Tshekedi fights to access P50 billion Levy
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The Tourism Development Levy is destined to be the cash cow of the Ministry Of Environment, Natural Resources, Conservation and Tourism. After years of complaining about a small budget compared to other Ministries and a faltering levies such as the plastic levy, Mr Tshekedi Khama is determined to harvest from the newly introduced Tourism Development Levy.
But there is a small glitch, his attempt to squeeze through a Bill that would allow his Ministry to use funds from the Tourism Development Levy through a certificate of urgency hit a snag this week in Parliament as Members of Parliament from across the political divide prayed for time and understanding. The Levy is not without its fair share of controversy because in some quarters it has been branded ‘a quick money spinning’ scheme with the potential to scare away tourists.
Khama had wanted to move in terms of Standing Order 72.3 that the Bill and its stages be proceeded with, as a matter of urgency. He said the reason for his approach is that his Ministry has been afforded the opportunity to introduce a Tourism Development Levy, but up until now, they have not been able to use any funding other than which they had got from tourism other than for the Training Levy.
The Minister said it has become quite apparent in recent times that some of the ministry’s facilities have seen their conditions degrading, “but we have also wanted to develop some of our monuments and our heritage sites. We believe that as we have commitments coming towards the end of the year, we would therefore like that we be allowed to present this and proceed forthwith so that we can at least begin for now to start collecting the funding, and then we can start to develop each tourism site for local tourism as well as international tourism to better facilitate for those visitors that we have in the country.”
Minister Khama has in the past decried his Ministry’s inadequate budget and at some point opposed a supplementary budget from the Directorate on Intelligence Security (DISS) saying the money could be going to more deserving projects at his Ministry. The Tourism Development Levy could be the answer hence Khama and his troops want to speedily access it after it came into effect in June this year.
Khama’s Ministry introduced a $30 (about P330) tax on all tourists entering the country in an effort to raise money to support conservation in the safari hotspot. The Tourism Development Levy was on the nib of being introduced last year but stalled after opposition from the Hospitality and Tourism Association (HATAB). But as usual, Khama and his team got their way. The Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) is of the view that the fee will be owed by any visitor to Botswana’s airports and border posts from June 1, payable at the point of entry. Residents of countries within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which counts 15 members, will be exempt from the charge.
"The levy is purposed to support the growth of the industry and broaden the tourism base, resultantly improving the lives of the people of Botswana,” the BTO has said. “The objective of the levy is to raise funds for conservation and national tourism development in order to support the growth of the industry and broaden the tourism base.” HATAB had complained last year that it nor other stakeholders had been consulted on the potential tax. Botswana, estimated to welcome some 1.6million visitors a year, stands to make around £34.1million a year from the tax, taking into account the 190,000 SADC visitors.
Gaborone South Member of parliament, Kagiso Molatlhegi was quick to reject Khama’s request, “I do not agree with the certificate of urgency my main reason being that we have never met before to discuss and correct where there should be corrections in this Bill. Still on that the Honourable Minister has never met us to explain to us the impacts that this levy will have on our tourism? My request is just for this Bill to be taken to General Assembly where the Minister would be able to explain its benefits and how we should be able help him sell it to the nation,” he said.
Pius Mokgware, Member of Parliament for Gabane-Mankgodi also had his reasons as to why the Minister’s plea should be rejected. He said as members of the Statutory Bodies committee “they have met with the Minister’s committee before and there were lots of pending issues which need to be addressed. We were not given the opportunity to go through this Bill, so it cannot just be tabled before this House as matter of urgency. Furthermore the Minister has never explained this Bill outside this House, my suggestion is just for him to take this Bill back to the general assembly where we would be able to discuss it and agree with him after his explanation.”
Francistown South legislator, Wynter Mmolotsi also denied the minister’s request. He said he is a Member of the Wildlife, Environment and Natural Resources Committee of Parliament. “This is where I was expecting to have come across a Bill like this, but it is unfortunate that the Minister or even his staff never bothered to come and consult us on a Bill that is likely to have very serious implications on the lives and businesses of our people,” he said. Mmolotsi told the Minister knows that in his ministry, there is yet another fund which was established many years ago called the Plastic Ley Fund, but even up to now businesses collect that particular fund, but the Government is not making any effort to recoup that money in anyway.
“That is not the only levy in that ministry, there are other levies that are there which are not understood, some of which have caused havoc within the ministry. We cannot allow yet another levy to be imposed before we are thoroughly consulted. That is why I am in agreement with those who are saying, “let us go to the General Assembly and discuss this matter.””
For his part, Selibe Phikwe West Member of Parliament, Dithapelo Keorapetse made an observation: “I have been looking at the Bill before us here, I do not think it is introducing any new levy, but what it seeks to do, I think is to expand the usage of the levy as is currently provided for. I think it is appropriate that the Minister goes to the General Assembly so that we discuss the matter further, so that he can unpack it for us, probably even bring his technocrats to also expand and help us understand.” Like other legislators Keorapetse observed that he was not consulted and those who advise them on Bills of this nature must also be consulted.
“I find it very difficult for me to support the certificate of urgency. I must say that I do not think this is a bad Bill, but we need to discuss it more,” he said. Botswana is popular with European tourists who come here seeking to spot the Big Five on safari, as well as for visits to the Okavango Delta, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa. Botswana also boasts as one of the best safaris in Africa.
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Local tennis team upbeat ahead of Billie Jean King cup
With almost two weeks until the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup, which will be staged in Kenya from June 12-17, 2023, the Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) ladies’ team coach, Ernest Seleke, is optimistic about reaching greater heights.
Billie Jean King Cup, or the BJK Cup, is a premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched as the Federation Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The BJK Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
The finals will feature 12 teams (Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) competing in the four round-robin groups of three. The four group winners will qualify for the semifinals, and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup will be crowned after the completion of the knockout phase.
Closer to home, the BW Tennis team is comprised of Thato Madikwe, Leungo Monnayoo, Chelsea Chakanyuka, and Kelebogile Monnayoo. However, according to Seleke, they have not assembled the team yet as some of the players are still engaged.
“At the moment, we are depending on the players and their respective coaches in terms of training. However, I will meet up with Botswana-based players in the coming week, while the United States of America (USA) based player Madikwe will probably meet us in Kenya. Furthermore, Ekua Youri and Naledi Raguin, who are based in Spain and France respectively, will not be joining us as they will be writing their examinations,” said Seleke.
Seleke further highlighted the significance of this competition and how competitive it is. “It is a massive platform for our players to showcase their talent in tennis, and it is very competitive as countries target to get promoted to the world categories where they get to face big nations such as Spain, France, USA, and Italy. Though we are going to this tournament as underdogs because it is our second time participating, I’m confident that the girls will put in a good showing and emerge with results despite the odds,” highlighted Seleke.
Quizzed about their debut performance at the BJK Cup, he said, “I think our performance was fair considering the fact that we were newbies. We came third in our group after losing to North Macedonia and South Africa. We went on to beat Uganda, then Kenya in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play Burundi due to heavy rainfall and settled for the position 9/10,” he said.
For her part, team representative Leungo Monnayoo said they are working hard as they aim to do well at the tourney. “The preparations for the tourney have long begun because we practice each and every day. We want to do well, hence we need to be motivated. Furthermore, I believe in my team as we have set ourselves a big target of coming home with the trophy,” she said.
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Pep Stores donates sanitary towels to Popagano JSS
The Guidance and Counseling unit at Popagano Junior Secondary School received a donation of 790 sanitary towels from Pep stores on Thursday.
When presenting the donation, Mareledi Thebeng, the Dinokaneng Area Manager, highlighted their belief in giving back to the community, as their existence depends on the communities they serve. Thebeng pointed out that research indicates one in four girls miss school every day due to the lack of basic necessities like sanitary towels. Therefore, as a company, they strive to assist in alleviating this situation. She expressed hope that this donation would help ensure uninterrupted learning for girls.
Upon receiving the donation on behalf of the students, Charity Sambire, the President of the Student Representative Council, expressed her gratitude. Sambire specifically thanked Pep Store for their generous gift, speaking on behalf of the students, especially the girl child.
She conveyed their sincere appreciation for Pep Store’s compassion and quoted the adage, “Blessed is the hand that gives.” Sambire expressed the students’ hope for Pep Stores’ prosperity, enabling them to continue supporting the students. As a gesture of gratitude, the students pledged to excel academically.
During her speech, Motlalepula Madome, the Senior Teacher in Guidance and Counseling, highlighted that many students at the school come from disadvantaged backgrounds where parents struggle to provide basic necessities. Consequently, some students miss school when they experience menstruation due to this lack.
Madome emphasized the significance of the donation in preventing the girl child from missing lessons and its potential to improve the school’s overall results. She expressed the school’s gratitude and expressed a desire for continued support from Pep Stores.
Popagano Junior Secondary School, situated in the Okavango District, holds the second position academically in the North West region. Despite its location, the school has been dedicated to achieving excellence since 2017
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Botswana misses out critical PAP committee meeting
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) committee on gender, family, youth and people with disability in its sitting considered, adopted and recommended to the plenary session the preliminary report on the framework for the model law on gender equality.
According to the last week’s media release from PAP which is sitting with its various committees until June 2nd, the committee is following up the PAP initiative to draw up a model law on gender equality to enable national governments to harmonize, modernize and standardize their legislations to address local needs is set to be discussed in Plenary.
However, what is concerning is the fact that Botswana which is a member state missed the deliberations. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko who sat in the committee representing Botswana has since been ejected by parliament and this is a huge blow for a nation that is still battling equity and gender balance.
“Although PAP has no legislative powers it makes model laws for member states to adopt. PAP also develops protocols to be ratified by countries. The input of countries at Committee state is extremely critical. It now means the voice of Botswana is missing the discussions leading up to development of protocols or model laws,” said one of Botswana’s representative at PAP Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang who is attending the current session.
While Botswana is missing, the committee meeting took place on the sidelines of the Sixth PAP second ordinary Session being held under the African Union Theme of the Year for 2023, “The Year of AfCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area” in Midrand, South Africa and will run up to 2 June 2023. Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala expressed satisfaction with preliminary processes undertaken so far towards the formulation of the Model Law,” a release from the PAP website reads.
“The law should be suitable to all countries whatever the predominant culture or religion is. The aim is to give an opportunity to women to participate in the economic, political and social development of the continent. Women are not well positioned and face a lot of obstacles. We are introducing the idea of equity in the Law because we cannot talk about equality without equity,” said Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala in the press statement.
The release has stated that among issues to be covered by the Model Law is the migratory movements of women. The Committee proffered that this has to be addressed at the continental level to ensure that migrant women enjoy all their rights and live with dignity in their destination country. The members of the Gender Committee undertook consultations to consolidate the contributions of the various stakeholders that will be the logical framework format for the Model Law.