100 years of Communist Party of China: What can Botswana learn?
As the Communist Party of China ( CPC) celebrates the centenary of its founding next month ( July 2021), there are many lessons it can share with the world.
Botswana in particular, with its small population of 2.3 million people could benefit immensely by forging stronger bilateral relations with 1.4 billion people of China at national level including at ruling party level.
Already reeling under the pressure of Corona virus pandemic that has killed millions across the world, Botswana’s pandemic response strategy has benefited from Chinese generosity in both material supplies as well as knowledge sharing. The arrival of 400,000 doses Sinovac vaccine, 200,000 of which were donated by the Chinese Government earlier, has further helped the country stem the raging tide of this pandemic.
Over the years, Chinese benevolence has supported Botswana’s human development efforts. To name a few examples, the funding for the construction of Mmopane Primary School; the grant for the construction of Kazungula Primary School; scholarships and training workshops for public service personnel and private sectors; the deployment of medical teams since the 1980s and numerous medical equipment donations.
Since the state visit to China by President Masisi in 2018, bilateral relations and cooperation have developed by leaps and bounds. There’s no doubt the CPC will have more interactions with the Botswana Democratic Party through their MoU on Exchange and Cooperation signed during the visit.
With the CPC’s peoplecentred approach to development in the creation of a moderately prosperous society, which has allowed it to eliminate absolute poverty in China, poverty eradication could certainly be a topic of shared interest.
And the CPC’s phenomenal growth from just about 50 members at its founding in 1921 to the current 91 million members provides a lesson for ruling parties across the world and for BDP in particular, which shares similarities with the CPC in terms of longevity in power.
Whereas the CPC has presided over China for over 70 years, the BDP on the other hand has ruled for over 50 years. Keeping the party intact, managing inter- party democracy and maintaining cadre discipline as well as addressing pressing developmental issues and charting national policies that speak to the needs of the masses has been the CPC’s trump card.
On the multilateral scene, Botswana is poised to reap benefits from various arrangements such as the Belt and Road Initiative ( BRI), of which Botswana has become Africa’s 46th member, and the Forum on China- Africa Cooperation ( FOCAC) with its next meeting scheduled to be held in Senegal later this year.
The road ahead for both countries to expand their bilateral relations is filled with opportunities especially in the area of technological skills exchange in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.