New DISS to reverse Khamas Prohibited Immigrants
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As part of revamping the notorious Directorate of Intelligence Security Services (DISS), the spy agency’s Director General, Brigadier Peter Magosi says they will assess the status of some Prohibited Immigrants (PI’s) who were banned, banished from the country under the presidency of Lt. Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama.
Ex Minister of Labour and Home Affairs Edwin Batshu told parliament in 2014 that Botswana under Khama, since taking office in 2008, had declared a staggering 870 nationals from other countries – prohibited immigrants. Batshu was then answering a question from Selibe Phikwe West legislator, Dithapelo Keorapetse who had wanted to know the number of foreign nationals declared prohibited immigrants since president Khama took office in April 2008.
In terms of the Botswana law, a prohibited immigrant is an undesirable inhabitant or visitor in the country and is declared by the sitting president, using any information deemed to be reliable to warrant the effecting of PI status. In light of the alarming number of PI’s, Magosi told Weekend Post this week that they will consider all the PI’s, review them and dully advise the current President Mokgweetsi Masisi to lift or reverse where necessary.
He asserted: “we will consider their status and advise the president accordingly” adding that “they will be all assessed on case by case scenario.” However, when asked which ones are already on the table for review, Magosi was cagey with the details least for stating that “I can’t confirm nor deny which ones we are currently reviewing but we are looking at the cases.”
According to Magosi, as the DISS he said it is in their responsibility to ensure that the country keeps good relations and cordial neighborliness with other countries and avoid unnecessary fall out with such counterparts. The DISS Chief emphasised: “so we will look at such PI cases in an endevour to improve relations with other countries going forward. We really need to try and build relations with other countries.”
Meanwhile President Masisi has, during his first months in office, also in his own word promised to review the cases of every individual classified as a Prohibited Immigrant by the (previous) government. He was speaking at his first Press Conference as President at Mass Media complex where he acknowledged that there were a number of people who have been blacklisted but promised to review such and each case separately.
He stressed at the briefing that a prominent lawyer Joao Carlos Salbany, who was effectively PI’d and his name published on government gazette – was now a free man. “There was an error when a review of his status was being done, he is no longer a PI,” revealed Masisi at the said press briefing, also which was first of its kind after the dictatorial Khama.
Some of the notable names of those who were also banned by the former President Khama’s government include: South African President of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Julius Malema; United States of America (USA) Actor Ricky Yune; Zambian national Jerry Chitube; Malawian Prophet based in South Africa Shepherd Bushiri and Basarwa lawyer Gordon Bennet.
Part of their crime is that they are banned because of their suspected association and sympathy with the opposition parties and their gesture of advocating for the rights of the minorities. Meanwhile on her part, Minister of Nationality, Immigration & Gender Affairs Dorcus Makgato has distanced herself from the PI issue referring this publication to the Office of the President which she said only has such powers.
She separately told this publication that: “PI is an issue of the Office of the President (OP), it lies with OP. I cannot do that as a Minister of Immigration and I don’t know if it is something to consider in future.” It is however understood that the Immigration minister also has the power to declare someone a prohibited immigrant before having it approved by the president.
Makgato said at the moment she doesn’t have a petition at her desk and list of people that want their PI status reviewed while stressing that OP is better placed as it deals with those kinds of people who are considered to have done grave transgressions that threatens the security and well being of the country. When this publication further reached out to OP on the issue, government spokesperson John Thomas Dipowe would not confirm nor deny the PI’s whom are said to be in the pipeline to be revoked.
“I am not conversant with information that the government is currently planning to lift the status of some on the PI list. But I believe it was given on security reasons and therefore they firstly have to see if there are changes, for security clearance and if any, that’s when they can be lifted,” he highlighted.
He also confirmed that there are three key ministries involved in the immigration issue including Office of the President; Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as well as Ministry of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs.
On a separate matter Dipowe told this publication recently that they are also currently working collaboratively to fast track process of acquiring Visa and reducing fees of residence and work permits.
According to Dipowe, there have been complaints by the Private Sector especially Business Botswana that residents and work permits under Khama administration had stringent laws making it difficult for potential investment to come invest in the country and or undertake tourism.
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ENVIRONMENT ISSUES: Masisi asks Virginia for help
President Mokgweetsi Masisi says the issue of sustainable natural resources management has always been an important part of Botswana’s national development agenda.
Masisi was speaking this week on the occasion of a public lecture at Virginia Polytechnic, under theme, “Merging Conservation, Democracy and Sustainable Development in Botswana.”
Botswana, according to Masisi, holds the view that the environment is fragile and as such, must be managed and given the utmost protection to enable the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“It is necessary that we engage one another in the interchange of ideas, perspectives, visualizations of social futures, and considerations of possible strategies and courses of action for sustainable development,” said Masisi.
On the other hand, dialogue, in the form of rigorous democratic discourse among stakeholders presents another basis for reconfiguring how people act on their environments, with a view to conserving its resources that “we require to meet our socio-economic development needs on a sustainable basis,” Masisi told attendees at the public lecture.
He said government has a keen interest in understanding the epidemiology and ecology of diseases of both domestic and wild animals. “It is our national interest to forestall the dire consequences of animal diseases on our communities livelihoods.”
President Masisi hoped that both Botswana and Virginia could help each other in curbing contagious diseases of wildlife.
“We believe that Virginia Tech can reasonably share their experiences, research insights and advances in veterinary sciences and medicines, to help us build capacity for knowledge creation and improve efforts of managing and containing contagious diseases of wildlife. The ground is fertile for entering into such a mutually beneficial partnership.”
When explaining environmental issues further, Masisi said efforts of conservation and sustainable development might at times be hampered by the emergence and recurrence of diseases when pathogens mutate and take host of more than one species.
“Water pollution also kills aquatic life, such as fish, which is one of humanity’s much deserved sources of food. In this regard, One Health Approach imposes ecological responsibility upon all of us to care for the environment and the bio-diversity therein.”
He said the production and use of animal vaccines is an important space and tool for conservation, particularly to deal with trans-border animal diseases.
“In Botswana, our 43-year-old national premier pharmaceutical institution called Botswana Vaccine Institute has played its role well. Through its successful production of highly efficacious Foot and Mouth vaccines, the country is able to contain this disease as well as supply vaccines to other countries in the sub-region.:
He has however declared that there is need for more help, saying “We need more capacitation to deal with and contain other types of microbial that affect both animals and human health.”
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Masisi saddened by deaths of elephant attacks
President Mokgweetsi Masisi has expressed a strong worry over elephants killing people in Botswana. When speaking in Virginia this week, Masisi said it is unfortunate that Batswana have paid a price with their own blood through being attacked by elephants.
“Communities also suffer unimaginable economic losses yearly when their crops are eaten by the elephants. In spite of such incidents of human-elephant conflict, our people embrace living together with the animals. They fully understand wildlife conservation and its economic benefits in tourism.”
In 2018, Nthobogang Samokwase’s father was attacked by an elephant when travelling from the fields, where he stayed during the cropping season.
It was reported that the man couldn’t run because of his age. He was found trampled by the elephant and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
In the same year, in Maun, a 57-year-old British woman was attacked by an elephant at Boro and died upon arrival at the hospital. The woman was with her Motswana partner, and were walking dogs in the evening.
Last month, a Durban woman named Carly Marshall survived an elephant attack while on holiday in the bush in Botswana. She was stabbed by one of the elephant’s tucks through the chest and was left with bruises. Marshall also suffered several fractured ribs from the ordeal.
President Masisi Botswana has the largest population of African elephants in the world, totaling more than 130 000. “This has been possible due to progressive conservation policies, partnerships with the communities, and investment in wildlife management programmes.”
In order to benefit further from wildlife, Masisi indicated that government has re-introduced controlled hunting in 2019 after a four-year pause. “The re-introduction of hunting was done in an open, transparent and democratic way, giving the communities an opportunity to air their views. The funds from the sale of hunting quota goes towards community development and elephant conservation.”
He stressed that for conservation to succeed, the local people must be involved and derive benefits from the natural resources within their localities.
“There must be open and transparent consultations which involve all sectors of the society. It is against this backdrop that as a country, we lead the continent on merging conservation, democracy and sustainable development.”
Masisi stated that Botswana is open to collaborative opportunities, “particularly with identifiable partners such as Virginia Tech, in other essential areas such as conservation, and the study of the interplay among the ecology of diseases of wild animals and plants, and their effects on human health and socio-economic development.”
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Gov’t commit to injecting more funds in fighting HIV
Minister for State President Kabo Morwaeng says government will continue to make resources available in terms of financial allocations and human capital to ensure that Botswana achieves the ideal of eradicating HIV and AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Morwaeng was speaking this morning in Gaborone at the High-Level Advocacy event to accelerate HIV Prevention in Botswana. He said the National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency (NAPHA), in partnership with UNAIDS, UN agencies, the Global Fund and PEPFAR, have started a process of developing transition readiness plan for sustainability of HIV prevention and treatment programmes.
“It is important for us, as a country that has had a fair share of donor support in the response to an epidemic such as HIV and AIDS, to look beyond the period when the level of assistance would have reduced, or ceased, thus calling for domestic financing for all areas which were on donor support.”
Morwaeng said this is important as the such a plan will guarantee that all the gains accrued from the response with donor support will be sustained until the end when “we reach the elimination of HIV and AIDS as a public health threat by 20230,” he said.
“I commit to continue support efforts towards strengthened HIV prevention, accentuating HIV primary prevention and treatment as prevention towards Zero New Infections, Zero Stigma, Discrimination and Zero AIDS related death, to end AIDS in Botswana.”
He reiterated that government commits to tackle legislative, policy and programming challenges that act as barriers to the achievement of the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat.
In the financial year 2022/2023, a total of 119 Civil Society Organizations, including Faith Based Organizations, were contracted with an amount of P100 million to implement HIV and NCDs prevention activities throughout the country, and the money was drawn from the Consolidated Fund.
Through an upcoming HIV Prevention Symposium, technical stakeholders will use outcomes to develop the Botswana HIV Prevention Acceleration Road Map for 2023-2025.
Morwaeng stated that government will support and ensure that Botswana plays its part achieving the road map. He said there is need to put hands on the deck to ensure that Botswana sustains progress made so far in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
“There are tremendous achievements thus far to, reach and surpass the UNAIDS fast track targets of 95%- 95%- 95% by the year 2025. As reflected by the BAIS preliminary results of 2021, we now stand at 95- 98- 98 against the set targets.”
“These achievements challenge us to now shift our gears and strive to know who are the remaining 5% for those aware of their HIV status, 2% of enrolment on treatment by those aware of their status and 2% of viral suppression by those on treatment.”
Explaining this further, Morwaeng said shift in gears should extend to coming up with robust strategies of determining where these remaining people are as well as how they will be reached with the necessary services.
“These are just some of the many variables that are required to ensure that as a country, we are well positioned to reaching the last mile of our country’s response to the HIV and AIDS pandemic.”