Festus Mogae

Accession and government formation

Mogae took office while the BDP was divided by factional disputes and facing a stronger parliamentary opposition than it had during most of its time in government. He recruited Ian Khama, the retiring commander of the Botswana Defence Force, into the government. Khama was the son of Botswana's first president and the hereditary leader of the Bangwato, whose support was important to the BDP.

Khama initially became minister of presidential affairs and public administration. Because he did not yet hold an elected parliamentary seat, he could not immediately become vice-president. Roy Blackbeard resigned as MP for Serowe North, and Khama won the resulting by-election in July 1998. He was sworn in as vice-president on 13 July. Mogae appointed Ponatshego Kedikilwe, a leading figure in a rival BDP faction, to the finance ministry.

The opposition split soon after Mogae's accession. In 1998, a group led by Michael Dingake broke away from the BNF to establish the Botswana Congress Party (BCP). The division weakened the BNF's parliamentary position and split opposition support ahead of the next general election.

1999 general election

The general election of 16 October 1999 was the first administered by the new Independent Electoral Commission and the first in which eighteen-year-olds could vote. The BDP campaigned on its economic record, fiscal prudence and support for private investment. Mogae also made the HIV/AIDS epidemic a campaign priority. The opposition criticised persistent poverty, unemployment and inequalities in the distribution of diamond wealth, while the BDP argued that divisions among its opponents made them an unreliable alternative government.

Mogae issued the election writ before the names of voters who had registered during a supplementary registration period had been published for inspection. The timing threatened to exclude more than 60,000 people from the roll. As Parliament had already been dissolved, Mogae declared a state of emergency to recall it. Parliament amended the Electoral Act to admit the voters, and the emergency ended five days after it began.

The BDP won approximately 57.1% of the vote and 33 of the 40 elected seats, increasing its majority. The BNF won six seats and the BCP one. The division between the two opposition parties contributed to the BDP's recovery from its losses in 1994. Mogae was sworn in for a new term on 20 October, pledging to address poverty and unemployment.

HIV/AIDS

Botswana had one of the world's highest HIV prevalence rates, and AIDS had sharply reduced life expectancy. An estimate used by researchers studying routine testing in the mid-2000s put HIV prevalence at 37% of adults. Mogae spoke publicly about the scale of the crisis and made the national response a presidential priority. He chaired the National AIDS Council and took an HIV test publicly to encourage testing and challenge the stigma associated with the virus.

His government combined public expenditure with international partnerships. The African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships brought together the government, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Merck & Co. to support treatment, prevention and the health system. In 2002, the government launched the Masa programme. Eligible citizens could obtain antiretroviral drugs free of charge through the public health service, the first national programme of its kind in Africa.

Treatment initially expanded more slowly than intended. Shortages of trained personnel, weaknesses in health infrastructure and reluctance to undergo testing limited access. In early 2004, the government introduced routine HIV testing in health facilities, with patients able to decline. The policy aimed to identify infections earlier and connect more people to treatment.

Prevention of transmission from mothers to their children was another priority. In its assessment following Mogae's death, UNAIDS reported that AIDS-related deaths had fallen by 39% during his presidency and new infections among children by 73%. Mogae continued to campaign for prevention alongside treatment, particularly in response to the stigma that discouraged people from seeking care.

Economic policy

Mogae's economic policy emphasised fiscal discipline, private investment and the management of diamond revenues. His government sought to reduce Botswana's dependence on mining by encouraging other industries and developing financial services. The International Financial Services Centre was one component of this strategy. The remaining exchange controls were abolished in 1999, and legislation expanded the Bank of Botswana's role in regulating financial-services businesses.

In 2000, the government adopted a privatisation policy, followed by a programme for restructuring and transferring selected state enterprises to private ownership. Implementation proceeded slowly. A retrospective assessment in the government-owned Daily News attributed the limited progress partly to resistance within the public administration and identified economic diversification as an unresolved problem of Mogae's presidency.

The government also changed the exchange-rate regime. In 2005, the pula was devalued by 12%, and a crawling exchange-rate mechanism was introduced to allow continuing adjustment against Botswana's trading partners. The measures were intended to correct the currency's overvaluation and improve competitiveness, particularly outside the mining industry. They also increased the domestic cost of imported goods and contributed to inflationary pressure.

Diamond revenues continued to support economic growth, public services and foreign-exchange reserves. However, dependence on mining, unemployment and unequal access to the benefits of growth remained concerns. The cost of the HIV/AIDS response added to demands on public expenditure, even as treatment helped limit the loss of skilled workers and the wider economic effects of the epidemic.

Social policy and labour relations

Mogae's government continued reforms to laws affecting women's legal status. The Citizenship Act 1998, which received assent on 20 April and came into force on 24 April, provided for citizenship through either parent and included children born outside marriage. The legislation formed part of the development of nationality law following the constitutional challenge brought by Unity Dow.

The Abolition of Marital Power Act 2004 removed the common-law authority of husbands over their wives and provided for equal powers in the administration of matrimonial property and the guardianship of children. The Act applied to marriages under common law. It left the rules governing customary and religious marriages in place.

In 2003 and 2004, Parliament amended trade-union and labour-dispute legislation after Botswana's ratification of International Labour Organization conventions in 1997. The amendments allowed public officers to form and join unions and bargain collectively. Members of the armed forces, police and prison service were excluded.

In 2004, workers at Debswana's Jwaneng and Orapa mines sought higher wages and bonuses after the company reported strong profits. Mogae invited management and union representatives to his office to try to settle the dispute. While they were meeting, Debswana's lawyers sought a court order against the strike. The court declared the strike unlawful, and Debswana dismissed 461 workers. Mogae criticised the union's conduct, while the dismissals became a continuing source of resentment within the labour movement.

Telecommunications and broadcasting

Botswana's telecommunications market expanded during Mogae's presidency. Mascom began operating in 1998, alongside the second mobile operator, Vista, later Orange Botswana. The introduction of competing mobile networks widened access to telephone services.

Botswana Television began broadcasting in July 2000, completing a project that had been considered under earlier administrations. Previously, television viewing had depended largely on foreign broadcasts and a limited domestic private service. The new national broadcaster extended the state's role in television production and distribution, while also prompting debate over government control of broadcasting and its implications for political coverage.

Foreign relations

Mogae maintained close relations with Western governments while participating in regional diplomacy through the Southern African Development Community. His foreign policy emphasised investment, development assistance, the international response to HIV/AIDS and the peaceful settlement of disputes. He also defended the economic importance of Botswana's diamond industry and its distinction from the trade in conflict diamonds, supporting the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

Relations with the United States included visits to Washington and cooperation on HIV/AIDS. Mogae visited President George W. Bush at the White House in 2002 and 2005, and hosted Bush in Botswana in July 2003. His overseas travel drew criticism in Botswana over its frequency and cost. The government defended the visits as a means of securing investment and development assistance.

BDP factional disputes

Mogae's presidency was marked by competition between factions within the BDP. The group associated with Ponatshego Kedikilwe and Daniel Kwelagobe, subsequently known as Barata-Phathi, had a substantial base within the party organisation. Its rivals coalesced around Khama in the faction commonly called the A-Team. The divisions reflected competition over party office and presidential succession as well as disagreements about government policy.

Mogae's appointment of Khama as vice-president had disappointed senior politicians who considered themselves better qualified. Khama's position as a hereditary leader and former military commander also attracted criticism from those concerned about the combination of traditional, military and political authority. Mogae initially sought to accommodate rival groups in his government, but his reliance on Khama increasingly aligned the presidency with one side of the contest.

The dispute came to a head before the BDP congress at Ghanzi in July 2003. Mogae publicly backed Khama's challenge to Kedikilwe for the party chairmanship. Khama won by 512 votes to 219. Contemporary reporting described the result as strengthening Mogae's control over the central committee and making Khama's eventual succession more likely. It also raised questions about whether the defeated faction would remain within the party.

The election did not end internal disagreements. BDP backbenchers continued to challenge aspects of government policy and the leadership's management of the party. Factional disputes continued beyond Mogae's retirement.

2004 general election

Mogae led the BDP into the general election on 30 October 2004, the first held after the number of elected constituencies had increased from 40 to 57. The BNF contested the election in an electoral pact with the Botswana People's Party and Botswana Alliance Movement, but the BCP remained outside the arrangement. Opposition votes consequently remained divided in a number of constituencies.

The BDP defended its development record and the government's response to HIV/AIDS. Mogae promised improvements in training, water and electricity provision, and changes to legislation that discriminated against women. Opposition parties focused on poverty and unemployment and complained about unequal access to the state media. Observers generally regarded the election as free and fair, while recording concerns over the advantages enjoyed by the governing party.

The BDP won approximately 51.7% of the vote and 44 of the 57 elected seats. The BNF took 12 seats and the BCP one. Although the BDP's share of the vote had declined since 1999, the result secured another presidential term for Mogae.

Civil liberties and human rights

Central Kalahari relocations

See also: Ancestral land conflict in Botswana

Under Masire and then Mogae, the government moved San communities, known in Botswana as Basarwa, from settlements within the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). The government argued that providing services to small settlements within the reserve was expensive and that relocation would improve access to education, health care and economic opportunities. It also maintained that permanent settlement and some forms of resource use were incompatible with the reserve's conservation objectives.

Residents and organisations including Survival International disputed the government's account of voluntary resettlement. They described pressure to leave, inadequate consultation and the disruption of livelihoods based on hunting and gathering. Some campaigners linked the removals to diamond deposits within the reserve. The government denied that mining had motivated its policy.

Mogae's public statements intensified the controversy. In an interview published in The New York Times in 1996, while he was vice-president, he argued that the San had to change their way of life to survive in modern society. Critics subsequently cited the remarks when objecting to the government's claim that resettlement would benefit the people it displaced.

In 2002, the government ended the provision of services to settlements in the reserve, including water supplies, food assistance, transport for schoolchildren and mobile health care. Residents argued that the withdrawal left them little practical choice but to leave. A group of applicants brought a legal challenge, represented by lawyers including Gordon Bennett and Duma Boko.

The High Court delivered judgment in Sesana and Others v Attorney General on 13 December 2006. It found that the applicants had lawfully occupied their settlements and, by a majority, that the government had deprived them of possession without their consent. It also found unlawful the refusal to issue them special game licences and the requirement that they obtain permits to re-enter the reserve. However, the majority upheld the termination of public services and did not order the government to restore them.

The successful applicants could return, but access to water remained in dispute. Disputes over implementation continued after Mogae left office. In a 2010 report, UN Special Rapporteur James Anaya treated the situation in the reserve as part of wider concerns about the rights and participation of indigenous peoples in Botswana.

Departure from office

Mogae's accession in April 1998 meant that the constitutional limit of ten years would require him to leave office before the end of the parliamentary term elected in 2004. Khama remained his intended successor, but some BDP MPs opposed his reappointment as vice-president after the election. Mogae threatened to dissolve Parliament and call another election if they refused to endorse Khama. On 8 November, the Assembly confirmed Khama as vice-president.

The prospect of Khama's succession revived debate about the automatic transfer of the presidency to the vice-president. Supporters presented the arrangement as a means of ensuring continuity and stability, while opponents argued that it reduced the electorate's influence over the choice of president. The controversy over Good's deportation added to scrutiny of the succession process.

On 14 July 2007, at a BDP gathering in Molepolole, Mogae confirmed that he would leave office in April 2008. He subsequently undertook a farewell tour and gradually gave Khama a more prominent public role. In his final public appearances as president, he encouraged other African leaders to retire when their time in office ended.

Khama was sworn in on 1 April 2008 at a ceremony attended by Mogae, Barbara Mogae and Masire. The transfer was widely reported as peaceful and orderly. It also confirmed the succession arrangement that Mogae had supported throughout much of his presidency.

HIV/AIDS advocacy and diplomacy

After leaving office, Mogae continued to campaign on HIV/AIDS. In August 2008, he launched Champions for an HIV-Free Generation, bringing together former African presidents and other public figures to encourage political leadership on prevention and treatment. He subsequently participated in UNAIDS commissions on HIV prevention and global health.

In September 2008, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Mogae a special envoy on climate change. He joined Gro Harlem Brundtland, Ricardo Lagos and Srgjan Kerim in efforts to build political support for international climate negotiations.

Business interests

Mogae became chairman of the Choppies supermarket group after leaving the presidency and invested in the company. During his association with the group, Choppies expanded beyond Botswana and listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange in 2012 and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2015.

The company later became embroiled in disputes over its accounts and management. Delays in publishing audited results led to the suspension of trading in its shares in 2018 and a sharp fall in their value. In 2019, Mogae and other directors came into conflict with chief executive Ramachandran Ottapathu. Mogae left the board that year after shareholders backed Ottapathu. In January 2020, the Botswana Gazette reported that Mogae intended to sell his remaining shares.

Relations with his successors

Mogae initially avoided public criticism of Khama, but their relationship deteriorated during Khama's presidency. Mogae criticised his successor's economic management, concentration of power and approach to dissent. He also opposed plans to acquire Gripen fighter aircraft. By 2018, he was openly expressing regret about having helped bring Khama to power.

Khama disputed Mogae's criticism. Responding in May 2019 to Mogae's comments about regretting his choice of vice-president, Khama said that he respected his predecessor's right to express an opinion and had regrets of his own about decisions he had made. The exchange occurred amid Khama's increasingly public dispute with Mokgweetsi Masisi, who had succeeded him as president in 2018.

Mogae supported Masisi during the latter's conflict with Khama and backed BDP candidates in the 2019 general election.