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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Politics of Poverty in Botswana
Author:Maundeni, ZibaniISNI
Year:2003
Periodical:Botswana Notes and Records (ISSN 0525-5090)
Volume:35
Pages:99-109
Language:English
Notes:biblio. refs.
Geographic terms:Botswana
Southern Africa
Subjects:Botswana Democratic Party
State
inequality
Politics and Government
Economics and Trade
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Economics, Commerce
poverty
Social indicators
Economic equity
political science
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/40980343
Abstract:For many years Botswana has achieved both a fast growing economy and worsening socioeconomic inequalities. Botswana's successful development and the widening social inequalities are largely functions of the conservative developmentally-oriented political elements which constitute the ruling party, the Botswana Democratic Party. The BDP has largely operated as an elitist party, shielding itself from welfare-oriented politics and sharpening its capitalist developmental outlook. Institutionally, the BDP built a State in which the bureaucracy and the ruling party colonized one another and placed the latter at the centre of State power. Many top bureaucrats from the developmental ministries have retired into BDP ranks as cabinet members. For this reason, bureaucrats in the powerful ministries regard the regime's institutions as the BDP's constituency. And because the BDP regime established its legitimacy on economic development, this is the goal which the bureaucrats in the powerful ministries aim to achieve. Botswana needs to incorporate socioeconomic inequalities centrally in its development plans and reform the State structurally to meet redistribution needs. Bibliogr. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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