Really what’s this hullabaloo about the Cabinet reshuffle?
Aleader is one that takes decisive actions and stands ready to defend his or her decisions no matter the circumstances. A leader seldom enjoys popular support. His is but a fleeting glory!
The maxim, ‘uneasy lies the head that wears a crown’ is an apt description of a leader. He seldom finds respite or repose. His is a constant struggle of hardships, heartbreaks and grief.
To be a leader is to choose a path of torment, of suffering – to carry the cross of people’s shame! Such attributes are a rarity!
Leaders nowadays are what former President Ian Khama called ‘Vultures’– they are birds of carrion, they prey on their subjects as would vultures on carrion! But the few exceptions from this norm, which dare swim across the uncharted waters, do prove by their abiding faith and bravery, the truism that leadership is not for the faint-hearted.
For indeed leaders are expected to rise beyond the common; they must see beyond the fickle-minded masses whose opinions are swayed by emotions and often concern themselves with the present than the future!
And so I ask this week, what really is all this noise over Cabinet reshuffle about? Is the Finance Ministry sacrosanct, is it untouchable such that its incumbent is beyond reproach? Again what’s wrong with the Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP) who is also Secretary to the Cabinet being appointed Ambassador at Large in anticipation and preparation for his next assignment at the regional economic bloc, SADC? It is fine to be sceptical, but sometimes we need to understand the dynamics of leadership and governance before we criticise. Here’s my sixpence say on the cabinet reshuffle that saw Peggy Serame pack her bags from Investment, Trade and Industry to assume her new role as purse-keeper at the Finance and Economic Development Ministry. I have great respect for Dr. Thapelo Matsheka, the former finance minister, as an economist. In fact his handling of economic and financial issues and spot-on responses during debates at Parliament, attest to his impeccable record. But in politics, it’s not all about academic and practical qualifications, there’s also the element of politics! But then, we are all clutching at straws here, because until the appointing authority (President), who is not bound by any law to divulge reasons for his reshuffle, tells us why he did what he did, we can only engage in conjecture and suppositions! Indeed I have heard some suggestions that President Mokgweetsi Masisi is allegedly in a campaign to drive Matsheka’s company, Fiducia (Pty) Ltd from a lucrative contract with Bank of Botswana pension fund by supposedly buying a stake in AoN, which is said to be in line for purchasing by Lucara Managing Director, Naseem Lahri. Some are already touting this line of speculation to ‘demonstrate’ the extent of Masisi’s avaricious appetite for wealth and propensity for corruption! Well, as for me, I challenge the Presidency to react through an official statement either distancing the president from this envisaged transaction or indeed confirming the veracity of the claim.
Additionally the Presidency must walk the talk by enacting a Freedom of Information Act to enable especially journalists, researchers, students and the public to access information that is hoarded in government offices and kept away from prying eyes. In this way, it would be easy to cross-check such claims not only with Companies and Intellectual Property Authority but also with the Register that is kept by the Office of the President (OP) in accord with the Law on Declaration of Assets and Liabilities. Besides these arguments, one can never tell if Matsheka did not himself approach the President requesting to be relieved of the post given its demands or sensing the political volatility in his Lobatse constituency.
In any case, if one considers the fact that Matsheka was initially not the first choice candidate for that constituency, this reasoning becomes all the more plausible! Again, there could be a rift between the two men, I cannot vouch for this, but my take is that reshuffling cabinet is the sole prerogative of the president for which he answers to no one but himself!
Let’s be clear that this prerogative is as old as the Republic itself and doesn’t begin with the incumbent president. In fact I recall Khama using it to appoint three Vice Presidents during his term. As for Peggy Serame, well, I really would have loved to see her excel at Investment, Trade and Industry where she was formerly Permanent Secretary before her ascendance to Parliament by way of Special Election dispensation. Then again, it’s not about what I want, but what the President deems fit for his government and the country at large. Peggy has been something of a hit with the imbibers especially during those trying times of lockdowns and restricted movements when bars, bottle-stores, pubs and entertainment centres were shut down to fight the novel Corona virus.
She will be sorely missed. We can only hope that Mmusi Kgafela will readily fill those big boots. In fact, perhaps Mmusi is just what the doctor ordered for ITI ministry given his legal background and no-nonsense attitude, which have earned him the moniker, ‘Section’! I guess very soon Mmusi will be quoting all the imbibers and entertainers the relevant sections of the law pertaining to their requests for opening of bars, discos etal or the extension of trading hours!
Meantime, Matsheka will have to deal with infrastructure and housing needs of the country. He may as well surprise us all by restoring the mandate of the Botswana Housing Corporation and lowering the ridiculous so-called market rentals that render tenants impecunious all year round! And finally, Elias Magosi’s appointment as Ambassador at Large within the Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation is the quintessential quid pro quo to bolster his chances for the ultimate prize of Executive Secretary for SADC. In any case he still remains PSP while Emmah Peloetletse acts in that position pending conclusion of the elections for the head of the regional economic bloc in August.
Only then will we know, what happens. If Magosi wins at SADC, then Peloetletse may or may not be appointed the substantive PSP (again it’s the president’s call), but if he flunks, he will return to his post as PSP.
Magosi needs this break to focus his energies on securing this country the SADC position. And on a parting note, I doff my hat to First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz who announced during this week’s party’s 8th Congress and 60th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Socialist Character of the Cuban Revolution – that he’ll be handing the baton to another revolutionary – most probably President of the Republic and Political Bureau member Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez - to defend the homeland. Raul is brother to the late Fidel Castro, the Commander who led the Cuban Revolution since the overthrow of the American-backed regime of Col. Fulgencio Batista on 8th January 1959 until his death in November 25, 2016.
We hope the new American administration presided over by Joe Biden will re-enact Barack Obama’s policies towards Cuba by completely lifting the criminal trade embargo against the island.