After the fall of. The monarch. This is news africa coming up in the next 15 minutes this stable country on a path that puts one is the former president has shaken up the countrys politics and the nation is now facing its closest election in more than 50 get. An honest of the giants the ones to be killed off to the lifting of the hunting bad debts and other major issues in the country. Kristie want to welcome to africa the to have you along. Hours from now polls will open in his most closely force election in more than 5 decades former president income has shaken up the countrys traditionally called politics by denouncing the party founded by his father and which has won every election since independence from britain in 1966 but in the country known for its Natural Beauty and diamond reserves theres more to the political shake up than the politicians. The. Courts of the Ruling Botswana Democratic Party or the d. P. P. Has won every election since sports one i gained independence in 1966 holy spirit now theres a fighting chance that this could all change. More than 30 percent of the young population of the country are unemployed and especially in the rural areas and the Village People are complaining that the government is not giving them enough attention they have to be civilized you dont have to stay in these. Days. And. These. Its not true that everythings fine inequality is a huge problem suffering here. Former b d p president visiting the village of. People living here where strongly critical of him during his 10 year rule but now common has defected from the governing party and has thrown his support behind the opposition religious eager to hear what he has to say. He wants to destroy the way we do things here in botswana sisi wants to kill democracy and the rule of law. Comma is referring to president must sisi the man he personally picked to be his successor 2 years ago shortly after taking over as the head of the b d p m i c c declared he would overturn several of comus mandates including a ban of hunting elephants and restrictive laws. With up with your own party or do you think theres no role model nation is in danger of falling into that. Trap that has affected many other african nations in the past not so much today with that we still have some examples in africa today where when people come into office they think its all about themselves and not about the people that they are supposed to serve so i just felt that after 50 plus years of independence when we worked so hard to get a reputation you referred to to where it is today that we see ourselves really backwards and im. Prepared to. See that happen. To 2000000 people. The countrys often touted as an african Success Story things in pots to the diamond industry the ruling parties line was always that this hot and prosperity should spread beyond the countrys elites. To supporters of president say he would continue on that course. He. Says the 5. Countries in the world is now middle incomes because. Were pushing for. Top of the top so its easier to sell. In my lifetime in many people my age or the change weve seen with our own nice infrastructure the level of education level of health care changing its an easy story to tell in the village of cities where people arent convinced the diamond industry hasnt provided them enough workers they say and the diamond mines wont last forever and theyre hoping a change of government will also change the country star action and more of the gemini will trickle down to them. My guest today is professor. From the university of south africa is analyzing the election will go on and in fact has just recently returned from the country welcome to the Debbie Africa professor could this election really spell the end of b. G. P. And change in a new political era and will selena. This is why david many commentators election in political analysts and been thinking about my day in my view its going to be a very tough call we have a tense like a cliffhanger or and its going to be a close knit forwards created for a contest and so on and for the 1st time of his it will be for the trump election this is going to be a tough court in my view ourselves or in the company was on a Democratic Party but in my view i dont see it losing simply for the reason that it is the incumbent party and nobody else again can be an artist and if there are currently in power at the time of the nation well what if if it were so i dont see it in losing but i suppose admitting that it might just have been on your very narrow margin of profit that lets talk about and counted the former president and how much influence does he still wield in in the country and will the newly formed botswana patriotic france results in this election be reflective off that. In comedy and it from a president has a significant influence in votes on his politics for a simple reason that he is a sign off i mean of the founder of this definition and it he different or so apart from being evil having been in. Power is this is the former president as well as if you know and hear from the head of the whos on the defense force. You know much public you know and theyre an influential you know position in which i was pretty sick so to an extent hes you know a recent sero sudden about 10 way by he started not supporting the opposition was i not you know up at concerts in front of many people by surprise because you know its unthinkable its early days now i have been in the history of the p. D. P. If i left all of president of the country if throws in his lot because all of them have been in it with the opposition so therefore we expect a you know the comma ficta to be. One of the significant issues for this election will there be it was an uphill fight to defund it hes currently you know rumored to be you know supporting him of course at a party that they try and we do very well in this election and the jurys out there this is this election my spring a few surprises in a few constituencies but in spite of it i think youd believe that theyre you know and it b. P. Their government b. P. Were asking if you can see where were going to give us they come if they can might just you know a few and crucial votes who might find some surprises and some districts it was on as a 10 day you know where they got the sticks and you know its its its its really uncertain and this is how you make sense as opposed to be and to have that element of surprise. Right professor i dont know if this is fair but some people point out that 90 off the 95 percent of people in botswana have never seen a diamond with their own eyes i mean the point that somebody is trying to illustrate in saying that is this is a country rich in Natural Resources yes there is all that there is also an abundance off of poverty what is the story impulse line as to why that is the case. Here you can even do a do an example with me i didnt agree to that is supposed to have a you know this is a legacy of good ive never seen. Or even have it in my hand but anyway in terms of its own and yes it is true it is a country that has been there once as you know one of the significant and very new in the us however the country has been trying to diversify to move away from diamonds because theyre increasingly becoming unpredictable of course and probity in the countryside is becoming an issue it was initiated in the previous 2014 elections and i and the city most of the parties talking about it of course government has come up with different programs to try and its risky but it is one of the thorny issues it and you know continue to inspire all through the country the norm is this diamond shoes nation in this are going to go to the continent all right i think im hearing you say diamonds are not forever thats professor i can have will have my point here in south africa thank you. Well and have a heavyweight issue in botswana are the countries elephants which roam freely and its unfancied pox and wide open spaces sparking conflicts with People Living nearby president sisi has recently lifted a ban on hunting saying the number of animals has become and manageable in the pastas. Were accompanying gamekeepers from a national. Day patrolling a village on the edge of the reserve protests. Breaking. Suddenly another elephant turns up among the houses people take cover. In a village near the town of cosigning elephants walk right through where people are living conflicts between humans and the animals are common. Daniel just when he said jeremy here is a farmer he says elephants regularly visit his fields and destroy everything he plants you know ever to come every day. Were supposed to have it in may but he didnt have anything. There already damaged. The elephant simply trample down his fences even the electric lines jeremy and no longer has the money to repair them and now he has no income. For him there is only one solution. My feeling is. I think cutting should be does what i feel about all of it does that too many. They need to be to do with. The botswanas government doesnt want to cull the elephants instead its decided to lift its ban on hunting allowing up to 400. 00 elephants a year to be shot by trophy hunters as well the government says elephants should be hunted in those areas with the biggest conflicts between animals and people. Some experts say hunting is counterproductive as it makes elephant herds move fearful and aggressive exacerbating conflict with local communities. Others welcome a step. A couple of animals that are sport hunted can go a very long way to mitigate the kind of negative impacts including the loss of human life that rural botswanans are facing on a daily basis with the lifting of the hunting ban coming just months before botswanas elections some allege the decision is a ploy to boost the president s popularity among rural voters ahead of the polls. Well that is it for now the d. W. P. Is africa as always you can catch all our stories on our website and face the page flavius now with some all fictious off this one is an offense to the next time. Downsizing sustainable growth. The economy and economics need to be reinvented that. We have to change our ways in order to save our planet. Us are people willing to. Consumerism and the latest gadget. Made in germany in 60 minutes p. W. Much of it. 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