BNF policy paper sets out framework for UDC cadre deployment

A draft policy paper written by former Botswana National Front president Otsweletse Moupo proposes a structured approach to cadre deployment, arguing that appointments should be guided by competence, political responsibilities and the needs of the state – not party loyalty, patronage or factional interests.

The paper, titled “The Relationship Between the Party and the State After the Attainment of State Power,” is expected to be presented at the BNF’s special policy conference, scheduled for Oct. 23 to 25.

The BNF, an affiliate of the Umbrella for Democratic Change, has been debating how cadre deployment should work as the governing coalition seeks to translate its political program into government policy and institutional reform. The issue was also discussed at the party’s last policy conference, held in Jwaneng in July, where members called for greater clarity on the matter.

Mr. Moupo’s proposal 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.

The paper draws a clear line, though, 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. Selection and placement, he says, should not be influenced by nepotism, favoritism or factionalism.

Middle-level positions and other jobs in the public service and parastatal sector, the paper says, 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.

Mr. Moupo also challenges what he describes as a 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.

“This is a misconception,” the paper says, warning that the UDC should not copy the Botswana Democratic Party’s approach to appointments. Using cadre deployment as a reward system, Mr. Moupo argues, would create fertile ground for nepotism and corruption.

He says deployment should follow the party’s political direction and clearly defined responsibilities. Cadres should be selected because they are “fit for purpose” and able to carry out the government’s political objectives.

If the BNF and the UDC are to pursue the social and economic transformation outlined in their social democratic program, the paper argues, they will need a pool of cadres with the numbers, skills and composition required to carry out that work.

Those appointed to strategic positions, it adds, 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 rejects the idea that restructuring the public sector is a politically neutral process. It says the UDC’s reform agenda could face resistance from parts of the existing bureaucracy.

Some senior public servants associated with the previous administration, Mr. Moupo argues, could resist or undermine reforms introduced by the new government. That possibility, he says, makes a principled and carefully defined approach to cadre deployment necessary.

The paper places the argument within a broader assessment of Botswana’s public service. It acknowledges that, during the first three decades after independence, the service was widely regarded as professional and marked by a strong culture of integrity.

But 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. He alleges that recruitment and promotion at senior levels gradually placed greater weight on political loyalty than on merit and competence.

The consequences, according to the paper, included institutional decline, waste of public resources and the marginalization of public servants believed to be aligned with opposition parties. Mr. Moupo argues that the new political order should address those injustices.

At the same time, the paper says officials who are unable or unwilling to support legitimate administrative reforms should not be removed solely for political reasons.

Instead, officials described as “clearly identifiable mediocrities,” as well as those who resist or deliberately undermine reforms, should be dealt with through established performance-management and assessment procedures.

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