Botswana prepared to inaugurate Mokgweetsi Masisi as president on Sunday in a ceremony designed to highlight a smooth handover of power in one of Africa's most stable countries.

Ian Khama, the son of Botswana's first post-independence leader, officially stepped down as president on Saturday after serving the constitutional maximum of 10 years in office.

His vice president, Masisi, will take over a county widely seen as a success story -- benefitting from good governance and lucrative income from its diamond, beef and tourism sectors.

It is rated as the least corrupt country in Africa by Transparency International, but has recently struggled with rising unemployment and tensions over the uneven sharing of its vast diamond wealth.

Khama finished a national farewell tour this week, bidding a months-long goodbye to the country's population of 2.2-million.

The government published photographs of Masisi attending Saturday's dress rehearsal for the inauguration. </s> Botswana’s president Ian Khama has officially stepped down. The retired army general exited on Saturday handing the diamond-rich country to vice-president, Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Khama, a 65-year old bachelor, is known as a straight talker having publicly criticised leaders including US President Donald Trump for an alleged slur against African countries and former Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe as well DRC’s Joseph Kabila for overstaying their welcome.

55 year-old Masisi inherits a country that has for decades been heralded as a beacon of African democracy and sound economic management but faces a huge task of reducing the country’s dependence on diamonds.

Masisi, a trained teacher who has also worked for the United Nations Children’s Fund as an education project officer for eight years until 2003, was elected lawmaker in 2009.

He served in the president’s office as a minister of public affairs from 2011 until 2014 when Khama named him minister of education, a post he held until appointed Vice President last year.

He becomes only the third leader to take charge of the southern African nation outside the Khama political dynasty. The dynasty dominated national politics since independence from Britain in 1966.

Botswana law restricts the president to serving two five-year terms, and provides for the vice president to automatically fill the post should it become vacant.

The National Assembly will elect a new president after elections scheduled for October 2019. </s> GABORONE (Reuters) - Ian Khama, a retired army general, stepped down as president of Botswana on Saturday, handing the diamond-rich country to his deputy after a decade at the helm.

FILE PHOTO: Botswana President Ian Khama looks on during the Botswana-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) in Pretoria, South Africa, November 11, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

Mokgweetsi Masisi becomes only the third leader to take charge of the southern African nation outside the Khama political dynasty that has dominated national politics since independence from Britain in 1966.

Masisi, 55, inherits a country that has for decades been heralded as a beacon of African democracy and sound economic management but faces a huge task of reducing the country’s dependence on diamonds.

“I am not sure about his competency in as far as the economy is concerned, but if he has the respect of his ministers then he should be able to make them deliver,” said political analyst Ndulamo Anthony Morima.

Masisi, a trained teacher who has also worked for the United Nations Children’s Fund as an education project officer for eight years until 2003, was elected lawmaker in 2009. He served in the president’s office as a minister of public affairs from 2011 until 2014 when Khama named him minister of education, a post he held until appointed vice president last year.

“The business community sees him as being more business-friendly so that should work well for the economy. He seems to be more likely to come up with regulation that enables more economic activity,” said RMB Botswana economist Moatlhodi Sebabole.

Masisi takes office more than a year before the election under Botswana’s constitution that restricts the president to serving two five-year terms. Khama, son the son of Botswana’s first president, Seretse, also took over from Festus Mogae a year before the 2009 election.

One of the world’s poorest countries in the 1970s, Botswana transformed itself into one of the fastest-growing economies by harnessing around $3 billion a year in diamond sales, to become one of the world’s biggest producers, and gained middle-income status.

But dependence on its wealth from the diamond industry might be catching up with the landlocked country of just two million after the collapse in commodity prices in 2014 tipped its economy into recession three years ago.

“He is well versed with current challenges that the country is facing and I am sure he is quite capable of delivering,” said Mothusi Sename, a 41-year-old taxi driver in Gaborone, referring to Masisi.

END OF POLITICAL DYNASTY?

Khama’s departure leaves his younger brother and tourism minister Tshekedi as the only member of the family holding a high-profile post in the government, and depending on who Masisi picks as vice president, it would be the first time a Khama is not part of the top tier of national leadership.

Khama, a 65-year old bachelor, is known as a straight talker having publicly criticized leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump for an alleged slur against African countries and then-president Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe for overstaying his welcome.

Khama was born in Britain after his father a married a white British woman Ruth Williams, defying convention and opposition in Africa and Britain. Their story was depicted in the 2016 film ‘A United Kingdom’.

His party, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), is expected to name Masisi as its presidential candidate for next year’s election.

Masisi will be inaugurated on Sunday. </s> Botswana has inaugurated Mokgweetsi Masisi as its fifth president, in a ceremony designed to highlight a smooth transition of power in one of Africa's strongest democracies.

The ex-vice president took over on Sunday from Ian Khama, who stepped down after his term limit - 10 years - was reached. Elections are scheduled for next year.

In his first address to the nation, Masisi vowed to focus on tackling unemployment, which stands at about 20 percent.

"Botswana faces a myriad of challenges, such as unemployment, poverty, crime, HIV/AIDs, alcohol and drug abuse, amongst others," he said.

"Therefore, my top priorities as a president of this country will be to address the problem of unemployment, especially among the young people who constitute to the majority of our population."

Donald Rasikela, one of those unemployed listening to that speech, told Al Jazeera that he hoped the president would live up to his word.

"My expectation is that he will improve government efficiency in order to create job opportunities for the youth," he said.

"I hope he will improve social services to deal with employment."

Some opposition members of parliament skipped the event, partly because of a rare corruption scandal that involves the national petroleum fund.

Those who did attend say they need to keep the president and his government honest.

"We are going to continue playing our oversight role, continue to seek more clarity from the president in terms of the way forward ... how he intends to deal with unemployment because this country has been experiencing what we call jobless growth," Phenyo Butale, an opposition politician, told Al Jazeera.

Masisi has 18 months to assert his authority within the ruling Democratic party before national elections in October 2019.

Botswana gets to choose its members of parliament and then the party with the majority of votes in turn elects a president. Masisi hopes to be that man.

"Many people are saying that they don't think that the new president is going to move very far from former president Ian Khama's socialist policies," said Al Jazeera's Catherine Soi, reporting from Botswana's capital, Gaborone.

"Khama was concerned with poverty eradication particularly in rural areas. So people expect that President Masisi will keep in line with that but they also hope he'll have his own ideas and vision."

His first test will be this week when he names his vice president and cabinet.

Botswana has enjoyed strong economic growth and a stable multi-party system since gaining independence from the United Kingdom just over 50 years ago.

It is one of the world's largest producers of diamonds, but Masisi believes the country is too reliant on the gem and wants to diversify trade.
Botswanan President Ian Khama steps down and hands power over to Vice President Mokgweetsi Masisi.