Batswana happy with institutions

GABORONE - The recently released 2008 Afrobarometer Survey has revealed high levels of satisfaction among Botswana citizens in the state of their democracy and governing institutions.
Asked how much of a democracy is Botswana today, 91 per cent of the respondents expressed satisfaction, with 56 per cent describing the country as a full democracy, while 35 per cent said it was a democracy, but with minor problems.
Only 1 per cent said Botswana is not a democracy.
Asked how satisfied they were with the way democracy works in Botswana 82 per cent said that they were either very satisfied (44 per cent) or fairly satisfied (38 per cent).
With respect to their own sense of empowerment, 83 per cent of Batswana described themselves as completely free, while only 6 per cent characterised themselves as not very free or not free at all.
Some 92 per cent of Batswana said they felt completely free to join any political organisations, while 94 per cent said they were free to choose who to vote for without feeling pressured.
A total of 73 per cent of those surveyed agreed that the last, 2004, national election had been completely free and fair, while 13 per cent said that it had been free and fair but with minor problems.
Only 3 per cent claimed that the election had not been free and fair.
Sixty six per cent said that the electoral process worked either well or very well in ensuring that Parliament reflected the will of the voters.
Similarly 70 per cent said elections enabled voters to remove office holders who do not do what the people want.
With respect to the integrity of the electoral process, 70 per cent expressed some or a lot of trust in the IEC, while only nine per cent expressed no trust in the institution.
82 per cent of Batswana said they had no fear at all of becoming a victim of political intimidation, while 83 per cent said it was very unlikely or not at all likely that powerful people could find out how they voted.
The above Afrobarometer election findings are consistent with that of a 2008 Gallup public opinion poll in which Botswana was ranked number two among 134 surveyed countries in the world in term of public confidence in the integrity of elections.Asked do you approve or disapprove of the way President Ian Khama has performed his job since taking Office in April 2008? a total of 88 per cent said they approved, while only 8 per cent said they disapproved of the Presidents performance.The Presidents domestic approval rating in this respect is the highest known figure of any current head of government.President Khamas approval rating is, moreover, consistent with his 76 per cent public trust rating.77 per cent of the public further stated that the President never ignores the laws of the country, while only 5 per cent said he often or always ignored the law.With respect to the question of the use of an election for the Presidency versus the automatic succession of the Vice President, 57 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement that the current practice where the Vice President automatically succeeds the President must be retained; while 42 per cent agreed that the system should be changed to allow the election of a successor.Asked if the current system where Parliament chooses the President should be changed to allow the direct election of the President or retained, 58 per cent supported the status quo, while 41 per cent favoured direct presidential election.According to the Survey, if a presidential election was held 69 per cent of the public would vote for the BDP leader (Khama), compared to 13 per cent for the leader of the BNF (Moupo) and 8 per cent for the leader of the BCP (Saleshando).MPs came out less well in the survey, with only 45 per cent of respondents expressing both confidence and trust in their MP, while 50 per cent expressed disapproved.67 per cent said that MPs only sometimes or never listened to what people had to say.Asked who should be responsible for making sure that, once elected, Members of Parliament did their jobs, 42 per cent said the voters, 36 per cent said the President, and 15 per cent said Parliament or local councils, while only 3 per cent said their political party.88% of all respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that: The kgotla system is part of our culture and helps strengthen our democracy; it should be retained as a forum for public consultations.
Batswana also showed strong faith in their legal system and law enforcement agencies.76 per cent of the respondents agreed that people were rarely or never treated unequally under the law.Consistent with Botswanas commitment to zero tolerance for crime 73 per cent agreed that officials who commit crimes would either never (56 per cent) or only rarely (17 per cent) go unpunished.72 per cent of Batswana expressed trust in both the courts and police service.
With respect to Magistrates and Judges, 68 per cent believed that few or none were involved in corruption, with another 24 per cent saying they were not sure.93 per cent of Batswana said they had never paid a bribe or given a gift to government officials to get a document or permit, while 92 per cent said the same with respect to their dealings with the police.
With respect to confidence in political parties, 49 per cent of the respondents expressed a lot, and 25 per cent some trust in the ruling party (BDP), for a composite figure of 74 per cent, with 11 per cent expressing mistrust.On the other hand, only 13 per cent of the public expressed a lot and 17 per cent some, trust in the opposition parties, with 68% expressing little or no trust in the opposition.78 per cent of the respondents said that they felt close to a particular political party.Among these 55 per cent identified themselves as supporters of the BDP, 14 per cent as supporters of the BNF, 7 per cent as supporters of the BCP and 1 per cent each for BAM and BPP.Asked about the funding of political parties, 53 per cent agreed that political parties should be responsible for raising their own funds from their supporters, while 41 per cent believed that they should be publicly funded to put all parties on an equal footing.Service Delivery. In terms of service delivery 76 per cent of the public said that government was doing well or fairly well handling the economy, 75 per cent in reducing crime, 80 per cent in providing health services, 84 per cent in providing education, 95 per cent in combating HIV/AIDS, 72 per cent in providing water and sanitation, 69 per cent in fighting corruption, 66 per cent in providing electricity 58% in maintaining roads and bridges and 60 per cent in improving the living standards of the poor.On the opposite end, however, 66 per cent believed that government was not doing enough to create jobs, and 88 per cent believed more should be done to control prices.In terms of gender relations, 77 per cent of the public, both male and female, believed that Government was doing well or very well in empowering women. Cont from page 1....
MPs came out less well in the survey, with only 45 per cent of respondents expressing both confidence and trust in their MP, while 50 per cent expressed disapproved.67 per cent said that MPs only sometimes or never listened to what people had to say.Asked who should be responsible for making sure that, once elected, Members of Parliament did their jobs, 42 per cent said the voters, 36 per cent said the President, and 15 per cent said Parliament or local councils, while only 3 per cent said their political party. 88% of all respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that: The kgotla system is part of our culture and helps strengthen our democracy; it should be retained as a forum for public consultations.Batswana also showed strong faith in their legal system and law enforcement agencies.76 per cent of the respondents agreed that people were rarely or never treated unequally under the law.Consistent with Botswanas commitment to zero tolerance for crime 73 per cent agreed that officials who commit crimes would either never (56 per cent) or only rarely (17 per cent) go unpunished.72 per cent of Batswana expressed trust in both the courts and police service.
With respect to Magistrates and Judges, 68 per cent believed that few or none were involved in corruption, with another 24 per cent saying they were not sure.93 per cent of Batswana said they had never paid a bribe or given a gift to government officials to get a document or permit, while 92 per cent said the same with respect to their dealings with the police.
With respect to confidence in political parties, 49 per cent of the respondents expressed a lot, and 25 per cent some trust in the ruling party (BDP), for a composite figure of 74 per cent, with 11 per cent expressing mistrust. On the other hand, only 13 per cent of the public expressed a lot and 17 per cent some, trust in the opposition parties, with 68% expressing little or no trust in the opposition.78 per cent of the respondents said that they felt close to a particular political party.Among these 55 per cent identified themselves as supporters of the BDP, 14 per cent as supporters of the BNF, 7 per cent as supporters of the BCP and 1 per cent each for BAM and BPP.Asked about the funding of political parties, 53 per cent agreed that political parties should be responsible for raising their own funds from their supporters, while 41 per cent believed that they should be publicly funded to put all parties on an equal footing.In terms of service delivery 76 per cent of the public said that government was doing well or fairly well handling the economy, 75 per cent in reducing crime, 80 per cent in providing health services, 84 per cent in providing education, 95 per cent in combating HIV/AIDS, 72 per cent in providing water and sanitation, 69 per cent in fighting corruption, 66 per cent in providing electricity 58% in maintaining roads and bridges and 60 per cent in improving the living standards of the poor.On the opposite end, however, 66 per cent believed that government was not doing enough to create jobs, and 88 per cent believed more should be done to control prices.In terms of gender relations, 77 per cent of the public, both male and female, believed that Government was doing well or very well in empowering women.