Botswana\u2019s governing party – in power for almost six decades – is trying to pull off a trick in Wednesday\u2019s general election by using a phrase normally associated with long-suffering opposition groups.<\/p>\n
In its manifesto, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) is calling for \u201cchange\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s change together and build prosperity for all,\u201d President Mokgweetsi Masisi – in charge of the country since 2018 \u2013 writes in the introduction.<\/p>\n
It is an acknowledgement that things need to be done differently – the opposition argues that the president\u2019s party is not in a position to do that.<\/p>\n
Though analysts say the outcome of the election is hard to predict this time, the BDP has won handsome parliamentary majorities at the 11 elections since independence in 1966.<\/p>\n
It subsequently secured the presidency every time as MPs elect the head of state.<\/p>\n
The BDP has been credited with overseeing a peaceful and dramatic transformation of a poor country, with only a few kilometres of tarred roads at independence, into a place where average living standards are among the highest on the continent.<\/p>\n
Underpinning this transformation has been Botswana\u2019s huge diamond reserves – measured by their value, the country is the world\u2019s largest producer of the gemstone.<\/p>\n
And yet all is not well.<\/p>\n
Botswana is facing big economic challenges – hence Masisi’s talk of change.<\/p>\n
More than one in four of the working population is unemployed, with an even higher proportion among younger people, according to the World Bank.<\/p>\n
Politics professor at the University of Botswana Zibani Maundeni described it as a \u201cjobless economy\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are producing graduates every year and the economy is not producing enough jobs for them,\u201d he told the BBC\u2019s Africa Daily podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n