Where There Is a Will, There Is a Way
August 17, 2026Innovation, technology & entrepreneurship
August 17, 2026
The values which have remained constant in my life and career – hard work, honesty, a quest for learning, empathy for those less fortunate; respect for others, gratitude and humility – were instilled in me from a young age, by my teacher parents who kept the same strict regime of discipline as they did at school.
They encouraged us to read, debate, and to be curious about the world outside home and school, hence my early interest in community and global issues.
Botswana is often praised for its rule of law and democratic culture. What do you believe are the pillars that have sustained this — and what vulnerabilities must we now confront?
The pillars that have sustained our rule of law and democratic culture are firstly our traditional kgotla system, which provided a solid ground for the introduction and entrenchment of modern democratic principles. A second pillar, which coincides with the theme of our conversation is visionary leadership: we have been blessed with a number of leaders, starting with our traditional leaders or dikgosi, who had the responsibility to govern in a consultative manner, keeping families and communities together. These leaders then had the foresight to cede the country’s governance and natural resources to a modern nation state, and successive governments in turn conducted the affairs of the country in a responsible manner.
A third pillar is the peace loving and tolerant nature of the people of Botswana, who managed to maintain an island of peace in the midst of raging liberation and civil wars in the subcontinent, often at a great sacrifice.
As with any success story, there will be vulnerabities we should look out for, the main one being complacency. While we should celebrate our achievements, we should realise that other countries around us have achieved – or are registering similar or even higher achievements. We should be careful not to dwell in or revel in the past, but look to rising to even higher levels of democratic excellence in future.
In a world where constitutions are challenged and courts politicised, how can Botswana preserve the integrity of its institutions while still embracing necessary reform?
Constitutions are the founding documents on which true democracies are based; they define the manner in which a country will be governed, the fundamental rights and responsibilities of citizens and remedies in case they are violated. However, constitutions are not static and unchangeable; but any reforms should be for the purpose of improvement not regression, they should be for empowerment, not disempowerment of people.
Constitutions such as ours establish certain principles including separation of powers and judicial independence, and there should be no place for politicization of the courts, which should adjudicate all disputes fairly without fear or favour. All judicial officers should reflect deeply on the solemn oaths they make when they assume their offices, and recognize the immense responsibility that comes with their duties.
In addition to the judiciary, we should jealously guard and preserve the integrity and independence of our constitutionally established institutions such as Parliament, its committees, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) and the Judicial Services Commission (JSC). Other statutory investigative bodies include the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC;
Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA); the Directorate on Intelligence and Security (DIS), which are critical in ensuring evidence-based decision making and avoiding impunity.
A competent and impartial civil service is a critical component of a functioning democracy, in order to ensure good governance and the efficient delivery of services to the public.
Of importance is that appointments to these institutions should be done in accordance with established procedures, in a transparent manner and based on merit; and their advice, which should be objective, must be taken seriously, and not ignored. To do otherwise opens the door to impunity and arbitrariness.
It follows therefore that the empowerment of women in all these spheres is both a human right and an economic imperative – it has been proven that successful countries are those where women are given equal opportunities to participate in their development.
This should not be surprising because to do otherwise excludes half of the population from contributing, and deprives the country from benefitting from their efforts and talents. Moreover, meaningful gender justice should entail a positive change in the manner in which women are perceived and treated at home, in school, at the workplace, in the street and everywhere- the high levels of violence against women reflect that we still have a lot of work to do in this regard.
We often speak of development in economic terms. But what does legal and moral development look like — and how should it shape the nation’s progress?
Real development should go beyond economic growth as measured in the traditional sense of a country’s GDP, per capita income etc; the benefits of this growth should be more evenly spread among the population, and improve the quality of life of the majority, not only the few.
Although we have achieved high levels of economic development, and many Batswana have free or affordable access to basic services such as education and health, as well as social safety nets/programmes, we need to go beyond this. We must close the large income gaps that continue to challenge us, because development is also about equity, and is both a human right and a moral imperative.
Young people today are deeply aware, globally connected, and impatient for change. What must the next generation of leaders understand about power, accountability, and service?
We live in a globally interconnected world, and young people today can access all kinds of information on social media, the internet and through the use of artificial intelligence. This presents both opportunities and challenges, and requires discipline and resilience, especially in the face of the current high rate of youth unemployment. It cannot be easy for young people to understand that they need to be patient, when they cannot find work or make a decent living.
Many will not have the same opportunities as we had to serve their country in government, and we need to equip them with the necessary skills to create their own jobs and make an income. But we also need to lead by example, and leaders should go beyond words and demonstrate by their deeds that power is about service and accountability, not self-enrichment or personal status.
When you reflect on Botswana in 2040, what kind of republic do you hope we have become — and what values must we hold onto, no matter how the world changes?
In the year 2040, my sincere hope is that at that time, Botswana will have further deepened the quality of its adherence to democracy, the rule of law and human rights. I hope that Botswana in 2040 would have diversified its economy and attained a higher level of economic development that is sustainable, improved livelihoods, and substantially reduced the income gap between its people. It should be a nation that protects its environment, engaging constructively with others to provide multilateral solutions, while continuing to be grounded in, and guided by the core and timeless value of botho, which is reflected in mutual respect, empathy and humility.