US embassy cable - 05GABORONE21

UNCLAS  GABORONE 000021 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
AF/S FOR DIFFILY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ECON, PHUM, SOCI, KHIV, BC, KPRP, SAN/CKGR Relocation 
SUBJECT:  OUTLOOK FOR RURAL AREA DWELLERS BLEAK 
 
 
1. SUMMARY:  The outlook for Botswana's Remote Area 
Dwellers (RADs) is bleak, despite the Government of 
Botswana's multifaceted efforts to improve their standard 
of living.  RADs endure high rates of poverty and 
unemployment, exacerbated by limited access to natural 
resources (especially land), a dearth of skills and their 
isolation from potential markets.  Prejudice against San 
(Basarwa), who constitute the majority of RADs, is 
widespread.  A climate of despair and dependence has 
emerged within this most marginalized community, further 
inhibiting progress.  The RADs' best hope may lie in 
migration to towns in search of employment.  In spite of 
the hardships, RADs are generally pro-Government.  This 
is because they generally agree with the Government's 
policy objectives and lack leaders capable of mobilizing 
RADs and advocating for their interests.  Formation of a 
San Council might give RADs more effective representation 
in dealing with the Government.  END SUMMARY. 
 
---------------------- 
BACKGROUND OF THE RADP 
---------------------- 
 
2. In 1975, the Government of Botswana established the 
Basarwa Development Program, to address the "cultural, 
social and spatial" impediments to development within 
this marginalized community.  Three years later, the 
Government expanded that program to include residents of 
remote areas from all ethnic groups and renamed it the 
Remote Area Development Program (RADP).  San, or Basarwa, 
still constitute the overwhelming majority of RADs. 
Other ethnic groups commonly found in RAD settlements 
include the Kgalagadi, Herero and Bayei.  In 1989, the 
program further evolved to focus on establishing 
permanent settlements in regions where RADs were most 
concentrated: Northwest, Kweneng, Central, Ghanzi, 
Kgalagadi, Southern, and Kgatleng Districts.  The 
Government encouraged RADs to move to these locales so 
that it could more efficiently provide public services 
and promote productive economic activities.  PolOff 
traveled to several RAD settlements in December to 
evaluate conditions there. 
 
3. The RADP aims to achieve sustainable social and 
economic development of Batswana living in remote areas 
and to ensure equal access to the benefits of the 
country's overall material progress.  The Government 
intends to accomplish this objective through the 
following:  providing infrastructure and public services 
comparable to those available elsewhere in the country, 
promoting gainful employment, enhancing access to land 
and other natural resources, encouraging participation in 
the nation's political process and the cultivation of 
community leaders, ensuring access to education and 
training at all levels, and facilitating the integration 
of RADs into the mainstream of society.  Through the 
RADP, the GOB has built clinics, schools, police stations 
and administrative centers, granted livestock, offered 
free vocational training, and provided for the education 
of RAD children including the costs of transportation, 
books and uniforms.  After nearly thirty years, however, 
the RADP is far from successful. 
 
--------------------------------- 
EMPLOYMENT VIRTUALLY NON-EXISTENT 
--------------------------------- 
 
4. The key to the failure of the RADP is the lack of 
income-generating opportunities in the rural areas. 
Regular employment at RAD settlements is virtually non- 
existent.  In some places, a few individuals work for an 
NGO or a cooperative; anyone else with a job works for 
the Government.  Many of those employed by the Government 
in these settlements are not RADs themselves but civil 
servants on a temporary assignment. 
 
5.  Almost everyone in a RAD settlement depends upon 
state aid of some kind for subsistence.  The elderly 
receive pensions, and most receive destitute rations 
(food and clothing in kind with a small cash allowance). 
It is not uncommon for those who qualify for such 
assistance not to receive it.  The able-bodied 
occasionally find employment with the Government as 
laborers on public works projects through the Drought 
Relief Program.  The miniscule dimensions of the cash 
economy in each of these settlements require almost any 
would-be entrepreneur to target external markets.  The 
isolation of these settlements -- vehicles are scarce, 
roads are poor and tarred roads are often over an hour 
away by car -- makes selling to larger villages and towns 
difficult. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
LIVESTOCK DISTRIBUTION AN IMPERFECT SOLUTION 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
6. The GOB has pursued livestock-rearing as the most 
immediate solution to poverty in RAD settlements, but 
with mixed results.  Through the RADP, a family can 
receive five head of cattle or fifteen goats free of 
charge.  The Government encourages recipients not to 
slaughter any of these animals until five years has 
passed, in the hope that they will have reproduced enough 
to become a self-sustainable herd.  When owners are ready 
to sell, district councils assist them in transporting 
the animals to a Botswana Meat Commission abattoir and to 
collect payment. 
 
7.  According to a report prepared by the Ghanzi District 
Council, however, this aspect of the program has yielded 
"very poor" results there.  That document attributed this 
dismal performance to "poor management, lack of 
commitment and indiscriminate slaughter of livestock." 
Residents of Kaudwane in Kweneng District complained to 
PolOff that lions decimated their herds and that they 
received inadequate compensation (less than half the 
replacement cost) from the Government. 
 
8. Local governments have not ignored these problems. 
The Ghanzi District Council, for example, provided 
workshops and seminars to improve livestock management 
and decided to experiment with establishing a herd in the 
name of a particular settlement.  The District currently 
manages that herd but plans eventually to turn over 
control to the community, which will own the cattle. 
The Kweneng District has assigned an animal health 
professional to reside and work in Kaudwane and has 
tasked that person with looking at ways to improve the 
productivity of goat herding there. 
 
---------------------- 
ACCESS TO LAND LIMITED 
---------------------- 
 
9. While unemployment and poverty are common nationwide -- 
recent estimates place unemployment at about 24 percent 
and the incidence of poverty at about 30 percent -- 
limited access to land exacerbates these problems in RAD 
settlements. The Government designates land for communal 
use around each settlement and allocates residential 
plots within them but has not facilitated private holding 
of farm/pasture land by RADs.  They are free to apply for 
land allocation like any other citizen, but they face 
difficulty in meeting the requirements of this process, 
including completion of application forms and preparation 
of a management plan.  Not surprisingly, land boards tend 
to favor large-scale commercial land use proposals that 
require capital inputs beyond the resources of most RADs. 
Indeed, a senior local government official told PolOff 
that he had yet to hear of a RAD acquiring his or her own 
farm.  Another indicated that the Government prefers "to 
keep them in the settlements for now." 
 
10. In some areas of Botswana, land available for use by 
RADs is growing scarce.  The GOB is gradually converting 
communal land to privately held land by offering long 
term leases on concessional terms for farmers who will 
use and improve the land.  Improvement includes sinking a 
borehole and fencing the property, which, of course, 
requires capital.  Any RADs living on communal land 
reallocated to a private holder become squatters subject 
to eviction. 
 
11. Some NGOs have assisted RADs to form consortia and 
apply for leases jointly.  One organization found, 
however, that all of the groups it helped to apply that 
consisted only of San were denied, while some groups that 
included other ethnicities were approved.  This ensued 
despite the fact that they all had roughly equal 
qualifications and the same help in preparing their 
applications.  A second NGO had helped a consortium of 
three RAD settlements to secure a lease for a plot, but 
the group lacked the capital to implement its business 
plan.  Another RAD settlement had established a community 
trust which had obtained a lease but was similarly 
delayed in initiating its enterprise due to insufficient 
funds. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
ACCESS TO OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES LIMITED 
----------------------------------------- 
 
12. Access to other natural resources, such as wildlife 
products, is even more restricted.  Rights to hunt game 
are allocated through a lottery, and one must pay a fee 
to the Government based on the numbers of each type of 
animal killed.  Residents of Kaudwane and New Xade, the 
vast majority of whom were relocated there from the CKGR, 
were promised Special Game Licenses allowing them to hunt 
a limited amount of game without having to pay any fee. 
But because game was sparse in the areas surrounding 
these settlements where hunting was permitted, the 
Special Game Licenses were rarely used. 
 
13.  Entrance to the CKGR, like any other national park 
in Botswana, requires a permit obtainable only from the 
Department of Wildlife in Gaborone if the visitor intends 
to remain in the park overnight.  Hunting is prohibited 
in the CKGR, and RADs who travel into the Reserve are not 
allowed to bring out any wildlife products.  Such 
restrictions inhibit the potential for income-generating 
activities that would utilize natural resources.  An NGO 
working with RADs to produce craft products, for example, 
must import ostrich egg shells from South Africa because 
regulations do not permit collection of sufficient 
quantities locally. 
 
14. Residents of both New Xade and Kaudwane explained to 
PolOff that they had ideas for setting up eco-/cultural 
tourism enterprises.  To succeed, however, they would 
need access to some land within the CKGR due to the 
absence of game and veld food (the wide variety of plants 
that San traditionally relied upon for food, water, 
medicine, etc.) outside the Reserve.  At one point, the 
Government had considered designating areas within the 
CKGR as community use zones for just such projects.  One 
resident of New Xade told PolOff that the former Minister 
of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism subsequently had 
visited the community and told them to "forget about" 
that possibility and suggested setting up a "cultural 
village" as a tourist attraction instead.  The GOB has 
yet to issue a final master plan for land use management 
in the CKGR. 
 
--------------------------- 
DIAMOND EXPLORATION PLANNED 
--------------------------- 
 
15. No diamond mining is occurring in the CKGR at present 
but a subsidiary of BHP Billiton, Sekaka Diamonds, plans 
to conduct aerial surveys over the Reserve in 2005.  A 
poster nailed to a tree in the village of Gugamma in the 
CKGR announced that ground surveys will follow if the 
company encounters any "interesting" results.  Residents 
told PolOff that Sekaka representatives had visited to 
consult with them about the matter in early December. 
According to Roy Sesana, head of the First People of the 
Kalahari, the organization challenging the Government's 
relocation policy in court, he met with the same 
officials in November to discuss potential employment 
opportunities for those who live in the reserve in 
conjunction with such exploration. 
 
16. This is not, however, a "smoking gun" demonstrating 
that the Government displaced people to obtain mining 
profits.  The Reserve encompasses enough territory to 
accommodate a mine in one area, residents in another, and 
protected wildlife elsewhere.  Diamond exploration 
licenses cover much of the Botswana's land area, not just 
the CKGR.  While previous surveys and mining attempts 
determined that the ore in the Reserve was not economical 
to extract, technological advances have made renewed 
exploration worthwhile. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
VOCATIONAL TRAINING MAKES LITTLE HEADWAY 
---------------------------------------- 
 
17. Lack of marketable skills also contributes to poverty 
and unemployment among RADs.  The GOB offers RADs 
vocational training free of charge and seed capital to 
return to one's settlement and begin a small business. 
RADP officers complained, however, that few RADs take 
advantage of this opportunity.  Many of those who start 
such training abandon it.  Visits by PolOff to several 
RAD settlements found no one who had derived a regular 
income from skills acquired through this program. 
Several had started working, only to fold after a few 
months, usually, but not always, due to a lack of 
clients.  In one instance, a sewing and knitting project 
was offered the opportunity to supply garments to the 
local school, but the artisans simply did not want to 
produce the volume of garments the school would require. 
 
Absent success in forming their own businesses, the RADs' 
best job prospects to counter this culture of despair and 
dependency may lie in finding employment in towns. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE SUBSTANTIAL BUT TROUBLED 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
18. Local government interlocutors generally pointed to 
formal education as the ultimate key to development among 
RADs.  Residents of RAD settlements likewise emphasized 
to PolOff the importance of education and their 
appreciation of the Government's assistance in that 
regard.  The Government has established primary schools 
in almost every RAD settlement and pre-schools in many of 
them.  RAD children pay no school fees, eat two meals a 
day at school, and receive uniforms for free.  The 
Government also bears the expense of sending children to 
boarding school for secondary education, including costs 
of transportation and pocket money for the students. 
 
19. These benefits not withstanding, the educational 
aspect of the RADP faces problems.  In Ghanzi District, 
thousands of RADs live on private farms, either as 
workers or squatters.  Children of these individuals, as 
well as of the few remaining residents of the CKGR, must 
live in hostels located in villages with schools from a 
young age.  The fact that instruction is in Setswana and 
English after pre-school and not in the mother tongue 
discourages some students.  Additionally, different 
practices regarding disciplinary customs - San typically 
do not use corporal punishment, whereas paddling is a 
common practice in Botswana's public schools - and 
prejudice against San children make school a difficult 
environment for some RAD children.  Thus, truancy is 
high. 
 
------------------------- 
CULTURAL OBSTACLES ABOUND 
------------------------- 
 
20. Prejudice against San remains widespread.  PolOff 
encountered assertions that they could not "think for 
themselves," did not teach their children right from 
wrong, or did not value education.  Officials frequently 
emphasized the need for the Government to patiently guide 
RADs in the process of development.  One official 
described the GOB's objective as instilling a "cattle- 
rearing culture" in RADs.  A resident of New Xade 
confirmed this effect of the RADP, telling PolOff that 
the migration from the CKGR entailed adoption of the 
culture of "the rest of Botswana" and the loss of the 
traditions practiced by his parents. 
 
21. Residents of RAD settlements and members of NGOs who 
worked with them pointed to a number of cultural 
obstacles to development among RADs themselves.  RADs 
relocated in New Xade and Kaudwane grew up largely in a 
hunter-gatherer lifestyle.  Thus, some find the idea of 
working all day on the same (sometimes monotonous task) 
unacceptable, as in the case of sewers and knitters noted 
above.  Some interlocutors described a spirit of despair 
and dependence that dominated the atmosphere of these 
locations.  According to these contacts, RADs tended to 
assume that a significant improvement in their situation 
was not possible or thought that any such change could 
only come from the Government or an NGO.  Participation 
in different income generation programs, as a result, was 
low.  The prevalence of alcoholism further undermined 
hope for progress. 
 
22. Historically, San organized themselves into family 
groups.  With no chiefs, they are unrepresented on 
Botswana's Council of Chiefs, where other Batswana groups 
have a voice.  The Government has instituted the practice 
of appointing headmen in the RAD settlements, but no 
overarching leadership has emerged to promote RAD 
interests in Botswana's narrowly constructed political 
arena. 
 
--------------------------- 
HIV-AIDS IN RAD SETTLEMENTS 
--------------------------- 
 
23.  Although the isolation of RAD settlement might 
afford some measure of protection from HIV-AIDS, the 
disease remains a problem nevertheless.  The headman in 
Kaudwane noted to PolOff that the construction teams 
working on roads and buildings in the settlement 
contributed to its spread there.  Services related to HIV- 
AIDS, such as counselling, testing, and treatment are not 
 
as readily-available to RADs as to other Batswana.  They 
must often travel long distances just to test, and this 
deters many from bothering.  Keeping down the HIV-AIDS 
rate in remote settings will be necessary to boost 
economic development in those areas. 
 
----------------------------- 
RADS GENERALLY PRO-GOVERNMENT 
----------------------------- 
 
24.  The bleak situation in RAD settlements has not 
translated into resentment toward the state or the ruling 
party.  Interlocutors in these places generally observed 
that while the GOB had not done all it could, or even all 
that it had promised, it was not neglecting them.  Some 
expressed frustration with policies limiting access to 
the CKGR as fatally undermining the best prospects for 
income generation in these settlements.  Others faulted 
the Government for not providing infrastructural 
improvements it had promised.  These criticisms revealed 
a general consensus that the Government was doing the 
right things, but not rapidly enough or with sufficient 
resources. 
 
25.  A vocal minority dismissed these concerns as 
secondary to the fundamental issue of land rights.  They 
argued that resettlement from the CKGR wrongfully 
alienated them from their ancestral territory.  The 
election in New Xade and Kaudwane, where animosity toward 
the GOB over the relocation policy runs highest, of 
district councillors from the ruling BDP, illustrates the 
general perception among most RADs that the Government is 
an imperfect ally, not an enemy. 
 
26. Conversations with residents of New Xade and 
Kaudwane, to which former residents of the CKGR were 
resettled, indicate that only a minority wish to return. 
A small number of San are trickling back into the 
Reserve.  If the First People of the Kalahari were to win 
its court case and secure restoration of basic public 
services, most notably the provision of water, others 
probably would join them.  A number of those who had left 
the CKGR suggested to PolOff, however, that any returnees 
would consist primarily of the elderly, especially those 
relocated in 2002.  Only a minority of those relocated 
before 2002 appear to be interested in living in the 
Reserve. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
27. Contrary to the rhetoric of some critics, the GOB is 
not perpetrating genocide against the San or other RADs. 
The Government's efforts have focused on improving the 
standard of living for the RADs.  While programs may have 
been under-funded and the results sketchy, district 
councils are trying new approaches to improve outcomes. 
Many of the problems plaguing RADs -- HIV/AIDS, 
unemployment, loss of livestock to predators -- afflict 
all rural Batswana, not just RADs.  Prejudice against the 
San, while common, has not precluded meaningful 
assistance from the Government. 
 
28. Enhancing access to natural resources, especially 
land, is key to further improvement in the living 
conditions of RADs.  With the Government open to the idea 
of diamond mining within the CKGR, it might also consider 
controlled use of parts of the Reserve by its former and 
current residents for enterprises in the tourism. 
 
29.  Sustained improvement of the RADP would require 
political leadership that could credibly represent RADs 
in negotiation with the Government.  First People of the 
Kalahari foreclosed the possibility of playing this role 
when it internationalised its dispute with the 
Government.  Less confrontational organizations that work 
with RADs, such as Permaculture Trust, Kuru Trust and the 
Botswana Center for Human Rights might be able to lobby 
more effectively should they choose to do so. 
 
30.  One solution posited by RADS to assure more 
effective representation is to form a San Council. 
Embassy received a Democracy and Human Rights Fund 
proposal in 2004 from the Kuru Trust to assist in the 
formation of such a council, but the proposal lacked 
details.  In an early December visit to Shakawe, DCM 
asked the Kuru Trust to focus and resubmit its proposal 
so that the Embassy would be better able to evaluate it. 
With the RADs in a single organization, the Government 
would have a stronger partner for discussion. 
 
31.  Support for mother-tongue education could help 
preserve San culture and, in the long term, cultivate 
leadership indigenous to RAD communities.  Kuru Trust has 
requested assistance from Debswana to set up two such 
schools to cater for RADs.  Although the linguistic 
diversity among San would pose an obstacle, this effort 
could decrease truancy rates, counter the effects of 
prejudice, and provide focal points for community 
organization, all leading to a brighter future for RADS. 
 
HUGGINS 
 
 
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