Khama�s best speech
Siki Motshwari Johannes | Friday May 5, 2017 14:59
April 1, 2008 President Ian Khama’s inaugural address had the hallmark of a great speech. In fact, it can arguably be rated as the best speech of his life.
If the intention of Khama’s speech writer(s) was to inspire the faithful and ease the worries of the doubters then that objective was met. It was clear that there would be business as usual. Here is the excerpt that captures it all, “…To this end, I shall start by laying out to the Cabinet and the entire senior management of government in a meeting later this week and with local authorities next week, my expectations of them with respect to making good on the pledges we have made to Batswana. As part of a team charged with delivering services and development to the nation, I hope they are all up to the task because those unable to deliver cannot be kept on the team.”
Once all the pomp and fanfare died out, Khama’s next immediate assignment was the selection of men and women who will serve in his Cabinet. He knew all too well that at hand was a delicate task, which could make or break him. Being the enigma that he is, it was difficult to predict, with any accuracy, which among the crop of legislators will make the grade. The inaugural speech was perhaps the only basis upon which some intelligent guesswork on what was in store could be made. Khama cut the image of a no-nonsense leader, unprepared to settle for charlatans but only the ablest. None of his predecessors, if our sense of recollection serves us well, had come close to issuing such a strong and emphatic warning before making Cabinet appointments. The message was loud and clear, shape up or ship out. This is what sets Khama apart from the previous leaders.
When Khama finally announced his Cabinet, it became apparent that it was a mixed bag comprising of elements from the two warring factions. It will be recalled that Khama’s predecessor, Festus Mogae had made a last minute attempt to reconcile the warring parties by bringing back into Cabinet, Ponatshego ‘PHK’ Kedikilwe and Daniel ‘DK’ Kwelagobe.
Khama too kept Kwelagobe and Kedikilwe in Cabinet. Kwelagobe was offered a senior portfolio in the Office of the President as Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration. In this position, DK literally became the President’s man and by virtue of his portfolio, he enjoyed unfettered access to the President. PHK fared well too as he was to preside over a plum portfolio of the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources. That put him responsible for minerals, Botswana’s major foreign exchange earner. It is doubtless that while the two BDP heavyweights harboured ambitions for the number two spot (vice presidency), they were at least content to have been kept in Cabinet. They knew that it was the President’s sole prerogative to appoint Cabinet and ministers to serve at the pleasure of the sitting President. Sparing the two proved Khama’s magnanimity and as well as his ability to perform a balancing act. This was a mark of political shrewdness on the part of Khama. He was pretty aware that it was too early to marginalise and ostracise any faction in the party. He needed everybody and all capable hands around him to consolidate his position both in the party and government.
For the coveted position of Vice President, the A-team scored big as Khama nominated the trusted old warhorse and retired army General Mompati Merafhe. The late army General got the nod ahead of Barataphathi’s spiritual leaders, DK and PHK.
Margaret Nasha, perhaps the only woman who equally harboured presidential ambitions, felt hard done by. Anticipating rejection of Merafhe from the rival group, it was reported that Khama had assured the BDP caucus that Merafhe would serve for a few years and then pave the way for the appointment of someone (mid-term) who will take over upon Khama’s retirement in 2018. This was a political masterstroke, which placated the Barataphati. The promise kept alive DK and PHK‘s presidential ambitions. And the party continued to demonstrate a show of unity when called on to support Merafhe’s endorsement as Vice President for two consecutive times in 2008 and 2009.
Merafhe proved to be Khama’s hawkish, reliable and loyal right hand man. He was indeed a real ‘partner in crime’ if ever there was a crime they were committing. Their partnership, which dates back to their days in the army was a partnership made and sealed in heaven. No Vice President served Khama as efficiently and effectively as Merafhe. Khama has always shown a disdain for politics, which he described as a dirty game and prefers not to be involved in political debates. More often than not, the opposition reduced Khama to a punching bag.
Merafhe on the other hand loved debates and often took the opposition on to protect and defend Khama. He would say to the Khama’s detractors, “You may not like the President, but you don’t have to lie about him.” He did not allow his political principal to become an object of abuse and ridicule.
Merafhe’s premature departure, by retirement and ultimate passing on, actually left Khama vulnerable. Khama and the BDP are yet to find someone who can fill the void left by the General. University of Botswana (UB) political scientist, Professor Zibani Maundeni has once buttressed this point and said: “I don’t think in an attempt to fill the void left by Merafhe’s departure, Khama will ever find a VP of Merafhe’s calibre”. This analysis sounds spot on for many reasons, but chiefly because in his incumbent VP, Masisi, Khama has simply ‘replicated’ himself.
During the 2011 public sector strike the ailing Merafhe summoned strength to address the public and demonstrated his unwavering support to Khama. He eloquently reiterated and amplified Khama’s position that the economy was too weak and fragile to support the workers’ lofty and unreasonable demands. One can say in Merafhe, Khama had selected the right man.
Khama knew very well whom he was bringing to his side when he settled for Merafhe as his deputy at a turbulent time in the history of the ruling BDP in 2008. The late Merafhe was given a nod at a time when a faction of the BDP commonly known as Barataphathi was battling for inclusion in both Government and the party against the dominant A-Team axis.
Under pressure, Khama had rewarded Barataphathi with the party chairmanship and allowed Merafhe who was associated with the A-Team to be his right-hand man. Essentially, Merafhe came in to protect Khama’s Presidency against any hostile incursion. From then on, he never regretted his choice as Merafhe performed with distinction in defending the party by going on the offensive against perceived enemies. First, as a disciplined military man, Merafhe’s loyalty to Khama was not in doubt. Realising that his boss could not match the voluble opposition politicians, he chose to lead the verbal warfare with notable aggression.
With the benefit of hindsight, the appointment of Merafhe as VP set the stage for a bitter and prolonged conflict between Khama and DK. The two leaders developed irreconcilable differences, which culminated in the axing of DK from cabinet in 2009.
Ironically, it was the late Sir Seretse Khama, (Ian Khama’s father) who horned and nurtured DK‘s political career and brought him into Cabinet and the son destroyed his father’s creation when he plucked him out of Cabinet. Khama effectively brought DK‘s political career to an inglorious end. The once BDP party strongman never recovered from the heavy blow he suffered at the hands of Khama as he would finally suffer yet another humiliating defeat in the tussle for a Parliamentary seat in the 2014 elections at the hands of a lesser known political new comer in Tlamelo Mmatli of the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
It is interesting to note that Khama did not give any indication as to when exactly he intended to drop Merafhe. It is not known whether his colleagues ever engaged him on this one. Merafhe finally bowed out of politics at his own behest in 2012 due to illness. If Merafhe had not fallen ill, it remains purely a matter of speculation as to whether Khama would have ultimately made good his promise of dropping him. With Merafhe out of the scene, the gods smiled on PHK and his dream of occupying state house number two was finally fulfilled.