred, Britain kept delaying, and it never occurred. The election of the National Party government in 1948, which instituted
apartheid, and South Africa's withdrawal from the
Commonwealth in
1961, ended any prospect of incorporation of the territories into South Africa.
An expansion of British central authority and the evolution of tribal government resulted in the
1920 establishment of two advisory councils representing Africans and Europeans. Proclamations in
1934 regularized tribal rule and powers. A European-African advisory council was formed in
1951, and the
1961 constitution established a consultative legislative council.
In June
1964, Britain accepted proposals for democratic self-government in Botswana. The seat of government was moved from
Mafikeng in South Africa, to newly established
Gaborone in
1965. The 1965 constitution led to the first general elections and to independence on
September 30,
1966.
Seretse Khama, a leader in the independence movement and the legitimate claimant to the
Ngwato chiefship, was elected as the first president, re-elected twice, and died in office in
1980. The presidency passed to the sitting vice president,
Ketumile Masire, who was elected in his own right in
1984 and re-elected in
1989 and
1994. Masire retired from office in
1998. The presidency passed to the sitting vice president,
Festus Mogae, who was elected in his own right in
1999and re-elected in
2004.
Botswana is dominated by the
Kalahari Desert, which covers up to 70% of the land surface of the country. The
Okavango Delta, the world's largest inland delta, is in the Northwest. The
Makgadikgadi Pan, a large
salt pan lies in the North.
Botswana has diverse areas of
wildlife habitat, including the Okavango Delta, the Kalahari Desert,
grasslands and
savannas, the latter where
Blue Wildebeest and many
antelopes as well as other mammals and birds are found.
Human geography
;Admistrative divisions
Botswana is divided into 9
districts and 28 sub-districts.
The
districts include:#
Central#
Ghanzi#
Kgalagadi#
Kgatleng#
Kweneng#
North-East#
North-West#
South-East#
Southern;Main population centres (in descending order)
*Cities:
**
Gaborone**
Francistown*Towns and villages:
**
Molepolole**
Selebi-Phikwe**
Maun**
Serowe**
Kanye**
Mahalapye**
Mochudi**
Mogoditshane**
Lobatse**
Palapye**
Tlokweng**
Ramotswa**
Thamaga**
Moshupa**
Tonota**
Jwaneng**
Orapa**
LetlhakanePolitics of Botswana takes place in a framework of a
presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the
President of Botswana is both
head of state and
head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system.
Executive power is exercised by the government.
Legislative power is vested in both the
government and the
Parliament of Botswana. Since independence the party system is dominated by the
Botswana Democratic Party. The
Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
;DefenseAt the time of independence Botswana had no armed forces. It was only after attacks from the Rhodesian army that Botswana formed a
Botswana Defence Force (BDF) in self-defence in 1977. The
president is commander in chief and a defence council is appointed by the president. The BDF now has approximately 12,000 members.
The BDF is a capable and well-disciplined military force. Following positive political changes in
South Africa and the region, the BDF's missions have increasingly focused on anti-poaching activities, disaster-preparedness, and foreign peacekeeping. The United States has been the largest single foreign contributor to the development of the BDF, and a large segment of its officer corps has received U.S. training. It is considered an apolitical and professional institution.
Also see
Military of Botswana.
;Foreign relationsBotswana puts a premium on economic and political integration in Southern Africa. It seeks to make SADC a working vehicle for economic development, and promotes efforts to make the region self-policing in terms of preventative diplomacy, conflict resolution, and good governance. It has welcomed post-apartheid South Africa as a partner in these efforts. Botswana joins the African
consensus on most major international matters and is a member of international organisations such as the
United Nations, the
Commonwealth of Nations and the
African Union (AU). Botswana is also a member of the
International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the
US-military (as covered under
Article 98).
Also see
Foreign relations of Botswana.
Since independence, Botswana has had the fastest growth in
per capita income in the world.
Economic growth averaged over 9% per year from 1966 to 1999. The
government has maintained a sound
fiscal policy, despite consecutive
budget deficits in 2002 and 2003, and a negligible level of
foreign debt. It earned the highest sovereign
credit rating in
Africa and has stockpiled foreign exchange reserves (over $5.1 billion in 2003/2004) amounting to almost two and one half years of current imports. Botswana's impressive economic record has been built on the foundation of wisely using revenue generated from
diamond mining to fuel economic development through prudent fiscal policies and a cautious
foreign policy.
Debswana, the only
diamond mining company operating in Botswana, is 50% owned by the government and generates about half of all government revenues.
However, economic development spending was cut by 10% in 2002-2003 as a result of recurring budget deficits and rising expenditure on
healthcare services. Botswana has been hit very hard by the
AIDS epidemic; the average
life expectancy is less than 40 years; the worst in the world. Approximately one in three
Batswana has HIV, giving Botswana the second highest HIV infection rate in the world after
Swaziland. [
1] The government recognizes that
HIV/
AIDS will affect the economy and is trying to combat the
epidemic, including free
Antiretroviral drug treatment and a nation-wide Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission program.
Some of Botswana's budget deficits can be traced to relatively high military expenditures (of roughly 4% of GDP in 2004, according to the CIA World Factbook), which some critics contend is unnecessary given the low likelihood of international conflict (though the Botswana government also makes use of these troops for multilateral operations and assistance efforts).
Private sector development and foreign investment
|
Palapye children, 1987, after the first rain for years. |
Botswana seeks to further diversify its economy away from minerals, which account for a third of GDP, down from nearly half of GDP in the early 1990s. Foreign investment and management are welcomed in Botswana. Botswana abolished foreign exchange controls in 1999, has a low corporate tax rate (15%), no prohibitions on foreign ownership of companies, and a moderate inflation rate (7.6% November 2004). The Government of Botswana is currently considering additional policies to enhance competitiveness, including a new Foreign Direct Investment Strategy, Competition Policy, Privatisation Master Plan, and National Export Development Strategy.
With its proven record of good economic governance, Botswana was ranked as Africa's least corrupt country by
Transparency International in 2004, ahead of many European and Asian countries. The World Economic Forum rates Botswana as one of the two most economically competitive nations in Africa. In 2004 Botswana was once again assigned "A" grade credit ratings by
Moody's and
Standard & Poor's. This ranks Botswana as by far the best credit risk in Africa and puts it on par with or above many countries in central Europe, East Asia, and Latin America.
U.S. investment in Botswana remains at relatively low levels, but continues to grow. Major U.S. corporations, such as
H.J. Heinz and
AON Corporation, are present through direct investments, while others, such as
Kentucky Fried Chicken and
Remax, are present via franchise. The sovereign credit ratings by Moody's and Standard & Poor's clearly indicate that, despite continued challenges such as small market size, landlocked location, and cumbersome bureaucratic processes, Botswana remains one of the best investment opportunities in the developing world. Botswana has a 90-member American Business Council that accepts membership from American-affiliated companies.
Because of history and geography, Botswana has long had deep ties to the economy of
South Africa. The
Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU), comprising Botswana,
Lesotho,
Swaziland, and South Africa, dates from 1910, and is the world's oldest customs union.
Namibia joined in 1990. Under this arrangement, South Africa has collected
levies from customs, sales, and excise duties for all five members, sharing out proceeds based on each country's portion of imports. The exact formula for sharing revenues and the decision-making authority over duties — held exclusively by the Government of South Africa — became increasingly controversial, and the members renegotiated the arrangement in 2001. The new structure has now been formally ratified and a SACU Secretariat has been established in
Windhoek, Namibia. Following South Africa's accession to the
World Trade Organization (WTO), Botswana also joined; many of the SACU duties are thus declining, making products from outside the area more competitive in Botswana. Currently the SACU countries and the U.S. are negotiating a free trade agreement. Botswana is currently also negotiating a free trade agreement with
Mercosur and an Economic Partnership Agreement with the
European Union as part of SADC.
|
Cattle at a water hole near Serowe |
Botswana's currency — the
Pula — is fully convertible and is valued against a basket of currencies heavily weighted toward the South African
Rand. Profits and direct investment can be repatriated without restriction from Botswana. The Botswana Government eliminated all exchange controls in 1999. The Central Bank devalued the Pula by 7.5% in February 2004 in a bid to maintain export competitiveness against the real appreciation of the Pula. There was a further 12% devalution in May 2005 and the policy of a "crawling peg" was adopted.
Most (70%) of Botswana's electricity is imported from South Africa's
Eskom. 80% of domestic production is concentrated in one plant,
Morupule Power Station near
Palapye. [
2]
Gaborone is host to the headquarters of the 14 nation
Southern African Development Community (SADC), a successor to the
Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC-launched in 1980), which focused its efforts on freeing regional economic development from dependence on apartheid South Africa. SADC embraced the newly democratic South Africa as a member in 1994 and has a broad mandate to encourage growth, development, and economic integration in Southern Africa. SADC's Trade Protocol, which was launched on September 1, 2000, calls for the elimination of all tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade by 2008 among the 11 signatory countries. If successful, it will give Botswana companies free access to the far larger regional market. SADC's failure to distance itself from the
Mugabe government in
Zimbabwe has diminished the number of opportunities for cooperation between the U.S. and SADC.
Botswana is in the process or formulating an Action Programme on the Elimination of
Child Labour, which is expected to be adopted in the period 2006-2007.
Tourism
Tourism plays a role in Botswana. A number of national parks and game reserves, with their abundant wildlife, are a top draw for tourists. United States President George Bush once stated that he visited a park in Botswana.
Botswana is the setting for the popular mystery series by
Alexander McCall Smith,
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and was also the location for the 1980 movie "
The Gods Must Be Crazy".
;Visual artsIn the northern part of Botswana, women in the villages of
Etsha and
Gumare are noted for their skill at crafting
baskets from
Mokola Palm and local
dyes. The baskets are generally woven into three types: large, lidded baskets used for storage, large, open baskets for carrying objects on the head or for winnowing threshed grain, and smaller plates for winnowing pounded grain. The artistry of these baskets is being steadily enhanced through color use and improved designs as they are increasingly produced for commercial use.
Other notable artistic communities include
Thamaga Pottery and
Oodi Weavers, both located in the southeastern part of Botswana.
The oldest paintings from both Botswana and
South Africa depict hunting, both animal and
human figures, and were made by the Khoisan (Kung San!/
Bushmen) over 20,000 years ago within the
Kalahari desert.
;Literature
Bessie Head is usually considered Botswana's most important writer, she fled the apartheid regime in South Africa to live in and write about Botswana. She lived there from 1964 (when it was still the Bechuanaland Protectorate) until her death at the age of 49 in 1986. She lived in
Serowe, and her most famous books,
When Rain Clouds Gather,
Maru, and
A Question of Power are set there.
Botswana forms the setting for a series of popular mystery novels by
Alexander McCall Smith. Their protagonist,
Precious Ramotswe, lives in Gaborone. The first novel in the series,
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency appeared in
1998 in the UK (and
2001 in the US). The light-hearted books are appreciated for their human interest and local colour.
Norman Rush, who served as a
Peace Corps director in Botswana from
1978 to
1983, uses the country as the setting of all of his published books, which generally focus on the expatriate community.
Unity Dow (born 1959) is a judge, human rights activist, and writer from Botswana. She came from a rural background that tended toward traditional values of the African kind. Her mother could not read English, and in most cases decision-making was done by men. She went on to become a lawyer with much of her education being done in the West. Her Western education caused a mixture of respect and suspicion.
As a lawyer she earned acclaim most for her stances on women's rights. She was the plaintiff in a case that allowed the children of women by foreign nationals to be considered
Batswana. The tradition and law before this stated nationality only descended from the father. She later became Botswana's first female High Court judge.
As a novelist she has had three books. These books often concern the issues concerning the struggle between Western and traditional values. They also involve her interest in gender issues and her nation's poverty.
;Holidays
Botswana has made great strides in educational development since independence in
1966. At that time there were very few graduates in the country and only a very small percentage of the population attended secondary school.
With the discovery of
diamonds and the increase in government revenue that this brought, there was a huge increase in educational provision in the country. All students were guaranteed ten years of basic education, leading to a Junior Certificate qualification. Approximately half of the school population attends a further two years of secondary schooling leading to the award of the
Botswana General Certificate of Education (BGCSE). After leaving school, students can attend one of the six technical colleges in the country, or take vocational training courses in
teaching or
nursing. The best students enter the
University of Botswana in
Gaborone, a modern, well-resourced campus with a student population of over ten thousand.
The quantitative gains have not always been matched by qualitative ones. Primary schools in particular still lack resources, and the teachers are less well paid than their secondary school colleagues. The
Government of Botswana hopes that by investing a large part of national income in education, the country will become less dependent on diamonds for its economic survival, and less dependent on expatriates for its skilled workers.
In January 2006, Botswana announced the reintroduction of school fees after two decades of free state education [
3].
*
Communications in Botswana*
Demographics of Botswana*
Transport in BotswanaOverviews
*
BBC News - Country Profile: Botswana*
Directories
*
Open Directory Project - Botswana directory category
*
Stanford University - Africa South of the Sahara: Botswana directory category
*
The Index on Africa - Botswana directory category
*
University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center: Botswana directory category
*
Yahoo! - Botswana directory category
