POLITICS AND DEVELOPMENT

GOVERNMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

Explanation of concepts

1. Politics:
 It involves decision making and distributing resources; it is also about dealing
with conflict and disagreements.
 In general, politics is about control, power and authority.
 Politics involves the government of a country, how its resources are used and
who decides how it is organized and ruled.

Politics take places in a country/government and also in institutions. We make political

decisions in the small groups that we belong to, i.e. in the family, church, schools,
clubs and associations and so on. Every group has rules about how it is going to be
organized, and about whom it is going to make decisions, carry out certain duties and
see that the rules are obeyed. All these are examples of politics.

2. The state/government:
It is a political authority inside a clearly defined territory, exercising full control over its
inhabitants, e.g. South Africa & Botswana are states.

3. Power:
It is the ability to make people do what you want, even if it is against their will. The
power of the state should be used for the good of the people though it is sometimes
unwisely used.

4. Authority:
This is whereby power is exercised or used by people or the government who have an
accepted right to use it.

TYPES OR SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT

1. MONARCHY:
A system of government in which a King or Queen (a monarch) rules the country e.g
Swaziland, Morocco.

CHARACTERISTICS
 Monarchs gain their position through inheritance that is leadership is
hereditary. The eldest son of the King automatically becomes the next King when
his father dies.
 The head of state is a king or queen.

ADVANTAGES OF A MONARCHY
 They maintain traditions (culture).
 They create an unchanging stabilizing influence.
 They are less corrupted as political heads of state.

DISADVANTAGES OF A MONARCHY
 The system is undemocratic, as the people are never consulted on the choice of
the monarch.

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  Monarchies are hereditary, so there is little guarantee that the successor to the
throne will be competent enough to rule.
 The monarch may become corrupt and accumulate great wealth at the expense
of the people.

Even though monarchies were common in the past, there are still countries in
Europe, Asia, and Africa that have monarchs. Examples are:
In Europe; United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway
In Africa: Swaziland, Lesotho.
In Asia: Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

However, most of these Monarchies have been replaced by constitutional Monarchy,

where the head of the state is a Prime Minister who is elected just like Presidents.
Kings have limited powers and their role is mainly ceremonial e.g. UK

2. PARLIMENTARY / REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

This is a system of government where people are elected to go and represent others
in parliament for a limited period of time. Political authority lies with the people. It
is a government of the people by the people. In other words, the government is a
choice of the majority of the people.

CHARACTERISTICS
 People can choose their leader by voting in free elections.
 A number of political parties are allowed to exist and compete with each other in
elections and citizens participate by joining political parties.
 Elected representatives are accountable to the people who elected them ( i.e.
they do what the electors want )
 There are guaranteed basic freedoms such as freedom of speech, freedom of
movement, etc).
 At election time, the party with a majority number of votes forms the
government.
 The leader of the majority party automatically becomes the leader of the country
and Ministers are chosen from such parties in case of Botswana.
 There is limited use of force.
 Elections are held at regular intervals, for example, in Botswana they are held
after every 5 years. In USA elections are held after 4 years.
 Every adult (18 years or older) has the right to vote. (universal suffrage)
 The parliament makes the laws for the country

ADVANTAGES OF REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

 There is popular participation in decision making.
 Basic freedom is guaranteed.
 Development is relevant to the people it is intended to help as they are the ones
who choose the representatives in the parliament.
 There is accountability and transparency in governing people.
 There is limited use of force; therefore, disputes are solved through decisions
and persuasion instead of war.
 The Constitution is upheld and everybody respects and adheres to it. A
constitution is a legal document stating how the country should be governed.

DISADVANTAGES OF REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

 Elections are costly, that is, they are time consuming and financially wasteful.

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  Sometimes government officials run unfair elections, and pretend they have won
many votes when they actually lost the elections, and this may lead to political
turmoil / crisis.
 Some government officials are corrupt, they accept bribes to make decisions that
favour certain people
 Some people may abuse freedom of speech into character assassination and
mud slugging.
 Consultation of people at grassroots (local People) is a delay and a financial
waste.
 Some parties are formed along tribal, ethnic, religious, or racial lines, in this
case sacrificing and compromising national unity.
 Development projects become election baits than genuine people’s wants.

3. ONE- PARTY STATE

This is whereby there is only one legally recognized political party in a country and it is
the ruling party. This party prohibits any other party to stand for elections. E.g. After
independence of Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi the governments introduced one party state
and other parties became dormant.

CHARACTERISTICS
 There is only one legally recognized party.
 There may be elections, but candidates will be from the same party.
 Opposition is illegal and officially suppressed.

ADVANTAGES
 There is unity in the country since there is less argument; many parties are said
to divide people.
 This prevents tribal conflicts, because in countries where there are many
different tribes parties are formed along tribal lines.
 Parties are believed to divide people into social classes, so one party prevents
social class formation.
 It is cheap, as costly elections are avoided.
 There is continuity as ruling party can plan for longer periods for it is
guaranteed a continuous reign (rule)

DISADVANTAGES
 Basic freedoms are denied.
 There is little transparency and accountability / answerability.
 There is less participation in decision making because all decisions come from
above.
 The ruling party may begin to abuse its power and object criticism.

Nowadays most African countries which used One Party State have returned to the
system of parliamentary democracy.

4. DICTATORSHIP
It is a political system whereby only one person or a small group of people (e.g. the
army) controls the government and have absolute (total) power.

CHARACTERISTICS
 Elections are never held.
 The government simply dictates to people, telling them what to do.
 People have no power at all, they are powerless.

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  Military leaders, who seize control of the government, often set up dictatorships
by force.
 There is serious use of force to silence those who disagree with government.
 Dictators often serve their own interests and develop their areas of origin
therefore affecting the economy of the country negatively as there is less equity
in distribution of resources.
 Leaders have unlimited power and often abuse it.
 Leaders make laws and people adhere to them.

DECISION MAKING PROCESSES

In any political system, whether it is democracy or dictatorship, the way that decisions
are made is very important. Let’s consider who makes decisions and how they are
made.

1. CENTRALISED/TOP DOWN DECISION MAKING

This where by the national government/central government makes all the decisions,
here decisions are made at the top and passed to the people who are expected to carry
them out.

ADVANTAGES
 Decisions can be made at the best interest of the people, as the government
knows what the priorities of the country are.
 The national government is in a position to attract foreign investors and MNC’s
to develop the country.
 Development is directed along the lines of nationally agreed policies

DISADVANTAGES
 It is dictated from above without consulting the local people who are most
affected by it.
 It may serve the interest of politicians and large companies
 It may be contrary to local interest and priorities

2. DECENTRALISED DECISION MAKING / GRASSROOTS DECISION MAKING

It is when people from the bottom, either at council, village, or kgotla level make
suggestions which are then carried up by the authorities.

ADVANTAGES
 It involves local people in decision making
 It leads to developments that have local support
 It prevents conflict between the government and the people
 It reduces spending large sums of money

DISADVANTAGES
 It takes a long time since it has to pass through all the levels from below going
upward
 Officials may object to such decisions
 Projects may encounter shortages of money

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In Botswana people participate effectively in decision making at the local level through
the kgotla and VDC’s. Both men and women meet at the kgotla to draw up development
plans which are later included in the district development plans and finally in the
national development plan. Councilors and members of parliament take such decisions
up.

THE ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT

 Stimulating economic growth: the government can develop infrastructure

such as roads, railways, and telecommunications, to give producers access to
markets and raw materials/industries. The government can also invest directly
in industry e.g. building and running state corporations.
 Providing social welfare services: Governments can give people access to
health and education, building health centers such as hospitals, clinics,
building schools, paying doctors, nurses, and teachers and providing the
necessary equipment. Some governments go to the extent of offering such
services to citizens for free, e.g. Botswana.
 Keeping peace in the country: The government must avoid the use of force, it
can only be used to act against those suspected of breaking (e.g. by the police).
The army must be used only to defend the country or to help in emergencies.
 National building: Government must try to create a feeling of national unity
and belonging among all citizens. (Patriotism)
 Planning development: governments draw up national development plans,
usually for a period of 5 years.
 Representing people abroad: The government makes agreements with other
nations on behalf of the people. Governments decide on how to relate to other
countries and to international organizations. E.g. ambassadors, joining UNO,
SADC
 Caring for the environment i.e. through conservation
 Social justice- magistrate courts, high court

The role of government as seen above is to enhance social, economic and political
development. The interaction of social, ecological and political development can either
facilitate/speed up the realization of the above or frustrate development thus leading to
the following negative aspects of development.
 Having ambitious projects
 Corruption
 Excessive government spending
 Expanded government bureaucracy
 Over development of the state
 Rent seeking
 A predatory state
 Less financial accountancy and transparency
 Weak government

MOBILISATION OF RESOURCES

WHERE DOES THE GOVERNMENT GET THE MONEY FOR DEVELOPMENT?

(SOURCES OF GOVERNMENT REVENUE)

1. Taxes: There are different types of taxes as seen below

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  Income tax; People pay a certain amount of their salary or other income to the
government. Often rich people pay high taxes than poor people because their
income is higher
 Company / corporate tax; Businesses pay a percentage of their profits to the
government as tax.
 Sales tax; an amount is added to the price of goods sold, and this is sent to the
government. Liquor, tobacco, and petrol are often heavily taxed than basic
goods.
 Import duty; Import taxes are paid on all goods entering the country from
foreign countries.

2. Borrowing loans:
Governments borrow money at home or overseas. Interest is paid each year and the
whole amount has to be settled at an agreed time. Developing countries owe large sums
of money to the World Bank and it is difficult to repay such loans, as the interests are
high.

3. Licensing
Collecting license fees from road users, television viewers, and licensed hunters.

4. Foreign / International trade: That is, exportation of products and earning foreign
exchange.

5. Invitation of Multi National Corporations who invest and produce in the country and
pay tax.

6. Direct Foreign Investment: Investing abroad / outside the country (foreign reserves)

7. Imposing fines and penalties on wrong doers / law breakers

8. Production and selling

9. Running lotteries

10. Land reforms and paying rates.

11. Public Corporations

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EVALUATE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING ACTS

1. CITIZENSHIP ACT
A person born in Botswana shall be a citizen of Botswana by birth if at the time of his
birth;
a) His father was a citizen of Botswana or
b) In the case of a person out of wedlock, his mother was a citizen of Botswana.

2. MARRIAGE ACT
It informs us of:
 The solemnization and registration of marriages.
 The procedure of marriage
 What category of persons may not be married e.g. it prohibits insane persons
and persons below the age of 16 from marriage.
 It provides that minors (below the age of 21) shall not be married without the
consent of their lawful guardians.

3. MARRIAGE AND PROPERTY ACT

 Marriage in community of property and loss: here the married couple owns
property jointly and they also share losses. This type of marriage is a
disadvantage to women more especially if they are married to partners who
expose family to risk of being attached and sold in execution. However, this is a
popular type of marriage in Botswana, despite the fact that it reduces women to
minors and gives men marital powers.
 Marital power is the power the law gives to a husband to solely administer joint
property and permits him to do the following without his wife’s consent or
knowledge;

- Sell, donate or deal in any manner with joint property as he pleases.

- Whereas the wife is unable to make a legally binding agreement without her
husband’s consent or assistance.
- The wife is prohibited from taking a case to court or answer a case on her own
without the husband or his approval.