No abstract

Many countries, particularly in Africa, have failed to realize development largely because they suffer from a 'leadership deficit'. Evidence across the African continent shows that even countries that are endowed with resources have failed to transform, in part because of bad leadership. Yet, there are countries that are an exception to this trend. Botswana is one such a country. This paper uses the case of Botswana to demonstrate that leadership can make a difference. It, therefore, argues that leadership can either make or break a country. Botswana has been able to transform itself from a position of desolation at independence to one of an upper middle income country by the 1990s. It is today held as an economic and political success story that can offer lessons to other African countries. This is remarkable by African standards. Botswana's transformation was possible in part because of the good leadership and good policy decisions. The case of Botswana shows that leadership is a crucial success factor for any country's development prospects. The paper uses the case studies of presidents Seretse Khama, Ketumile Masire, Festus Mogae and Ian Khama to demonstrate the significance of leadership in influencing the direction and development of the country.

No abstract

Botswana has the reputation of being Africa's longest surviving democracy having held uninterrupted elections at five year intervals since the pre-independence elections of 1965. The latest elections were held in October 2009. Although in democratic discourse it is assumed and/or expected that the holding of regular free, fair and competitive multiparty elections should provide an opportunity of regime change, this has so far not materialized in Botswana. The country is therefore a dominant-party system with only one political party, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), having won all the elections held so far. This paper argues that there is nothing inherently undemocratic with people voting for the same political party provided the political playing field is level. A number of factors are advanced to explain the dominance of the BDP in the country's politics. These include, inter alia, the perceived delivery of the ruling party, the politics of patronage, advantages of incumbency and other factors related to the culture of Batswana. Having said this, it is concluded that recent political events in the country point towards the emergence of a new undemocratic culture which may result in the reversal of the system of one-party dominance. Thus, it is argued that the dominance of the BDP in the country's politics is likely to be seriously challenged in the not too distant future.