The Botswana National Front (BNF), an affiliate of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), is set to discuss a draft policy paper that proposes a structured approach to cadre deployment. Written by former BNF president Otsweletse Moupo, the paper, titled “The Relationship Between the Party and the State After the Attainment of State Power,” will be presented at the BNF's special policy conference scheduled for October 23 to 25. The paper aims to provide a framework for cadre deployment, emphasizing the importance of competence, political responsibilities, and state needs over party loyalty and patronage.
The proposed framework recommends that the BNF identify key positions in central and local government, state institutions, and parastatals for which suitably qualified party members could be considered. It also calls for the creation of a database of potential candidates. However, the paper draws a clear line between cadre deployment and the wholesale appointment of party members to government positions. Mr. Moupo warns that the policy must be applied with utmost care and flexibility, and selection and placement should not be influenced by nepotism, favoritism, or factionalism.
Middle-level positions and other jobs in the public service and parastatal sector should remain outside the cadre deployment system and continue to be filled through ordinary, merit-based recruitment. Instead, cadre deployment should be limited to positions considered strategically important to the implementation of the UDC government's political program. This approach aims to ensure that cadres are selected based on their ability to carry out the government's political objectives, rather than their party credentials.
The paper challenges the misconception among some party members that cadre deployment is a way to reward comrades for their loyalty or for helping the UDC win the election. Mr. Moupo argues that using cadre deployment as a reward system would create fertile ground for nepotism and corruption. He emphasizes that deployment should follow the party's political direction and clearly defined responsibilities, and cadres should be selected because they are "fit for purpose" and able to carry out the government's political objectives.
The BNF and the UDC are seeking to translate their political program into government policy and institutional reform. To achieve this, they will need a pool of cadres with the numbers, skills, and composition required to carry out that work. The paper argues that those appointed to strategic positions should be assessed against the political and administrative demands of each period, rather than on the basis of their party credentials alone.
The paper also addresses questions about the constitutionality, legality, and propriety of cadre deployment. Properly designed, it argues, the policy should not amount to the indiscriminate recruitment of party members or supporters into the public service as a reward for political loyalty. Instead, it should form part of a broader effort to enable the UDC to exercise its democratic mandate, strengthen its control over key executive functions, and accelerate institutional reform.
The paper places the argument within a broader assessment of Botswana's public service, acknowledging that it was widely regarded as professional and marked by a strong culture of integrity during the first three decades after independence. However, Mr. Moupo argues that this changed as elements within the former ruling BDP increasingly came to view state power as a means of gaining access to personal wealth and private capital. The consequences included institutional decline, waste of public resources, and the marginalization of public servants believed to be aligned with opposition parties.
Key points
- The BNF's proposed cadre deployment framework aims to ensure that appointments are guided by competence, political responsibilities, and state needs.
- The framework seeks to limit cadre deployment to strategically important positions, while merit-based recruitment continues for middle-level positions.
- The paper emphasizes the need for a principled and carefully defined approach to cadre deployment to avoid nepotism and corruption.
