The impact of Democracy in Botswana: Assessing political, social and economic developments since the dawn of democracy Ebrahim Fakir Research Report 121 Research Report 121 The impact of democracy in Botswana: Assessing political, social and economic developments since the dawn of democracy Ebrahim Fakir i Centre for Policy Studies Centre for Policy Studies Johannesburg Sept 2009 This paper is funded by the Kellogg Foundation Accepted for publication, December 2008 Published September 2009 ii The Centre for Policy Studies is an independent research institution, incorporated as an association not for gain under Section 21 of the Companies Act. The Kellogg Foundation generously provided the funding for this research work. However, the views expressed in this report are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Kellogg Foundation Centre for Policy Studies 1st Floor Maths Centre Juta Street Braamfontein Johannesburg, South Africa P O Box 1933 Parklands 2121 Johannesburg, South Africa Tel (011) 403- 4001 Fax (011) 403- 4026 e-mail:
[email protected] www.cps.org.za ISBN 978-1-920408-05-3 The impact of democracy in Botswana 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction and background 2 1.1 Methodology 2 1.2 Structure of the paper 2 2. Governance in Botswana 3 2.1 The structure of the state 4 2.2 Elections in Botswana 5 2.3 Governance challenges in Botswana 6 2.3.1 Political accountability and the separation of powers 6 2.3.2 Human rights and the freedom of expression 8 3. Socio-economic changes and social development 10 3.1 Human development in Botswana 10 3.2 Economic growth and employment in Botswana 11 3.3 Social development 12 3.4 Healthcare 13 3.5 HIV/AIDS prevalence 14 3.6 Education and literacy 14 3.7 Water, sanitation, and electrification 15 4.