6. Critical issues
During the Civil Society workshop organised in September 2001, participants worked in 4 groups to determine priority issues of sustainable development for Botswana. Those groups were (1) Land management, agriculture, drought and desertification, poverty and human settlements; (2) Industry, consumption and production patterns, trade and environment, sustainable tourism, science and technology, biotechnology, atmosphere, energy, transport, waste and toxic chemicals; (3) Integrated decision-making, institutional arrangements, information, education and awareness, demographics and international law; (4) biodiversity, flora and fauna.
Many of the issues debated are obviously interlinked. While most stakeholders from within Civil Society who were interviewed for this report insisted that priority issues should not be an excuse to ignore other very important issues, the consensus is that poverty and HIV/AIDS are Botswana’s major concerns. This is in agreement with the UN System’s 2001 Common Country Assessment (CCA), which lists Poverty, AIDS and Environment as the main concerns.
6.1 Critical issue 1: Poverty
Poverty is essentially a problem of internal distribution, since Botswana’s remarkable economic growth has basically benefited half the country, with 48% of the population below the poverty line despite an impressive per capita GDP. It is also a problem of urban/rural divide, with the rural population, especially rural dwellers, being the worst affected. The problem also knows a gender imbalance, with female-headed households (FHH) much more affected than men. An important factor in these imbalances, is the lack of access to resources for these vulnerable groups, especially land.
Given the complex structure of poverty, Civil Society feels there is a clear need for a local analysis of poverty. This would allow a clear breakdown of its causes and components, and an establishment of local indicators, objectives, goals and milestones. While recently developed indicators such as the Capability Poverty Measure (CPM) and Human Development Index (HDI) are useful general yardsticks that go beyond income poverty, there is a need for identification and monitoring of other relevant local factors and their role in poverty in Botswana. That there is a real need to define and set out common goals and targets is also clear from the language currently used, which goes from combating through reducing and alleviating to eradicating poverty.
A comprehensive analysis of poverty, with participation of all stakeholders, would equally address the problem of sensitisation. There are indications that currently poor people tend to be stigmatised for failing to be part of progress, or for marginalising themselves.
Empowerment and capacity building are another essential component of a durable solution to the problem of poverty in Botswana. Short-term relief and compensation may actually disempower citizens. In an era where the country is concerned with the availability of human resources as a consequence of the AIDS pandemic, it is seen as crucial to develop and use the available human resources more efficiently. This includes making better use of specific groups, such as minority groups with extensive indigenous knowledge, women who are still not allowed opportunities to achieve their full potential, and refugees, who can play an active role in the development of their host country.
Efficient and sustainable use of natural resources has to be achieved to successfully fight poverty. This includes strategic land-use planning, promotion of suitable crops and proven sustainable techniques such as Community-Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM), as well as comprehensively inventorying the country’s biodiversity and ensuring that the rights to its use are accorded to the local communities.
6.2 Critical issue 2: HIV/AIDS
The battle against the AIDS pandemic, which is severely affecting Botswana, with official estimates of close to 300.000 Batswana living with HIV, has to be a high priority for the country. Although this is now agreed throughout all sectors of society, there is still an attitude of stigmatisation and denial around the disease.
Government has taken a number of steps, such as the programme to prevent mother-to-child transmission and information/awareness programmes; and the past years have seen a large number of activities funded by local or international donors, implemented by an increasing number of institutions, often NGOs or CBOs. Some large companies have also initiated internal campaigns.
While funding for these projects is currently readily available, there is a lack of coordination and overall planning which is likely to reduce their overall efficiency, and may even impact negatively on future funding. Interventions are in some cases donor-driven and may not be appropriate to the realities of life in Botswana.
It is therefore recommended to improve the consultative process and to invest in research on the underlying causes for the extremely high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Botswana, and to establish a national strategy including identification of localised goals. If the reasons for the rapid spread are thoroughly identified, a strategic programme with involvement of all stakeholders can target specific areas of concern. Most of the ensuing programmes could be implemented through Civil Society.
To successfully implement HIV/AIDS-awareness programmes, it is imperative to be able to communicate with the target population. Given that one in every three Batswana is illiterate, and that a considerable percentage do not speak Setswana or English, a successful campaign will require a communication strategy inclusive of all languages used in the country.
There are many links between poverty and HIV. Female and Children Headed Household (FHH and CHH) figures have sharply risen as a result of the epidemic, and these families have great difficulties to break out of poverty. Having to care for sick relatives makes the situation worse. Conversely, women and children from poor households are vulnerable to infection when they are economically forced to grant sexual favours in exchange for goods. Rape, especially child rape, is a growing problem in Botswana; and offenders are more likely to get away with their crime when the family of the victim has less means to react.
6.3 Other critical issues
While many issues are inter-related –and indeed often directly impact on poverty and/or HIV/AIDS- a number of major local issues should again be emphasised.
Vulnerable groups
In addition to the health and security inequities for women, the overall gender imbalance in Botswana remains a critical issue. Any sustainable development which does not include full empowerment and protection of women and girls is bound to fail. Certainly in a society where households are increasingly run by women or even children, and where concerns over the availability of human resources as a result of the AIDS pandemic are expressed, the country needs to provide an environment conducive to women reaching their full potential. This is the objective of several NGO programmes, such as Emang Basadi’s programme for women in politics and the cooperation with the Botswana Police to improve handling of abuse and rape cases.
Hunter-gatherer groups are among the poorest communities in Botswana. Any poverty alleviation programme needs to include them as a high priority, whether they are called indigenous people or remote area dwellers.
In addition to full access to resources (land ownership), there is a need for political, economic and social empowerment, such as representation in District Councils where they are currently rarely represented, and capacity building to manage CBNRM programmes and gain a sustainable income.
With the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the Human Rights NGO Ditshwanelo has worked on a Central Kalahari Game Reserve Management Plan, which includes core zones, community use zones and tourism development zones. Unfortunately, the Cabinet has until now rejected this plan. Nonetheless, it is hoped that this initiative can be the basis of a solution and a model for other areas. Successful programmes can only be developed in a participatory manner, whereby beneficiaries are owners rather than recipients of development processes and thus provide the identification of needs, requirements and desirable solutions as perceived from within their own culture.
-> Indigenous peopleare defined by the UN Working Group on Indigenous People (1982) as “existing descendents of the peoples who inhabited the present territory of a country wholly or partially at the time when persons of a different culture or ethnic origin arrived (…) and reduced them to a non-dominant or colonial situation, who today live more in conformity with their particular social, economic and cultural customs and traditions than with the institutions of which they now form a part, under a state structure which incorporates mainly the national, social and cultural characteristics of other segments of the population which are predominant”
The working definition adds that it includes “isolated or marginalised groups” not having suffered conquest if they
(1) are “descendents of groups which were in the territory (…) at the time when other groups (…) arrived” ;
(2) “(…) have preserved almost intact the customs and traditions of their ancestors (…)” ;
(3) “are, even if only formally, placed under a State structure which incorporates national, social and cultural characteristics alien to theirs” |
Urbanisation
Close to half the population of Botswana now lives in urban areas. In other words, 80% of the population increase since independence –500,000 people- have gone to urban areas. Problems related to urbanisation are closely related to carrying capacity and limited natural resources.
An urban population consumes several times the amount of water and energy of the same rural numbers. Waste and pollution are concentrated and thus increase risks.
Water- and energy-saving technology and techniques are available nationally and internationally, as are appropriate building technologies and waste management skills. Unfortunately, little of this knowledge is currently put in practice. For urban areas the main issue is management and/or planning. The ongoing multi-stakeholder partnership coordinated by ST to develop an Environmental Vision for Gaborone is therefore an important initiative. The main concern is whether it will actually be implemented.
->Problems related to urbanisation
A resident of the Gaborone landfill; the dam behind her supplies Gaborone’s water ;Children playing with dumped rubbish in an oil-polluted pool of water. |
Rural development, agriculture and food security
In addition to improved urban planning, rural development and decentralisation are the appropriate way to slow urbanisation. Agriculture, including subsistence agriculture, should be encouraged; women and minority groups need access to productive land; rural infrastructure and access to health facilities and schools with skilled staff needs to be improved. It should be assessed whether the incentives for farming and rural development provided by GoB equally reach all communities, and if not the disadvantaged communities should be assisted to tap into those resources.
As the current food crisis in southern Africa painfully demonstrates, food security is essential to allow sustainable development. However, Botswana imports the vast majority of its food supplies. Agricultural development to achieve food security through self-sufficiency needs to be part of the long-term vision for the country.
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