Wretched Lives in a Westernised African Country: the Obstacles Towards Development of Communities in Botswana

This paper is necessitated to advance the narrative that due to westernisation of the economy of Botswana, which is an African country that is glorified for its economic success, rural development has been grossly compromised. The infiltration of westernisation has led to the undermining and removal of economic activities that were pivotal for the development of rural communities. Due to westernisation the economic, political and social performance of rural communities were taken as not germane for western development and consequently discarded by the newly independent government. The paper promulgates the view that communities in Botswana through rural development could improve their living conditions economically, politically, technologically and socially, but are submerged in poverty because of the strong believe that indigenous knowledge was an impediment to economic, political, technological and social progress. The imperialist forces have persistently and aggressively presented western knowledge as a panacea for rural development despite its inappropriateness in some cases. The rural areas that cherished indigenous knowledge systems that were tested and utilised over a period of time, allowed the communities the opportunities to perfect them and pass them from generation to generation. The westernisation process has denied the rural communities in Botswana to promote the advancement of what sustained them before they got colonised and Christened. The discarding of traditional schools for instances, incapacitated the rural communities, as they lost the system that enhanced skills transfer, promoted industriousness and self-efficacy amongst the recipients. The importation of western religions detached the rural areas in Botswana from the traditional values that were inculcated on young adults from generation to generation. The traditional leaders got disempowered, leading to their non-participation on matters of community importance, such as land distribution and control of other valuable resources such as the rapacious annexation of livestock from rural communities by urban livestock rustlers. The paper takes particular interest in the role the traditional leaders used to play in fighting poverty amongst the communities through protecting resources from unbridled greed by politicians and foreigners. The invasion of communities through the enforcement of inherited western laws disempowered traditional leaders by placing them under full control of politicians and foreign corporations. The independence of Botswana meant the replacing of colonisers with western trained leaders, who invidiously upheld western values, with the deliberate effort to transform communities into becoming Eurocentric.