KalahariLog

The paper that got Ian Taylor and Ken Good in trouble with the Botswana government turns out to be a worthwhile read. The gist of is that 40 years of uninterrupted rule by the same party (Botswana Democratic Party) has come at some expense: diversification and weak human development. While Botswana went from one the world's poorest countries to a "Upper Middle Income" country, according to the World Bank, and has been called "the African Miracle" because of its great economic developments, the politics of the country leave a lot to be desired. Critics of the powers that be are swiftly silenced, there is no Freedom of Information, and public servants are not allowed to give interviews.

Ken Good seems to have presented this paper in February 2005 to a standing room only auditorium at the University. A webpage at the History department has a short history of the events and the Mmegi archive has a summary of the paper.

Ken Good was 72 year old at the time and had lived and worked in Botswana for 15 years. He was given 48 hours to leave the country as he had been declared a "prohibited immigrant" by the president. After challenging the order in the supreme court he was given a little more time but eventually was deported. Botswana's President Festus Mogae has explained the deportation as getting rid of a "threat to national security." The President claimed Good had described Botswana's diamonds - the country's key export commodity - as "blood diamonds", thus threatening national security. As often in Botswana, there are always diamonds at the bottom of most stories. He makes a good argument in the paper "The Social Consequences of Diamonds Dependency in Botswana".

Ian Taylor, the other co-author is a Professor at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.