The day heavens opened...and Pula became more than just rain
Source : Kutlwano
Author : Thomas Nkhoma
Location : Gaborone
Event : Historical feature
Every time it rains in Botswana there is joy. Rain is scarce in this semi-arid country. Without it, life becomes a struggle. Therefore, when Batswana chant “Pula!” there is more to it than just the divine anticipation of the heavens interceding and opening up. “Pula” literally means rain but it also carries with it blessings and happiness.
Ask Dr Gaositwe Chiepe to recount events of pre and immediate post independent Botswana, you get glued and marvel at the narrative of a nation she says used to be “a body in borrowed attire” then.
She was there when Botswana gained independence in 1966, going on to become the first female Cabinet Minister from 1974 up to 1999.
She says before independence, Batswana were a body in borrowed attire.
Literally, the country, then called Bechuanaland, was a British protectorate whose capital was outside its frontiers – in a foreign country.
It was ruled from Mafikeng, South Africa where a piece of land was carved completely surrounded like an island, called the Imperial Reserve with no political or economic power.
One needed a passport to go through Ramatlabama border post to get into Mafikeng which was Botswana`s capital city and suffered the indignity of being black in apartheid South Africa.
“We were a body in borrowed attire. All we used or needed were borrowed – not even bought or rented – whether it was money, movable or immovable property. At least human power was paid for” recalled the former cabinet minister in one of the University of Botswana lectures organized to reminisce about Botswana`s 50 years of independence.
Come 1976, thus 10 years after independence, Dr Chiepe recalls the euphoria that enveloped the country when it introduced its own currency changing from the South African Rand and cents to the pula. That it was called “Pula” meant a lot to Batswana.
Their pride was electrifyingly unbelievable. “Some elderly people dug out their old pound sterling which they had hidden in places only known to themselves, came out with smiles from ear to ear to present them in exchange for their very own pula. What a sense of ownership!” remembers Dr Chiepe.
While Batswana were happy to have their own currency, in neighbouring South Africa there was a different temperament. “They thought the decision was ill-advised and that we would change and revert to using the South African currency which we had started using in 1961,” she says.
Incidentally, when South Africa decided to have her own currency, Batswana did not want to part with the British currency even though that would have inconvenienced every transaction as they bought or sold everything from that country with no foreign exchange hassles. Dr Chiepe argues that they, however, had no choice. They were forced by circumstances beyond their control to accept the change. “What can`t be helped must be endured,” recalls Dr Chiepe.
Yet Batswana had very little to celebrate those formative years. Dr Chiepe says when the capital moved to Gaborone, the civil service comprised no more than 25 positions led by the Resident Commissioner in Mafikeng. However, the civil service would grow to 275 posts in seven (7) ministries which were created in 1967.
“There was a lot that had to be done. We were starting on a clean slate in many areas. Fortunately, Batswana were ready and willing to see their country grow and prosper,” reckons the former cabinet minister.
After a little 20 years or so, Dr Chiepe says doubtlessly Batswana had achieved a lot and reached notable milestones. The achievements included the country introducing its own currency, establishing its own university, airline and railways in addition to other notable physical developments.
Dr Chiepe remembers that before Botswana introduced her national airline, to travel to distant countries worldwide, one had to travel by Rhodesia Railways to Mafikeng, then South African Railways to Johannesburg, then to the then Jan Smuts Airport (now O R Tambo Airport) to catch international flights.
“So establishing the national airline - Air Botswana - was an absolute necessity,” she says. In the early 1970s Air Botswana was established as a subsidiary of the Botswana Development Corporation but was essentially a ticketing and ground services company. Air services were provided by other partner airlines. In 1987 government designated Air Botswana the national flag carrier. The airline would in 1988 become a parastatal.
On the railway line, Dr Chiepe says Botswana used Rhodesia Railways for transport and travel. At independence the railway line belonged to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Rhodesia Railways was Cecil Rhodes` ambition of a Cape to Cairo railway line. Botswana simply paid for services rendered governed by Rhodesia`s own type of apartheid policies. However, in 1987 Botswana Railways was born after government bought out sections of the National Railways of Zimbabwe which were based in Botswana.
“Who could have thought that Botswana, one of the poorest countries in the world when it gained independence fifty years ago would be the success story that it is today?” asks Dr Chiepe as she concludes her narrative of events before and immediate post-independent Botswana.
