Africa-Press – Botswana. Dikgosi deserve commendation for their contribution to making Batswana a closely-knit fabric that the nation has evolved into over the course of time.
Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Mr Setlhabelo Modukanele said at a Dikgosi Forum held in the outskirts of Lobatse that having been the glue that held communities together for centuries, dikgosi were indeed central to nation building.
He said the peace, stability, tranquillity and the unity that merafe in Botswana had become synonymous with, were not a result of chance, but had been choreographed by dikgosi over time as the bogosi institution laid the foundation for the post-independence system of governance.
Allaying fears that today’s system of governance was rendering bogosi increasingly irrelevant and was therefore threatening its existence, he said given the strong foundation that the institution had laid, there was no way it would be rendered obsolete.
“There is never going to be a time where we will feel that we should do away with the bogosi institution. What can only happen is to change with the times,” he said, noting that bogosi evolving with the passage of time would ensure that it remained relevant and continued to be of service to the nation.
The assistant minister also implored dikgosi to use their influence to champion progressive initiatives such as the Mindset Change campaign and the Reset and Reclaim agenda, saying them being at the forefront of such would ensure the buy-in of communities and the subsequent success of the programmes.
Chairperson of Ntlo Ya Dikgosi, Kgosi Puso of Batlokwa said while Botswana had clung to bogosi, unlike a number of African countries that had abolished the institution of traditional leadership, there remained a lot to be done to make bogosi visible, functional and empowered enough to play its role more effectively.
Kgosi Puso likewise credited bogosi for the peace and stability that Botswana enjoyed, and observed that having always been the central pillar of national cohesion, dikgosi today continued to play several key roles in the governance structures of the country, hence their relevance should not be questioned.
However, he said a couple of interventions were necessary to ensure dikgosi was more effective in their roles, citing among those the need for a thorough review of Bogosi Act in order to close certain gaps that exist in the law.
He said there was also a need for capacitation of dikgosi through training.
“How do we empower dikgosi in terms of capacity building?
The world is changing, and as it changes, how do we help put dikgosi in a position to face this changing world?” he asked rhetorically.
He said the Department of Tribal Administration should forge partnerships with institutions of learning to capacitate dikgosi through the development and delivery of courses essential for effective and sound leadership.
Kgosi Puso added that affording dikgosi adequate contemporary infrastructure and certain key personnel would also contribute greatly to them performing their role with minimal impediment.
The former, he said, entailed affording them adequate office space not only proportionate to their reputation, but also requisite to the integrity of the institution of bogosi.
Regarding personnel, Kgosi Puso said dikgosi needed researchers who would help enhance the quality of their work as well as communications officers to improve on the visibility of their work and that of bogosi as a whole.
He, in addition, noted that with the multiple responsibilities that dikgosi had that included social cohesion, nation building, and culture preservation, it was worrisome that the Department of Tribal Administration got allocated a paltry budget each financial year.
The status quo affects the work of dikgosi as it hampers the manner in which they discharge their responsibilities, he said.
Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Ms Gabatlotlane Mogapi said the inaugural three-day dikgosi forum was an acknowledgement of the need to meet and talk about issues pertinent to the institution of bogosi, especially in light of dikgosi being one of the cornerstones of governance.
Themed A re Chencheng, she said the forum provided a platform where dikgosi would deliberate on what it would take to transform bogosi as well the role dikgosi would play to take their place at the table with respect to the development and advancement of the country.
The forum, which brought together dikgosi from across the country, included presentations and discussions on a couple of issues among them nation-building, mindset change and the review of the Bogosi Act.
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