- Former president shares his election wish to see current govt replaced
- Says new De Beers deal was led by inexperienced negotiators
BONGANI MALUNGA
Former Botswana president Ian Khama has stated his wish to see President Mokgweetsi Masisi “thrown” out of office in next month’s general elections.
According to him, his wish is something that a majority of the nation is “working towards” as the country heads to the polls on 30 October.
Khama made the remarks in an appearance on the Khumbza Afrika Amplified podcast uploaded on YouTube last week, saying he still plays an active role in Botswana politics through virtual means.
Majority of citizens
“The outcome that I am wishing for, the outcome that the majority of the citizens are working for, is for the incumbent president to be thrown out of office,” he said.
“They have failed the nation terribly since taking office in 2018. That is certainly an outcome that I hope for to try to get Botswana back to what it used to be and make us proud once again of a country that we used to live in.”
“The reputation that we used to have in terms of good governance, democracy and abiding by the rule of law and human rights has been thrown out of the window under the current regime.
Inexperienced negotiators
“It is certainly my wish and hope to see this regime out of office. I will be happy with whoever the majority of the public vote for other than the incumbent.”
Khama also took a swipe at the government’s new deal with De Beers, saying it showed inexperience and a short-sighted approach by those negotiating on behalf of Botswana.
According to the former president, the deal experienced numerous hiccups due to the short-sighted approach of the government’s negotiators.
For themselves
“There were some difficulties between the government and De Beers in negotiating a new arrangement,” he said.
“That was because it was done by people who are inexperienced, who don’t understand the importance of partnership led by the incumbent president.
“They were trying to get for themselves something the company (De Beers) was not ready to offer. We have been struggling with our revenue from diamonds. You have to plan for the future.
“You should not only plan to get as much out of it as you can now and not care about the consequences. In the past when we negotiated such deals, we were planning for the future and future generations.”