It is essential for any visitor to Botswana to understand how very much more difficult it is to generalize about this country than it is others. Botswana is only forty years from nationwide poverty and a practically nonexistent economy, from inadequate education and an almost universal adherence to an intensely traditional, conservative, tribal way of life. In that short space of time the economy has expanded: cell phones, the Internet, corporate governance, big houses, expensive cars, and consumerism have become part of life—for some but not for all.
The young who have had the chance of a good education at college level and overseas experience are indistinguishable from their kind all over the world: for the most part bright, energetic, motivated, determined. But there are those at the opposite extreme: the elderly who have remained in their villages and continued with a way of life that has persisted down the years. And in between are those who are manifestly part of modern life but who hanker after the old ways, and those in the same group, who wish to appear worldly wise and sophisticated, yet who are not, and fear above all the possibility of being found out.
The situation carries another layer of complexity in the huge disparity between “haves” and “have nots:” the rich and the poor. The nouveau riche have quickly acquired all the attributes of indulgent, excessive consumerism, and it is not hard to see the first signs of obesity in them and their children. At the same time, the traditional values of intra- and inter-family support are coming under increasing strain, being sacrificed on the altar of “more and better.”
Living in Botswana, in any place, at any time, you will encounter anything from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first, and it behoves the visitor to stick to some fundamental rules, and to be patient, observant, and, especially, sensitive.
The need for recognition is paramount among Batswana, and this is true whether one is dealing with junior staff, supervisors, or managers. There is no more powerful piece of knowledge to possess than the fact that recognition is almost desperately sought and, when supplied, wins smiles and greater cooperation and effort. What form does recognition need to take? Anything: from a simple greeting through to thanks, a compliment, praise, acknowledgment of achievement, congratulations, and so on. Its antithesis is to ignore people, and this will not be well received at all: to ignore even a greeting is considered rude and offensive.
Respect, the handmaiden of recognition, is important to show. It takes the form of “seeing” people, recognizing their presence, never missing a chance to greet individuals, giving others a chance to say their piece (no matter how many times it has already been said), and exercising high levels of patience. Age and seniority are of considerable importance in Tswana life. Older members of a family expect and usually obtain great respect from their juniors. Children are taught to honor and obey their parents and seniors without hesitation or question and to submit to their authority, under the threat of penalty if need be. Older brothers always take precedence over younger brothers, whose services they can freely command.
The working and social environment in this country is highly competitive. The economy is growing rapidly, there is a severe shortage of technical and management skills at all levels, and many find themselves in positions that are at or above their skill and competency level. For personal and financial reasons such positions will be jealously guarded and every other possible competitor will be eyed with suspicion. Office politics can be lethal and staff routinely use words like “revenge,” “battles,” “jealousies,” and mention the need for “fairness.” Understandably enough, self-esteem is often low, and it is this that foreigners must manage carefully.
Fairness is often linked to “due process,” and many of the more modern Batswana managers stick rigidly to “process,” often as a protective mechanism (“If I make sure I stick to procedure, I can’t go wrong and can’t be criticized”).
I recently presided over a meeting with a number of somewhat elevated individuals attending. One person reported on the impending departure of three members of staff and mentioned the fine contribution they had made. I at once offered to write a “thank you—well done” note on behalf of the group, but was shot down in flames because it would not be “fair.” What, it was argued, would other members of staff feel if they left in the future and did not get a letter? Better say nothing to anybody!
Botswana suffers from the misfortune of being an oasis of peace, tranquility, and stability in an otherwise turbulent region. Add in its considerable (relative) wealth, and one has a powerful magnet that lures in the unemployed, vagrants, refugees, the ambitious, every shape and form of individual from abroad, all seeking to benefit from Botswana’s success. Local people consider these foreigners a threat: they are seen to be taking jobs from locals and, because of this, are often resented and sometimes exploited. Because of their circumstances, foreign workers—who are often very hardworking, motivated, and reliable—are extremely vulnerable to any threat that might affect their right to be in the country and to work.
Apart from the fact that foreign workers are seen as taking jobs from locals, it is also true that some expatriate staff—especially those with high-level specialist skills—are resented because of their earning capacity. The simple truth is that to employ a world-class consultant of one form or another from any First World country it is necessary to pay a First World salary. When these salaries are converted into local currency and the standard perquisites of the job are added in, such individuals will be seen as being extremely well paid, indeed, by local standards, as excessively paid, and as “ripping off” the country. Resentment follows. This aspect of foreign employment is not as bad now as it once was because senior local salaries have climbed, but the problem does make the newspapers from time to time.
Paradoxically, Botswana has many hundreds of students overseas, especially in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, all taking further studies. Equally, a large number work outside Botswana, especially in South Africa.
Most Batswana have not traveled outside the country; therefore, for the majority, there is simply no awareness of how lucky they are compared to elsewhere in Africa, by almost any measure one can think of. A consequence of this is that there is not a widespread sense of national pride. It is certainly beginning to appear, but it is not an attitude that immediately strikes one.
At the same time, there is definitely a sense of tribal pride, especially among the more traditional citizenry. It is easily possible to place the major tribes of Botswana in a pecking order, ranked from top to bottom, and in rural areas in particular this pecking order has a considerable impact upon employment and social opportunities.
Batswana are an extraordinarily patient and forgiving people. These are a people who have a tradition of survival in unusually harsh conditions. Wealth is a new phenomenon but, both now and in the past, devastating drought is not uncommon, unpredictable rains are the order of the day, crop failure is likely, and violent clashes with aggressive outsiders are not so far removed in time as to have been forgotten. These circumstances have shaped them and bred a form of stoicism. Even today, because so many things do not happen as they are expected to, people are amazingly accepting, and little objection is raised by the unexpected or by delays.
This happens a lot in Botswana—in banks, post offices, and government offices. The systems used elsewhere, with numbered tags and flashing signs, are not to be found, and so people form lines. The line is generally respected, but people do cut in. Women are more inclined to take a chance than men. Typically, Batswana kindly assume that there must be some good reason for it, and say nothing.
Conformity is a traditional inheritance. When the grip on life and survival was tenuous, one did not rock the boat. People did not argue with the chief; they did what they were told. People all agreed, conformed: “tall poppies,” those who stood out and tried to do or be something different were not encouraged. Today Batswana want to appear in the “right” clothes, with the “right” kind of car—and with a cell phone, of course! Naturally, this is changing, and innovation and creative ideas and people are emerging, but they do so against considerable resistance. Such changes are led almost exclusively by the young, talented, and better educated.
Experience shows that, despite the country’s successes, planning and organization is an area of weakness. This is encountered both in the public and private sectors, but more particularly in the latter, where individual responsibilities are invariably greater. There is a widespread lack of effective supervisory skills at all levels. This feeds into an unwillingness to confront, to demand compliance, to insist on specific performance in accordance with agreed standards and deadlines.
The avoidance of conflict is a marked trait among Batswana: one of their charms is that they are not a confrontational, aggressive people and will generally go to considerable lengths to deal with matters calmly and peacefully. The consequences of this are evident in every aspect of society: for example, the laws on traffic lights, drunk driving, and speeding are poorly enforced partly because it involves confronting and prosecuting others. A long tradition of conformity works against the exercise of initiative and the taking of personal responsibility in affairs outside their private lives.
It is probably true to say of the majority of Batswana that their attitude toward work is shaped by the recent traditional past. For example, it is much preferred that starting times accord with individual preference rather than be fixed at predetermined hours of the day: the view is that time should be a comfort, a convenience, not a master. Arriving late is a common problem.
The so-called Protestant work ethic is not generally part of people’s lives: work is something one has to do, for which one gets paid. For most Batswana it is an experience in which one is directed, told what to do—it is not one in which initiative is seen to have any role. Obviously, there are many exceptions, and modern ideas are becoming more and more widespread, but among the mass of workers such ideas have yet to take hold on a wide scale. There is a tendency for employees to lie low and play small in the modern work context, in which they may feel insecure, thus making it too easy for managers and supervisors to fall into the trap of a “master–servant” relationship.
It is not uncommon to hear, from Batswana themselves, “We Batswana are lazy,” but it is important not to misunderstand this statement. As we have seen, the country is changing from an agricultural into a modern, industrial society, and at this point in the process many of the old rhythms still persist. While there may seem at first sight to be some truth in the statement, Batswana can work as hard as anyone else when they wish to do so.
It is probably true to say that the vast majority of people work purely for the money, not for satisfaction or because of what they can bring to the job. Of course there are many, both young and old, who are actively seeking to develop themselves and their talents, who are self-motivated, who are committed to their work, and who aspire to achieve, not only for themselves but for their employers. However, there are very many more who might claim to identify with these goals but who, when all is said and done, will readily move to another job for a little more money every month.
The need to attend funerals has become a great excuse not to be at work, and it is extremely unwise to attempt to conduct business on Friday afternoon with any person, government or private sector who has sufficient authority to be “out”—because they will be!
This is not Botswana’s top-scoring characteristic! Appointments are routinely forgotten or ignored, and it is advisable to phone the day before to confirm and to phone again an hour or so before any appointment. Equally, timekeeping and punctuality is another problem area. The phrase “Botswana time” accurately implies prevailing attitudes toward punctuality. At the same time, however, and perhaps driven by necessity, Batswana have an extraordinary facility for successful improvisation so that lateness or delayed delivery can often be made up for in surprisingly inventive and creative ways.
There are more than twenty different tribes in Botswana, but tribalism is not an issue. It is the policy of government and the various Dikgosi to play down tribal differences and make more of a national identity. People, however, can tell at once from language or dialect to which group a person belongs, and will know where they stand in relation to one another in terms of the unspoken but widely recognized social hierarchy.
Families remain the basic unit of social organization and, in Botswana, are inclusive and very extended. With the rapid growth of cities and towns and the urban drift that accompanies it, however, families that traditionally were concentrated in a particular location are now far more geographically widespread than before, and this places destructive strains on family connectedness. Moreover, because of HIV/AIDS and the growing number of parentless dependants it produces, even greater demands are being made upon the extended family system, which is itself changing and becoming ever less able to cope with such additional burdens.
It is the aim of every young girl to be married and have children: there is great pride in mothering a child and rearing it. There is a considerable problem today with teenage pregnancies and with single-parent (mother) families. It is said that, before independence, it was very rare for young girls to have children out of marriage. Today it is a common occurrence and there has been much discussion as to its cause. Some point to poor or inadequate sex education at schools, which causes young people to experiment and leads to pregnancy. Others point out that young girls are having children at the same age today as was common four or five decades ago and suggest that it is not sexual behavior that has changed but that the age of marriage has been delayed. It is also true that, traditionally, it was never the mother, but the aunt, who spoke to a girl about sex: with the depredations of HIV/AIDS and the widespread distribution of families, it is much more difficult for this to happen today with, once again, ignorance leading to unwanted pregnancies.
As in the past, there is some stigma attached to being a single mother, but there are other difficulties also: extracting financial support from the father is, in many cases, a problem. Although there are laws about the payment of child support, they are not well enforced. Many girls receive no support at all and a child becomes dependent on its mother’s larger extended family. Family size has diminished in recent years. Typically, a woman now in her forties would have been one of six to ten children. Today in rural areas families still tend to be large, but in towns young, educated women are thinking of having only two or three children.
This is, as yet, an unresolved social issue. Traditionally, and perhaps superficially, men were on top and women second-class citizens. Women were not, however, completely powerless: behind the scenes they were always able to exercise some influence, however subtle and covert. As a modern nation, seeking acceptance in a modern world, Botswana has embraced international standards, including gender equality. At the government level, commendable strides have been made: there are female ministers, female MPs, and women heading such influential parastatal organizations as Tourism and BEDIA (an import and export development agency). Even at the local government level, the same changes are apparent: there are now two female kgosi, for example. The greatest resistance is encountered at the individual level. Especially among more traditional citizens and among the less well educated, the ideal of male dominance strongly prevails. As women want to feel more liberated and empowered, so such men feel more threatened and often become aggressive. Male on female domestic violence is an issue. The view that women are chattels and sex objects is widespread and partly explains the extensiveness of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in this country.
This situation leads to two interesting paradoxes: all Batswana of both genders want to be seen to be treated equally (see Recognition, above) and yet a huge percentage of men will not recognize women as equals. At the same time, if you want something done well (and this is a generalization), a woman can very often be a better bet than a man.
Attitudes are changing, but they die slowly. Many older men still look on women as possessions, and versions of that view, diluted in different ways, are widespread. At one extreme, women have few rights and must do as they are told: men have priority. There is very much greater egalitarianism among the youth of today, and young women are much more confident, self-assured, and assertive. Only relatively recently have women been allowed to sit in the village kgotla, and it is not at all uncommon, especially in rural areas, to find that a young woman to whom you are talking is avoiding your eye, having been brought up in the belief that it is disrespectful to look directly at a man.
Despite this, there is no doubt whatsoever that the status of women in society is changing. Women are being empowered, and many are taking charge of their own destinies. As always, it is the young who tend to lead as they adopt the norms of their generation, which, in this age of international communication—through magazines, television, and the Internet—is much less constrained by traditional values. To its enormous credit, the government has set an outstanding example in expanding the role of women. As we have seen, there are women in very responsible positions, and others are making their mark in different areas at all levels. There is an ever-growing number of women’s groups and the exhortation “Emang basadi” (“Stand up, women”) is frequently heard.
Rising wealth and growing economic power have led to burgeoning consumerism in Botswana. Compared to pre-independence days, when poverty was widespread and endemic, Batswana now live in times of relative wealth and it is perfectly understandable that they should be, at this particular stage in the country’s development, scrambling for social ascendancy. Outward signs of success assume disproportionate importance: thus elegant houses, laptop computers, cell phones, classy cars, smart dressing, and good grooming all fit the “visible success” agenda very well. A foreigner’s personal appearance will be noticed and assessed, and even assistants in a clothing store will look askance at a T-shirt-and-shorts clad visitor, wondering how they can go about in public dressed in that way.
Feelings of racial superiority certainly exist in Botswana, although often concealed beneath a thin veneer. On the other hand, Botswana was the neighbor of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Apartheid South Africa, where tens of thousands of its citizens worked. Batswana know from experience what racism feels like. During the South African liberation struggle military forces from that country made a number of bloody raids into Botswana and added to the opprobrium, or at least suspicion, with which white South Africans in general and Afrikaners in particular are regarded.
At the same time, conscious of their country’s relative wealth and fearful that it might, in some way, be taken away from them, Batswana exhibit a general sense of xenophobia, strongly influenced by thousands of would-be immigrants from neighboring African states seeking refuge and a chance to earn a living here. Add to this the importation of expatriates, mainly from Africa, India, and Europe, who, while vitally necessary because of local skills shortages, are seen as “taking jobs away from locals,” and one has a situation where tensions can run high and resentment is often vocal. Finally there is the fact that the many tribal groups in Botswana are fitted, as steps on a ladder, to a well defined social hierarchy which, although never publicized, is well known to everybody and determines, to a considerable extent, life opportunities: the higher you are on the ladder the better the chances you will get. The Bushmen/San are without doubt on the bottom rung.
In the circumstances it is hardly surprising therefore that, whether one calls it racism, prejudice, or xenophobia, different groups are “ranked” one against another. Generally speaking, South African Blacks are welcomed and regarded as equals, but Blacks from elsewhere are definitely looked down upon, exploited where possible, and labeled “mokwerekwere” (outsider). Indians are generally discounted, but are also resented for their success and for their close-knit and private communities. Whites are generally seen as intimidating, in that they are inclined to speak their minds and make a fuss if something is not done, or not done properly, and, of course, like all expatriates, they are seen as taking jobs.
Paradoxically, perhaps, visitors are welcomed. Batswana are basically a warm and friendly group, but experience has taught them to contextualize their response. When a visitor is recognized as such, he or she need have nothing to fear and should expect nothing but friendliness.