¹ The Economist (London), 18 09 1993.Google Scholar

² This section is based upon Good, Kenneth, ‘Interpreting the Exceptionality of Botswana’, in The Journal of Modern African Studies (Cambridge), 30, I, 03 1992, pp. 73–6,CrossRefGoogle Scholar and the sources referred to are as follows: Colclough, Christopher and McCarthy, Stephen, The Political Economy of Botswana: a study of growth and distribution (Oxford, 1980);Google ScholarDiamond, Larry, ‘Introduction: roots of failure, seeds of hope’, in Diamond, , Linz, Juan J., and Lipset, Seymour Martin (eds.), Democracy in Developing Countries, Vol. 2, Africa (Boulder and London, 1988), pp. 1–32;Google ScholarGulhati, Ravi, The Making of Economic Policy in Africa (Washington, DC, 1990);Google Scholar and Harvey, Charles and Lewis, Stephen R. Jr, Policy Choice and Development Performance in Botswana (London, 1990).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

³ Harvey and Lewis, op. cit., and Hill, Catherine B. and Mokgethi, D. Nelson, ‘Botswana: macroeconomic management of commodity booms, 1975–86’, in World Bank, Successful Development in Africa (Washington, DC, 1989), pp. 174–206.Google Scholar

⁴ Colclough and McCarthy, op. cit. p. 242.

⁵ The exceptionality of Botswana remains a fact, but its extent and limitation require further definition.Google Scholar

⁶ The Pula was worth 0·53 US dollars in 1990, 0·50 in March 1991, 0·48 in June 1992, and 0·41 in 1993. Barclays Botswana Economic Review (Gaborone), selected issues.Google Scholar

⁷ Republic of Botswana, Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Supply of School Books and Materials to Primary Schools for the 1990 School Year (Gaborone, 16 04 1991), pp. 1–11, 13, 18, 50, 55–6, and 60–63.Google Scholar

⁸ ‘Budget Speech, 1994’ by the Minister of Finance, Mogae, Festus, Gaborone, 7 February 1994, pp. 21–3.Google Scholar

⁹ Charlton, Roger, ‘The Politics of Elections in Botswana’, in Africa (London), 63, 3, 1993, p. 359.Google Scholar

¹⁰ Republic of Botswana, Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry Into Land Problems in Mogoditshane and Other Peri-Urban Villages (Gaborone, 13 12 1991), pp. vii, xii-xvii, 12–19, 42–9, 53, 69, and 72–3.Google Scholar

¹¹ Republic of Botswana, Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry Into the Operations of the Botswana Housing Corporation (Gaborone, 30 11 1992), pp. 6–8, 79–89, 99, and 203–5.Google Scholar

¹² According to Mallaby, Sebastian, After Apartheid (London, 1992), pp. 160–3, ‘Premier went to great lengths to win the loyalty of senior politicians’ in Africa, and the Belgian chairman of its international division, Albert Nelissen, ‘had a way of charming presidents’. He had agreed to instal a ‘ready-made garden’ for Mobutu's palace at Gbadolite, ‘complete with gardeners to replace the Zaïrean bush with flower-beds’, and soon after provided a poultry farm, also requested urgently. Where speed was the criterion, and not costs, Premier got things done wherever they were called. As Nelissen himself explained: ‘Us establish in Africa. Paying tax, employing locals, training locals. Us give them a complete package.’Google Scholar

¹³ Grant, Sandy, ‘The Christie Report Revisited’, in Midweek Sun (Gaborone), 13 01 1993.Google Scholar

¹⁴ Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone), 29 01 1993.Google Scholar See also ibid. 19 February 1993, and Midweek Sun, 27 January 1993.

¹⁵ Referred to by President Masire at a press conference, and reported by the Botswana Gazette (Gaborone), 25 03 1992.Google Scholar

¹⁶ Mmegi, 16 April 1992.

¹⁷ Botswana Gazette, 25 August 1993.

¹⁸ Weekly Mail (Johannesburg), 6 11 1992. The origin, rôle, and ramifications of Newslink were extensively considered in this issue.Google Scholar

¹⁹ Quoted in Mmegi, 30 August 1991.

²⁰ According to the Midweek Sun, 18 December 1991, three truckloads of printing equipment had been allowed to pass through the Tlokweng border-gate with South Africa on the morning of Sunday, 15 December, ‘leaving creditors at a loss about how to pursue their claims against the paper’, while the Botswana Gazette of the same day spoke about the workers having been ‘left high and dry’ by the sudden departure.Google Scholar

²¹ Mmegi, 6 November 1992, reported Mompati Merafhe as having said: ‘Certainly I don't think there is any conclusive evidence that Basimanyana [Masire] knew about the machinations of Newslink in Botswana’.Google Scholar

²² The International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance, 1992–1993 (London, 1992), estimated the total personnel of Botswana's Air-Arm as ‘100+’, while Business Day (Johannesburg) has suggested 300.Google Scholar

²³ Midweek Sun, 18 November 1992.

²⁴ Figures and quotation from Jefferis, Keith, ‘The 1992 Budget’, in Barclays Botswana Economic Review, Ist quarter, 1992, p. 15.Google Scholar

²⁵ Business Day, 13 September 1993.

²⁶ Ibid.

²⁷ As quoted by Motswagole, Tshepo, ‘Why Should We Reveal All on NDB?’, in Mmegi, 11 March 1994.Google Scholar

²⁸ ‘Budget Speech, 1991’ by Festus Mogae, Gaborone, 18 February 1991, p. 11.

²⁹ ‘Budget Speech, 1994’, pp. 9–10.

³⁰ Radio Botswana press conference, reported in the Midweek Sun, 19 January 1994.

³¹ According to Mogae's ‘Budget Speech, 1991’, P31 million had been provided by the Government in 1988 in order to write off bad debts. Three years later it was revealed that loans to the NDB had been written off twice, in 1985–1986, as well as 1988–1989, with a total value of over P35·5 million. See the Botswana Gazette, 30 March 1994, for the parliamentary statement by the Assistant Minister of Finance, Edison Masisi.Google Scholar

³² Information from unnamed NDB employees following the publicising of the Bank's parlous position. Mmegi, 21 January 1994.Google Scholar

³³ The Chairman of the NDB Board was Freddie Modise of the Ministry of Finance, while other members were DrHudson, D., MsMoremi, T., MrsMolomo, E., DrSibanda, R., and MessrsMoroka, D. M., Taukobong, T., Wellio, J., and Galefolorwe, J. B.. Midweek Sun, 16 February 1994.Google Scholar

³⁴ Mmegi, 2 January 1994.

³⁵ Guardian, 26 November 1993.

³⁶ ‘Budget Speech, 1992’ by Festus Mogae, Gaborone, 10 February 1992, p. 8.

³⁷ ‘Budget Speech, 1993’ by Festus Mogae, Gaborone, 8 February 1993, p. 9.

³⁸ An unsigned document listing NDB loans to Ministers and MPs of more than P20,000 each, and the names of the top 15 debtors in September 1993, was apparently faxed to various recipients, and the information so presented eventually appeared in the independent press, notably the Botswana Gazette, 9 February 1994.Google Scholar

³⁹ ‘Budget Speech, 1992’, p. 8.

⁴⁰ Botswana Gazette, 9 February 1994. Similar unnamed sources also claimed that ‘political interference, especially on lending, has over the years [made] an important contribution to the collapse of the bank’. Mmegi, 21 January 1994.Google Scholar

⁴¹ Interview with the Guardian, 18 February 1994. The consultancy firm International Development Ireland, of which John Rohan is a member, was contracted in late 1993 to manage the NDB until November 1995 at a reported fee of over P3 million.Google ScholarIbid. 26 November 1993.

⁴² Mmegi, 14 January, and Midweek Sun, 19 January 1994.

⁴³ Midweek Sun, in February 1992.

⁴⁴ Ibid. 16 February 1994.

⁴⁵ Botswana Gazette, 9 February 1994.

⁴⁶ Ibid.

⁴⁷ Guardian, 11 February 1994.

⁴⁸ Botswana Gazette, 9 February 1994.

⁴⁹ Ibid. 16 February and Mmegi, 18 February 1994.

⁵⁰ Botswana Gazette, 16 February 1994. Vister Moruti, a specially elected MP, took this point a little further, reportedly saying that the press had revealed the list of NDB debtors in order to witch-hunt those in power. Midweek Sun, 16 February 1994.Google Scholar

⁵¹ Mmegi, 25 February 1994.

⁵² Botswana Gazette, 16 February, and Mmegi, editorial, 18 February 1994.

⁵³ Some recognition of the matter's seriousness, at least, did come from within the ruling party's organisation, when the BDP's Administration Secretary, Aobakwe Sekgwa, reportedly said that the unpaid loans did ‘not augur well for the NDB and it is an embarrassment to the government and BDP’. Guardian, 11 February 1994.Google Scholar

⁵⁴ The Minister of Finance announced that some NDB departments were overstaffed and that the retrenchements would reduce the Bank's expenditure. Guardian, 11 February 1994.Google Scholar

⁵⁵ Botswana Gazette, 16 February 1994.

⁵⁶ The position of the ex-Assistant Minister of Local Government was perhaps different, given his earlier rôle at BHC. In December 1993 the High Court in Lobatse ordered that Michael Tshipinare's large farm at Sekokwane in the Barolong District be sold to pay off his debts, totalling then more than P500,000, to the NDB. Guardian, 17 December 1993.Google Scholar

⁵⁷ Mmegi, 14 January 1994. The Minister of Finance's name was absent from the list of ministerial debtors, and the student demonstrators voiced their support for him and urged, as they said, that he ‘stay the course’. Midweek Sun, 16 February 1994.Google Scholar

⁵⁸ As reported in the Guardian, 18 February 1994.

⁵⁹ President Masire contrasted such venture capitalists or entrepreneurs with those who ‘just sit’. Interview on 15 February, Mmegi, 18 February 1994.Google Scholar

⁶⁰ Botswana Gazette, 9 February 1994.

⁶¹ Ibid. 21 February 1994.

⁶² Ibid. 26 February 1992.

⁶³ The Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board heightened its attractiveness to venture capitalists by reportedly not charging interest on debts. Mmegi, 18 and 25 February 1994.Google Scholar

⁶⁴ It is inherently difficult to estimate the fortune of Joseph Mobutu, also known as Marshal Sese Seko, the Redeemer, the Helmsman, the Messiah, since he apparently recognises little or no distinction between the public and his own personal wealth. He has reportedly amassed $4,000 million since becoming ruler in 1965; indeed, in 1989 the US State Department put his wealth at $5,000 million. Guardian Weekly (London), 12 03 1993, and The Economist, 17 April 1993.Google Scholar

⁶⁵ Discussed in Good, loc. cit. pp. 68–73.Google Scholar

⁶⁶ Morton, Barry and Ramsay, Jeff, ‘The Making of a President’, in Botswana Gazette, 11 and 18 August 1994.Google Scholar

⁶⁷ Henderson, Willie, ‘Seretse Khama: a personal appreciation’, in African Affairs (London), 89, 354, 01 1990, p. 52.Google Scholar

⁶⁸ Editorial, Botswana Gazette, 11 March 1992. The Presidential Commission on Economic Opportunities, on which the Government's white paper was based, had also proposed that Parliament appoint an Ombudsman.Google Scholar

⁶⁹ White, Richard, ‘Is the Livestock Industry the Enemy of the Environment?’, Symposium of the Kalahari Conservation Society, Gaborone, 13–14 November 1992, p. 15.Google Scholar

⁷⁰ Siphambe, H. K., ‘Minimum Wages in Botswana: should they be increased?’, in Barclays Botswana Economic Review, 3, 4, n.d. p. 6.Google Scholar

⁷¹ See Good, Kenneth, ‘At the Ends of the Ladder: radical inequalities in Botswana’, in The Journal of Modern African Studies, 31, 2, 06 1993, pp. 203–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁷² Campbell, Alec, Main and Associates, ‘Western Sandveld Remote Area Dwellers’, Report submitted to the Ministry of Local Government and Lands and the Norwegian Agency for International Development Co-operation, Gaborone, April 1991, pp. 44–5.Google Scholar

⁷³ See Pempel, T. J., Uncommon Democracies (Ithaca, NY, and London, 1990) for this terminology,Google Scholar discussed by Nairn, Tom, ‘The Sole Survivor’, in New Left Review (London), 200, 07—08 1993, pp. 41–7. In the somewhat similar systems of Japan, Sweden, and Italy (with a dominant coalition) until recently, one party ruled democratically for almost 40 years.Google Scholar

⁷⁴ Midweek Sun, 15 September 1993. Patrick Molutsi may rather over-state the actual, rather than the intended, passivity of the people, certainly with regard to students and organised workers in the towns.Google Scholar

⁷⁵ Botswana Gazette, 16 February 1994.

⁷⁶ Under Section 5 of the existing National Security Act it is a criminal offence to publish any information which the state decides is ‘classified’ – defined as any matter declared to be confidential by the Government. Editorial, Botswana Gazette, 23 February 1994. The penalty under this Act is up to 25 years imprisonment, regardless of public interest. Section 7 of the Immigration Act empowers the President to declare a resident or visitor a prohibited immigrant, and denies such a person the right of appeal to a court of law and to demand information. Bojosi Otlhogile, ‘The President: office, functions and powers’, n.d., pp. 14–15. This power has been used to deport foreign journalists on more than one occasion. Both Acts remained unused during Newslink's operations. It should also be noted that certain offences under the Penal Code, especially that of ‘sedition’, seriously limit access to information.Google Scholar

⁷⁷ Guardian, 18 February 1994.

⁷⁸ Midweek Sun and Botswana Gazette, 23 February 1994.

⁷⁹ Nairn, op. cit. p. 44. However, Sweden, apart from the Bofors case, appears to be different. Corruption in Japan, unlike the endemic form of Italy, is seemingly also of the eélite variety, focused often on the construction industry.

⁸⁰ Guardian, 28 January 1993.

⁸¹ The Chief Magistrate declared: ‘I am satisfied that the accused has been validly accused of influence-peddling within the management of BHC in the award of the Spectra contract, and the onus is placed on him to prove albeit on balance of probabilities that he did not obtain the [so-called] loan corruptly.’ See Mmegi, 6 August 1993, for ‘State v Tshipinare, Judgement’.Google Scholar

⁸² ‘Michael Rabereng Tshipinare v the State, Judgement’, High Court, Lobatse, November 1993, pp. 25–6, 30, and 35–7.Google Scholar

⁸³ One of the central issues in the case was whether a government Minister was or could be viewed as an agent of a statutory body falling under his Ministry, and this was resolved in Tshipinare's favour. Under law an acquittal cannot be reversed. But a court can declare that a person. has been wrongly acquitted, and a retrial could be obtained due to irregularities in proceedings. Personal communication, Otlhogile, Bojosi, June 1994.Google Scholar

The Assistant Minister's proceedings had been completed with particular speed. Hillary Naledi of Segaetsho and Associates noted that other appeal cases filed long before were still pending, and wondered ‘whether there is a special treatment for people like Mr Tshipinare’. Gazette, 10 November 1993.

⁸⁴ The establishment of something like an Economic Crime Unit within the Office of the President was mooted over several months in 1994, and the creation of an Ombudsman has been talked about for more than a decade. But it is very doubtful that such bodies — in the abstract, and in and of themselves worthy reforms — could be capable of confronting the type of élite corruption experienced in Botswana.Google Scholar