**3. Botswana – socioeconomic and political profile**

Before considering the nature of standard of living and wellbeing with particular focus on Botswana over the years, it is perhaps pertinent to commence by providing a brief account of the historical evolution of Botswana, with particular focus on the country's socio-political and economic factors. Botswana is a landlocked country situated in the southern part of Africa, covering 581,730 km2 (see [20]). It is bordered by Zambia in the north, Zimbabwe in the northeast, Namibia to the northwest, and South Africa to the southeast. Botswana, which is a member of the 16 state economic block – the Southern African Development Community (SADC) - started off as a British Protectorate, before eventually gaining independence.

During the period 1895 to 1965 Botswana was administered by the British High Commission in Cape Town and Mafeking, South Africa. The country then attained Independence from Britain in 1966. As at 2014, the country's population was estimated at 2,024,904, having risen exponentially from 550,000 in 1966 [21]. The majority of the population is concentrated in the southeastern and eastern regions of the country given that much of the western part of the country is a desert [21]. At independence (in 1966) Botswana was considered one of the poorest countries in the world, but as will be seen later, the situation changed dramatically over time. Let us commence by looking at standard of living prior to the arrival of the colonial power, Britain.

### **4. Socioeconomic status in pre-colonial period**

During the pre-colonial period, Tswana societies were self-sufficient as the people relied on subsistence farming [22]. Parsons [23] observed that during the precolonial era, the economy of Tswana societies was based on cattle rearing and food crop production, supplemented by hunting (and gathering). Strong traditional structures existed and these were based on the notion of the extended family network and the community which both played a pivotal role in addressing individual and family needs [24]. Community obligation was the backbone of the social and economic fabric of the people, and this helped meet their needs. As indicated by Schapera [25], members of Tswana societies during that period were socialized within the norm of collective participation in family and communal activities. The family and the community ensured that every person received essential services such as food and shelter [25]. The community was compelled to care for the needy out of moral obligation. All these endeavors, predicated on the notion of *botho* (Ubuntu), ensured that the community's standard of living was maintained at a reasonable level, with communal support helping to improve their wellbeing.

During the pre-colonial period, the institutionalized traditional frameworks and systems in place helped communities contain hunger and poverty. For example, there was the *mafisa* system whereby those with cattle would lend a number of beasts to the poor (without asking for payment in return), to allow them to use as draught power and to benefit from milk; the *majako* initiative whereby the poor would provide their labor to the rich during the plowing season in return for part of the harvest; *go tshwara teu* or *bodisa,*a system which allowed the rich to provide an opportunity to poor people to serve as cattle herders, and receiving as payment, a cow each year as a way of breaking the poverty cycle [26–28]. Furthermore, traditional ceremonies such as "*motshelo*" or "*molaletsa*" assisted the homeless to construct houses with assistance from the community [25]. Moreover, traditional leaders *(diKgosi)* collected levies from the community which would later be distributed during periods of drought and economic strife, to benefit the poor.

These traditional frameworks and systems benefited those who did not have such resources as land and cattle, as well as those living in poverty, hence the gesture helped improve their standard of living. The community in some instances, also relied to some extent, on the positive socio-cultural practice of volunteerism that enhanced solidarity and social protection [27, 29].

#### **5. Socioeconomic environment during colonial era**

As noted earlier, in 1885, the British government colonized Botswana (naming it Bechuanaland Protectorate) and adopted indirect rule as its governance policy. The

#### *Standard of Living, Well-Being and Community Development: The Case of Botswana DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97680*

arrangement, as noted, involved the British controlling the country through *Bogosi (*chieftainship*)* [30]. During that time, the extended family network and the community ensured they continued to appreciate their obligation to care for their own. With time, the colonial government introduced taxes, which policy then radically transformed the traditional frameworks, which all along had relied on subsistence farming. The tax obligation meant a considerable segment of the population was obliged to go and work in the mines in South Africa [31, 32]. This therefore, unsettled family welfare arrangements as able-bodied young men in particular, were forced by circumstances to relocate to South Africa in search of work [23]. As young men became economically independent, the dependence on the extended family became considerably reduced [25]. Agricultural activities that families had depended on were negatively affected as too were the institutionalized traditional frameworks and systems. Nthomang, Malinga-Musamba and Kubanga [24], have argued, "Thus, *the erosion of the traditional welfare structures left many households vulnerable to poverty, hunger and in need of basic food, education, health, and housing services which the extended family used to provide but was now unable to"*(pg. 58). The same sentiments were echoed by Parsons [23] who lamented that: *"…by* 1939, *a Botswana child could look forward to a malnourished and uneducated childhood; grow up to spend his/her adult energies as a hired labourer for low wages; and at old age become impoverished and a burden on his/her children."*

The above observation has succinctly captured the reality that obtained in many Tswana societies during the colonial period. Many families during that period, struggled to sustain themselves and fell into poverty which development had negative effects on standard of living and wellbeing. Due to the socio-economic shocks that obtained in the country at the time, the social welfare approaches in place then failed to cushion communities from poverty and vulnerability. This disturbance of the economic structure of the Tswana traditional societies therefore, called for external intervention [24].

During the 1950s and 1960s, the colonial government introduced social policies meant to somewhat cushion the locals; and these initiatives included the Bechuanaland Soldiers Benefit Fund, introduced to help the loss of livelihood and impoverishment suffered by soldiers returning from world war; and the Grant-in-Aid meant to help the country meet its recurrent and related expenditure [33, 34]. In addition, the Protectorate Five Year Development Plan which was launched during that period, provided a blueprint on socio-economic development in the emergent state of Botswana. This period marked the beginning of formal social welfare provision which is in place in Botswana today [24]. Furthermore, formal institutions for the provision of health services, education and social welfare services to address vulnerability to poverty and destitution, were also introduced. However, poverty remained an issue of some concern during this period.

Wass [35] explained that the main reason for the widespread poverty at the time was that there was lack of commitment on the part of the colonial administrators to develop the country in any meaningful way. In fact, British rule was apparently characterized by neglect, with only rudimentary health and education services in existence. Osei-Hwedie [36]: 80 corroborated this observation, and further explained that the services provided during this era did not develop into a coherent system of social protection across the country. Apparently the services were only rudimentary and most remarkably, were communally oriented and, as mentioned earlier, administered essentially by *Dikgosi* (i.e traditional chiefs).

Wass [35], further explained that while, during those early years, the country depended mostly on agriculture, however, over time the importance of agriculture began to decrease due to such factors as perennial drought, aridness of the land coupled with poor rainfall patterns. It is little wonder therefore, that during those

days, the country served as a reservoir of cheap labour [37], with many young people opting to try their luck in the mines and plantations in neighboring South Africa. The country found itself in an untenable situation whereby many in the population, depended essentially on remittances from migrant labour. Obviously dependence on remittances does not always augur well for meaningful standard of living and wellbeing.
