From 1956 to 1966 Fawcus and Tilbury observe that ‘constitutional and political development far outstripped economic and social advance. The thought that independence might be at the end of the road only emerged in the early 1960s and was discounted by Lord Hailey as late as 1963.’
Fortunately since about 1956 there had been a slow build-up in Britain’s financial grants to the Protectorate. By 1963 a £10-million plan was in place for development that covered the transition period around independence. This included the immediate start to constructing a new administrative capital, at Gaborone – as previously Bechuanaland had been administered from Mafikeng, over the border in South Africa.
During this time, Sir Ketumile Masire, Bechuanaland’s first deputy Prime Minister and second president, commented that there was a high ‘degree of consultation and co-operation between the local representatives of the British government and the people of Botswana’ and that there was ‘immense goodwill on both sides’. Perhaps this, more than anything else, explains how the transition was completed so peacefully.
On March 1 1965 a remarkably peaceful election was held, with voters placing coloured symbols in envelopes to allow for the largely illiterate electorate. This worked without problems. The Bechuanaland Democratic Party (BDP) won 28 out of the 31 seats, and on March 3 1965 Seretse Khama became the country’s first Prime Minister. Within this new administration, a number of senior British public servants were kept on – including the minister of finance and the attorney-general, and a senior civil servant in each of the ministries.
This clear victory for the BDP, and stable administration, gave the new government the platform from which to amend the constitution. The new Setswana name of the Republic of Botswana was chosen for the country, and on September 30 1966, Sir Seretse Khama became the first president.