ghhther
...ana there have been gleaming problems that come up again and again. The biggest of these problems has been their proneness to droughts. Because of their location that is so close to the equator, Botswana has very dry land and their agricultural economy takes a big dive when a drought does occur. At times, Botswana’s agricultural section has been ruined and there has hardly been enough water for the people to drink. Another one of Botswana’s reoccurring problems is their growing birthrate, which at one time was the third highest in the world. This is especially hard to deal with considering the country’s already low supply of water for the people that they have. Also, Botswana is not the biggest country in the world and with their growing birthrate, it is getting harder and harder to fit all these people into the country. -3- In 1998 Botswana got world recognition for their elephant crisis. Nearly a decade ago, the Untied Nations set up a ban on the poaching of African elephants. This ban worked, but the only setback is that Botswana has become over-loaded with elephants. Perhaps George Kgoroba, Botswana's commerce and industry minister, said it best when he told CNN, “The conflict between elephant and people has become so intense that it is becoming a major political issue” (www.cnn.com). The country is awash in African elephants -- nearly 80,000 in a country which wildlife experts say can only support 33,000. And the population is growing by about 5 percent a year. Some days, the people have to fight off the elephants, because of their increasing number. Life for a person in Botswana is not as good as it could, or should, be. The people of Botswana have many problems that they have to live with, including a low supply of water and an over supply of elephants. Another problem is that the life expectancy at birth is only 46.01 years of age, which compared to other countries, is very low. For those who live in the Republic of Botswana and intend to make their living through the agricultural industry it is very difficult, because of all the droughts and the dryness from the location near the equator. Even though there are a lot of problems that you have to face living in Botswana, there is also a little bit of an upside. With the booming diamond industry, which ranks fourth in the world, and all of the hiring being done by the Hyundai Motor Distributors, there are some job positions available. Overall, though it seems as if the people of Botswana today have more problems than they do successes. -4- The future of Botswana seems to be headed in the right direction. If they can control their problems of the birthrate and low water supply, they seem to have a good chance to become a true economic power. While their economy is solid right now it could use a boost from an industry other than minerals. If they can keep their economy at the present level, it would seem as if Botswana has a bright future ahead of them. Experts seem to think that if Botswana can keep its economy stable and develop another source of income other than their minerals they can become a very wealthy nation. Their economic situation is the focus of how most experts predict Botswana’s future. Other factors that could determine how the country’s future goes are the ever-increasing birthrate and the problem of elephants over flowing Botswana. Overall, the impression that most experts left is that they believe that Botswana will experience economic growth and that the country will flourish. Throughout its history Botswana has been through good and bad times. This country has overcome the bad times and welcomed in the good times. Although its been faced with much difficulty, Botswana has made itself into one of wealthiest country’s in Africa. If their economy continues to grow and if more areas than mineral expand, Botswana is headed on the right track to success.Since it’s independence in 1966, The Republic of Botswana has had many problems and successes, as almost all growing nations have. These problems and successes include everything from Botswana’s economy to their location. Throughout all of this Botswana has maintained itself as a peaceful nation and as one of the largest diamond producers in the world. The man that started Botswana out on the right track was Seretse Khama, who was the president of Botswana through and until the late 1970's. Born into royalty Seretse Khama inherited the title of the chief of the Bamangwato people, who make up more than one-third of Botswana’s population. He violated the color ban by marrying a white woman, was exiled, but soon returned to form the Botswana Democratic Party. Soon this party came into power and Seretse Khama became the Prime minister of Botswana. In 1966, the same year Botswana gained its independence from Britain, he was elected president, and he later died in office. Today, the party established by Khama still governs Botswana. Botswana has many problems with their population, location, and economy. One of Botswana’s problems is its location, which makes a drought a usual occurrence. Because of Botswana’s proximity to Zimbabwe in the east, South Africa in the south, Namibia in the west, and Angola and Zambia in the north its climate is very dry and arid. The Kalahari Desert covers the central and southwestern parts of the country, which made droughts a usual occurrence. After a peak in 1987-89, rainfall averages have dropped steadily in Botswana. In January of 1995 rainfall was much below average and cumulative rainfall since October 1994 continued to be deficient, according to the meteorological services. The country was drier than it had been in the last two planting seasons. Crops planted early were destroyed by the October to January dry spell, most either failed to germinate or soon died. The rains did come in February of 1995, thanks to a tropical depression in the Mozambique Channel, but it was a case of too much, too late. In a country known for its droughts, a two-day downpour left 10 people dead in Palapye, central Botswana, and 1,000 homeless in Masemyenga in the northeast. Communications were disrupted, cars were abandoned half submerged, and goods worth thousands of pula, Botswana’s form of money, were damaged in several shops. All this in a country that is known for its dry spells. Botswana’s economy is one of the least developed in Africa. However, thanks to a flourishing diamond industry and judicious use of national income, it has been turned into one of Africa’s wealthiest. Botswana has even gotten world attention for being one of the biggest diamond producers in the world. Even De Beers’ Central Selling Organization, a large retailer of jewelry today, gets their diamond imports from Botswana. A major expansion of Botswana's largest diamond mine, Jwaneng, was done in 1994 and this boosted diamond exports, which had been at a low point. Some of Botswana’s other natural resources which help their economy grow from exporting and trading include copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, and silver. Even in -2- 1998 when a trading deficit was expected, Botswana showed a surplus of 733.9 million pula. Botswana ranks among the top countries in Africa in terms of total infrastructure. The increased national income received from its mining sector enabled Botswana to invest in roads and other infrastructure. Telecommunications, roads, railways and air transport are generally good although the western areas of the country remain relatively inaccessible. However, Botswana is poorly endowed with water resources. Its unfavorable geographic location, erratic rainfall, frequent severe droughts, and expanding population make the provision of affordable water a major challenge. Throughout the history of Botsw...