UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICS AND ADMINSTRATIVE STUDIES

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

MAHSTAH AGR:8.7

QUESTION 1
DISCUSS T E SI NIFICANCE AND I PO TANCE OF T E DOCT INE OF SEPARATION OF POWER TO BOTSWANAS PUBLIC AD INSTRATION PRACTICES

These essay seeks to bring to light the significance and importance of the doctrine of separation of powers in the context of Botswanas public administration practices.Before i propound on the topic at hand i found it fit to first to define the key terms being,the doctrine of separation of powers and public administration practices. The doctrine of separation of powers is mainly concerned with the function of the three branches of government,the executive, the legislature a nd judiciary.These doctrine seeks to put forward that there is a need for clear separation of powers between the three arms of government so as avoid a situation where power is centralised on one man .Separation of powers curtails tyrannical tendencies and ensures that there is no abuse of power by those in power.The doctrine of separation of powers is premised on the need to promote governmental efficiency through functional specialisation,to promote generality in law making, and to protect individual l iberties by a system of checks and balances(Nsereko:2002). From the above statement by Nsereko what i can derive is that the theory of separation of powers is a mechanism that enables the arms of government to to execute their functions with ease and with out impediments.Furthermore through functional specialisational it promotes accountability and job specialisation,through the system of checks and balances the three powers of government act on one anothers behalf as watchdogs to ensure that the other do es not abuse power,respects civil liberties,and laws that are passed by parliament are in accordance with rule of law. Since the question is focused on the separation of powers in Botswana,it is imperative to note that separation of powers in Botswana is n ot absolute,what these means is that the three powers of government to a lesser extentare not independent of another.In a constitutional dispensation of power based on philosophy of constitutionalismand separation of powers,an effective system must not onl y define and limit executive power,but also ensure that the executive operates within these bounds.This requires a judicious balance that grants the executive sufficient powers to discharge its mandate without overly inhibitive and paralyzing restrictions. In Botswana,the mixing of

executive and legislative functions is integral to the process of providing checks and balances(Fombad). One aspect of of the constitutional setup that breaches the walls of separation of powers is the requirement that the preside nt,ministers,assistant ministers be members of parliament.The justification for this merger is that the executives responsibility to parliament renders the presidents and ministerss membership necessary.They are in a better position to explain governm ent policies to parliament when they are part of it than when they are isolated from it.They are better able to have parliament pass laws reflecting and implementing that policy when they are in parliament than when they are o ut of it(Nsereko:2002).What Nsereko is saying is that the constitutional framework and its structure constitute to separation of powers in Botswana not being absolute.The constitution which is the supreme law of the land directs that the president shall be member of the member of of both the executive and legislature. Manifesting his legislative powers, the President, as an ex-officio Member of Parliament can take part in the deliberations of the House, as well as to vote Perhaps more importantly, he has veto powers(Molomo:2000) The extent to which the president in Botswana has been questioned a lot by staunch critics of the Botswana Democratic Party,who have called for a constitutional review.The president of Botswana has unlimited powers to the extent of which some say he is above the law.State power is centralised in Botswana in the person and office of the executive president.He is at once the head of state,head of government,leader of the ruling party and commander in chief of the military. the main levers of state power the (bureaucracy,the military,police,information and broadcasting,and the anti-corruption agency) are to his hand in the office of the presidency,where he is served by a highly influential minister of presidential affairs and public administration(Good:2008) The second key term that needs to be elaborated on is public administration practices.As can be observed the key term can be divided into two words,the first being public administration and the second being practice. Public administration in simple terms maybe defined as the mechanism used by government to implement its policies.Narrowly defined,public administration encompasses all those activities that are concerned with implementing legislative mandates.it is the coordinated and cooperative management of materials and/or resources directed at achieving both the letter and intent of politically formulated programs.Public administration embodies the collectives desires and needs of the community,which may consist of politica l constituents,agency clients,or the

general public.In a democratic state,resources can be authoritatively allocated only by duly constituted representatives (Mckinney and Howard:1998).From the above definition by the two learned it can seen that indeed public administration is the executive machinery of government employed to manifest its policies.The term practice which any learned individual can derive or ome up with the definition,entails putting something into action or how something is being done. Having defined the two terms from the key term,its time to define the key term using the definition i have so far come across.Public administration practices entails the customs associated with the implementation of policies by public servants in Botswana.Some public administration practices involves,the rational maximization of public goals,a cooperative effort in public setting,carrying out activities of the executive branch of the national state,or local governments with the implementing functions of legislatures,courts and spe cial agencies,a system of inputs from an environment converted into program outputs with an an evaluative feedback and a set of techniques or means,especially organisational and personnel practices and procedures essential to the effective carrying out o f the work of government(Mckinney and Howard:1998). It important to note that public servants who encompasses the bureaucratic system in the country are required by the law to be political neutral and serve any government of the day,failure to do so could lead to dire repercussions which could entail the culprit being suspended or fired.As in other developmental states,the bureaucracy in Botswana is recruited,retained,and promoted on the basis of merit.There are clear career paths and conditions of ser vice for almost all categories of public servants.All public servants are expected to serve the government of the day loyally.By law they are not allowed or expected to serve to be actively engaged in politics even though they may have their own private p olitical view(Hope and Somolekae:1998)
T E SI NIFICANCE AND I PORTANCE OF T E DOCTRINE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS TO BOTSWANAS PUBLIC AD INSTRATION PRACTICES

The notion of separation of powers is implied but not expressly stated in the Botswana constitution. The constitution of Botswana implicitly recognises the separation of powers by dealing with each organ in separate and distinct provisions.27 The executive is covered in sections 30 to 56, the legislature in sections 57 to 94, and the judiciary in sections 95 to 107. Separation is therefore practically demonstrated without being expressly

stated. However, there is the rare possibility that the obvious constitutional omission of the notion of separation of powers was meant to illustra te a strong mutual overlap between the three arms of government, as is customary in most parliamentary democracies (Mpabanga,et al:2007). From the above statement by Mpabanga and others they reiterated the point that that constitution of Botswana does not expressly state the doctrine of separation of powers ,but rather since it has divided the three arms of government with their designated function and duty it can be said that separation of powers exists.The doctrine of separation of separation of powe rs significant and important to Botswana`s public administration,in further analysis of these i will give a few points to suggest why i say the doctrine is significant and vital to public administration practices in public administration. The first point is the obvious one of course,public administrators rely on the three powers of government in the execution of their duties.It is vital to note that the separation of powers in Botswana though not absolute has created an atmosphere where the public administrators or public servants can without fear of security.My point is derived from the fact that public servants have the right to take their employee to court being the government when they are mistreated in anyway during the execution of their administrative duties.Since most top civil servants are involved in policy formulation ,these presents them with an ideal opportunity to come with policies that will benefit the people at large and wont put other people concerned into disrepute.Moreover ,continuity and stability inthe upper echelons of the public sevice promoted mutual understanding between between politicians and top civil servants rather mistrust and acrimony.The central argument here is that politicians and top civil servants have been the principal actors in development policy formulation in Botswana(Hope and Somolekae:1998) The second point which makes the doctrine of separation of powers important to public administration is that it fosters functional separation.The men aand wome involved or working the departments of the three arms of government as time progresses become more and more experienced in their field of work hence these leads to effective and effecicent use of government resources.Another point to note is that separation of powers has the capacity to implicitly reduce or curb any abuse of power by those in top civil servant position.My point stems from the fact that the judiciary has been empowered by the constitution to prosecute anyone found or thought to be abusing his position regardless of whether he/she is in the office of the president or the attorney generals chambers.

In conclusion what i can say though separation of power is not absolute,it is vital however and significant to the public administration practices in Botswana.As stated before the doctrine of separation of powers avoids tyrannical tendencies by those in power thus in some way assist administrators to implement policies with a clear conscious rather than under dictatori al leadership where administrators are most forced to implement policies that subjugate other people and benefits others.

REFERENCES

NSEREKO,N.D.D(2002)CONSTITUTIONAL LAW IN BOTSWANA.GABORONE:PULA PRESS FOMBAD,C.M(2005).BOSTON COLLEGE THIRD WORLD LAW JOURNAL;THE OPERATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS IN BOTSWANA McKINNEY,J.B AND HOWARD,L.C(1998).PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION;PUBLIC ADMINSTRATION: BALANCING POWER AND ACCOUNTABILTY: WESTPORT.PRAEGER PUBLISHERS HOPE,K.R AND SOMOLEKAE G.(1998).PUBLIC ADMINSTRATION AND POLICY IN BOTSWANA:CAPETOWN.WYVERN PUBLICATION GOOD,K.(2008).DIAMOND,DISPOSSESSION AND DEMOCRACY IN BOTSWANA:AUCKLAND PARK.BOYDELL AND BREWER LTD MPABANGA,D. et al :CONSOLIDATING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA:JOHANNESBURG.EISA MOLOMO, G.M;BOTSWANA JOURNAL OF AFRICAN STUDIES.DEMOCRACY UNDER SIEGE:THE PRESIDENCY AND EXECUTIVE POWERS IN BOTSWANA.GABORONE .PULA