02 Jul 2024

Botswana’s exceptional story of inclusive, sustainable development shows that it is possible to break the resource curse and define the country’s own destiny.

Secretary general of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) Dr Kevin Kasas-Zamora made this observation at the High Level Continental Dialogue on Comparative Mineral Resources governance in Africa recently.

Dr Kasas-Zamora said the resource curse was the notion that countries blessed with the greatest natural wealth were the most doomed to the autocratic concentration of power, to abuses of human rights and ultimately to state failure.

“This country’s exceptional story of inclusive, sustainable development shows that it is possible to break the curse; that it is possible for a country to define its own destiny. From the early days of independence and through five elected presidents, resource royalties have been applied to great effect, funding a social system that complements strong economic growth. Botswana’s democracy also does well, according to International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy assessment, with particularly and consistently high performance in terms of Fundamental Rights and Civil Society Participation,” he said.

Dr Kasas-Zamora said good politics and sound development policies were not abstractions as they impacted the life trajectory of individuals and enhanced the possibilities of those individuals to contribute to society changing society for the better.

He said it was appropriate that Botswana was convening the continental dialogue on natural resource governance.

He noted that in the search for an extractive sector model that complemented and nourished sustainable democratic development, Botswana should serve as inspiration.

“Yet I must acknowledge that no democracy young or old, developed or emerging has found a silver bullet to the challenge of natural resource governance. This subject remains hotly debated in places like Canada, Chile, and Australia, just as it does on this continent. When it comes to this topic, as is true for many of the challenges facing democracy, we are all in a state of perplexity. This makes it crucial that we seek answers together,” he said. Dr Kasas-Zamora said at the global level International IDEA could assist as a platform for policy dialogues among its 35 highly diverse member states.

He said International IDEA aspired to be a platform that facilitated equal dialogue and mutual learning and that was why they were committed to convening candid conversations among member states on key issues facing democracies, from natural resource governance to other complex challenges such as election administration and gender equality.

International IDEA is an intergovernmental organisation with 35 member states from all regions, dedicated to supporting democracy worldwide. Botswana joined the Institute as one of the first African member states in 1997.

The organisation is known globally for producing policy-friendly, comparative knowledge production on issues related to elections, constitution building, political participation and representation, gender and the assessment of democratic performance around the world. Endss