While Botswana has enjoyed an unprecedented run as Africa’s “beacon” and “oasis” of stability, recent years have witnessed a marked decline in state performance indicators. The 2024 Afrobarometer study paints a stark picture of public sentiment: citizens decry economic mismanagement and soaring unemployment, with 60.3 per cent of respondents expressing dissatisfaction with the country’s overall direction. This data reveals how profoundly public trust in state institutions has eroded.
Since independence, Botswana’s officials demonstrated remarkable prudence in managing diamond revenues, channelling them into education, health, infrastructure, and social welfare programmes. These investments yielded impressive results: absolute poverty declined significantly, literacy rates soared, and living standards improved markedly across the nation. This success story explains why Batswana traditionally refer to the state as their “parent”—an entity expected to provide for citizens’ basic needs and wants. The state earned this trust through consistent delivery, functioning as a reliable provider in the manner of a caring parent.
Yet recently, this “parent” has failed to meet her “children’s” expectations, leaving citizens increasingly disillusioned—a sentiment reflected in Botswana’s low ranking on the World Happiness Index. This palpable displeasure with a state that can no longer create jobs, reduce inequalities, or account transparently for public expenditure culminated in the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) losing power after 58 years of uninterrupted rule.
The Diamond Crisis
Perhaps most devastating for Botswana’s economy—which depends heavily on diamond exports for government revenue—is the collapse in diamond sales. Multiple factors converge to create this crisis: weakening global demand, the rise of laboratory-grown diamonds, and shifting attitudes among younger generations who increasingly view natural diamonds negatively. When the United Democratic for Change (UDC)—a coalition comprising the Botswana National Front (BNF), Botswana People’s Party (BPP), and Alliance for Progressives (AP)—assumed power in November 2024, it inherited a state on its knees.
The pressing question becomes: how will the new government address these interconnected crises of unemployment, economic decline, inequality, institutional distrust, and accountability failures?
The UDC manifesto promised transformative change, and since taking office, the coalition has unveiled an ambitious reform agenda. The vision centres on creating a more participatory, human-rights-based state focused on delivering results rather than perpetuating bureaucratic processes. Through enhanced inclusion, accountability, and participatory governance, the government aims to strengthen—and fundamentally alter—the social contract between state and citizens, shifting from paternalistic provider to democratic enabler.
Four Pillars of Transformation
This envisaged transformation of the state apparatus rests on four foundational pillars. First, creating an enabling environment for employment generation. Second, establishing inclusive and needs-tested social protection systems. Third, restoring public trust through transparent and participatory governance. Fourth, decentralising decision-making by strengthening public participation and transferring meaningful power to local authorities. The Botswana Economic Transformation Plan (BETP) promises to diversify the economy through job-creating projects in catalytic sectors, moving beyond diamond dependency.
The state prioritises rebuilding public trust through transparency, ethical leadership, merit-based public service appointments, and robust accountability mechanisms. Traditional consultative platforms like the *kgotla* are being revitalised to foster open dialogue and restore confidence in public institutions. Meanwhile, new consultation mechanisms specifically designed to engage youth remain under development, acknowledging the need to connect with younger generations who feel particularly alienated from traditional governance structures.
Addressing economic inequalities requires fundamental reform of the social protection system, transforming it from a fragmented, welfare-oriented approach to a comprehensive, needs-based, and empowerment-driven model. The state seeks to construct an integrated social protection framework that links assistance with skills development, local economic participation, and community support networks. This approach aims not merely to protect vulnerable groups but to enable their active contribution to national development—a shift from dependency to empowerment.
Finally, Botswana emphasises meaningful public participation and genuine decentralisation. Unlike previous exercises in symbolic consultation, new participation frameworks ensure communities influence policy from inception through implementation. Decentralisation is being reconceptualised not simply as bringing services closer to citizens, but as transferring real decision-making authority and fiscal power to local governments and community structures. This shift aims to enhance responsiveness, equity, and local ownership of development initiatives. The government has completed a decentralisation policy scheduled for parliamentary debate in November 2025, while a public participation bill currently under development will mandate citizen engagement at every stage of law and policy development.
Whether these ambitious state reforms will successfully create employment, reduce inequalities, and rebuild public trust and accountability remains uncertain at this early stage. However, the die has been cast: Botswana’s state apparatus is attempting a fundamental transformation from paternalistic parent to democratic enabler, recognising that the old model of governance has exhausted its potential in an era of depleted diamond revenues and heightened citizen expectations.
This article is part of a series on global discussions about the state and government, produced in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
Galaletsang Dintsi is a programme manager at Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Botswana. Her role is to conceptualise programmes and conduct research on thematic areas related to the support of democracy. She holds a Masters degree in Politics and International Relations and a BA in Social Sciences (Public Administration & Political Science) both from the University of Botswana.
Kabo Diamond Moseki is an accomplished development practitioner with two decades of experience spanning the public, private, civil society, and international development sectors. A Mandela Washington Fellow and Chevening Scholar, Kabo also completed the prestigious Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Youth Leadership Program (YLTP) in 2013. He is deeply committed to advancing socio-economic development and restoring dignity to vulnerable communities.
