AFRICANEWS

Botswana

Botswana recognises San's right the land

Land

After decades of mistreatment, the San, the indigenous people of most of southern Africa, have scored an important victory after the government of Botswana allocated them land conducive for their survival.

Botswana's San people (a derogatory used by Bushmen) are a sensitive topic both inside and outside the country. That is what the Botswana government found out in the gear-up towards the recent UN conference on racism held in Durban, South Africa. This was over the manner in which the authorities had earlier handled a land allocation and resettlement exercise concerning the largely nomadic San. Various human rights organisations labelled the government's behaviour as racist and one meant to whitewash it's handling of the issue. But Gaberone was firm that it was being fair to the San, the original inhabitants of southern Africa.

In April this year, the government forcefully moved 2,200 San people into two settlements inhabited by the majority Tswana people, thousands of kilometres away from their traditional hunting grounds. But more damaging was the fact that government set different camps for the San. Over 700 San resisted the move thereby triggering international interest into their fate.

The government's argument was that it wanted to be able to provide social amenities to this minority people, whose existence can be dated back to the millions of years and are content to remaining in small communities scattered all over the country's desert national parks as the rest of the country becomes computerised. The Ministry of Local Government estimated that it would cost the government US$6 800 a month to assist the fewer than 3000 San people, who it had also forbid from hunting in the game parks.

"National development plans does not provide for social amenities to be provided for small communities of 500 or less people," said Gladys Kokorwe, the Assistant Minister in the local government ministry. "They (San) must relocate to places of their choice where it will be easier and cost effective to provide them with services," she added. Kokorwe, said that the idea of relocating the San had begun in 1997 and that relocation was voluntary. She contended that it was expensive to bring social amenities to a few people scattered all over the country than when they are in large settlements. But analysts note that the country's attempt to tame the San dates back to the 1960s before its independence in 1965, when the colonial British government resettled non-San people on the land which the San had hunted in for years, prompting the San leader, Komsa Komsa to write a letter to the Queen Elizabeth of England requesting their land back, a wish that was never granted. The same analysts concluded that the government, which has maintained that colonial status quo was attempting to eradicate the San by forcefully changing their way of life and take their land. That is when hell broke loose.

Joining the foray on the side of the San was Survival International, a British based non-governmental organisation, which threatened to demonstrate at the racism conference against Botswana's human rights violations. Botswana's own human rights organisation, Ditshwanelo, which is normally radical, but probably aware of the sensitivity that surrounded the issue, refused to be drawn into the conflict arguing that it preferred dialogue. "Although we oppose the forced translocation of the San and support the recognition of human rights we disagree on demonstration tactics," Ditshwanelo said in a statement. "Confrontation and demonstration should be the last resort and Botswana's culture respects discussions and consultations and we strive to work within that context."

Fearing that its democratic credentials might come under scrutiny like it is happening for neighbouring Zimbabwe, the Botswana government was forced to make a major climb-down. A week before the conference, the government announced that it had set aside 24 000 square kilometres for the San in the country's Central Kalahari and Khutse National Parks, an area constituting 46 percent of the two parks. There, the San will now be allowed to carry out subsistence hunting on a quota system, gather their veldt food, monitor the environment in their hunting grounds and will also be encouraged to be involved in cultural tourism. Also, for the first time the government acknowledged that the area within the Central Kalahari and Khutse National Parks "has been dominated by the San for centuries." That was in sharp contrast to the allegations by President Festus Mogae, four years ago, when he was still a minister that the San had been attracted to his area in 1961 when the government drilled boreholes to alleviate drought. "At least, I won't be moving," said Thlenkio Mpoeng a member of the 700 who refused to be moved. "I did not know where to begin if I was moved." The South African weekly newspaper, Mail and Guardian, backed the relocation decision, reached between Botswana's department of wildlife and national parks and the lawyers representing the San calling it "revolutionary." "There has been a stunning victory for the Bushmen of Botswana and for indigenous people world wide," said the paper in a commentary. South Africa and Namibia have similar problems with their San populations.

In the document leading to the "revolutionary" decision, which the country's department of wildlife refused to release to the press but a copy of which is in Africanews possession, the government acknowledged that the removal of the San to settlements was causing social problems. "Alcoholism is a serious problem in resettled communities but not inside the national parks," said the document. The paper further stated the role that would be played by cultural tourism in bringing income to the San. However, it added that this would only be achieved through joint ventures with established tourism organisations not by the San alone. This would entail modifying San villages into cultural communities to attract tourists.

But observers argue that the government may have been forced to change its mind because of substantial funding offers in developing cultural tourism it received from the European Union (EU). In July, the EU offered to take over the provision of basic services to the San, like water, health, poverty relief and orphan care that the government had threatened to withdraw.

The Botswana government is convinced that trying to impose forced assimilation on this population that accounts for less than a tenth of the country's 1.5 million people has its many risks. The San, officially destitute prefer a nomadic life that revolves around hunting and gathering that nothing can make them change and everyone is aware that it is difficult for them to live in settled communities. But that doesn't bother the likes of Survival International, who during the racism conference issued a press release saying it was "set to expose Botswana's treatment of the San." The statement also called on Gaberone to be investigated for gross human rights violations. Such vehemence at least ensures that Botswana starts cleaning its act in relation to the San.

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