China threatens Botswana’s diamonds
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First it was the South-China Sea controversy and now it is the impending visit by the Dalai Lama to Botswana, and China is not amused. The Asian giant is telling Botswana to block the Dalai Lama’s visit.
Relations between Botswana and China have taken yet another knock as China disapproves of Botswana’s decision to allow the Dalai Lama to visit Botswana and give talk as a guest at a three day conference entitled “Botho/Ubuntu: A Dialogue with the Dalai Lama Spirituality, Science and Humanity”, scheduled for 17-19 August 2017.
Chinese officials at the time of the controversy surrounding the South China Sea had adopted a diplomatic approach to Botswana’s criticism of their country. The diplomatic relations between Gaborone and Beijing which had been simmering for sometime had boiled over last week after Botswana issued a press statement accusing China of imposing “its power over others to make claims because of “its economy or military.”
But on the question of the Dalai Lama, China is very clear, it is uncompromising and “Botswana will pay a heavy price should the renowned spiritual leader be allowed to visit.” Botswana government has insisted that the Spiritual Leader is indeed visiting Botswana but not on official ticket. It states President Lt Gen Ian Khama could attend the Conference should his schedule allow.
Statistics show that Botswana’s export to China grew from US$2.86 million in 2004 to US$65 million in 2009. During March 2017, exports destined to Asia were valued at P2, 177.1 million, representing 53.4 percent of total exports (P4, 076.8 million) hence China accounting for the bulk of the exports. India received exports amounting to P592.3 million, 14.5 percent of total exports during the month. Israel and UAE followed with 11.2 percent (P457.9 million) and 10.6 percent (P431.4 million) respectively, of total exports during March 2017. Singapore and Hong Kong received 9.8 percent (P399.2 million) and 5.3 percent (P215.9 million) respectively of total exports during the period under review.
This is where China is said to be threatening to hurt Botswana should the Dalai Lama be allowed entry into Botswana. Botswana economy is dominated by diamonds, they are the biggest revenue earner. The major commodity exported to Asia is Diamonds, representing 99.7 percent (P2, 170.5 million) of all goods exported to the region during March 2017.
Why does China despise the Dalai Lama so much?
China considers the Dalai Lama a separatist and a political trouble maker, and the history latent in this distaste is convoluted and problematic. The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the traditional religious and temporal head of Tibetan Buddhists. He was made head of state at age 15 in 1950, the same year that Chinese troops occupied Tibet.
The Dalai Lama has held negotiations with Chinese officials on Tibetan self-rule with little success. In 1959, he fled Tibet for exile in India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. Over the years, the Dalai Lama has continued to lobby for self-rule in Tibet. Tibetans around the world revere him as their spiritual leader and cultural icon. He has traveled the globe, attending meditation conferences, giving speeches in universities and parliaments, and meeting people from all walks of life, from CEOs to Hollywood stars to heads of state. He received the Nobel peace prize in 1989. Overseas, the Dalai Lama is a celebrated figure. In China, he is a despised troublemaker.
Botswana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi has in the recent past called for introspection on the bilateral cooperation between Botswana and China to see how best they can move ahead in the journey of strategic partnership.
She had observed that 40 years signified a period of maturity hence the expression ‘life begins at 40’ and said this was an opportune time to reflect on the successes and challenges so that the two countries could chart a path to long lasting beneficial relations.
Speaking at the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Botswana and China in Gaborone on February 10, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr Pelonomi Dr Venson-Moitoi said Botswana admired the great strides china had made in recent decades. China and Botswana relations can be traced to January 6, 1975 when the two countries formally established diplomatic relationship, which unveiled a new chapter for friendship and cooperation between the two.
For over 40 years, China-Botswana relations have been developing soundly and steadily on the basis of their traditional friendship, and the two countries’ peoples have benefited from the expanding cooperation in various fields. Growing economic and trade cooperation has served as the driving force in boosting bilateral ties between the two countries and the total trade volume between the two countries has jumped from less than US$ million in early 1980s to US$343 million in 2013, which is almost 700 times increase.
China has become the second largest consumer of Botswana’s diamonds; consuming 15 per cent of the total diamond output and said his country’s demand for Botswana’s diamonds is also growing by more than 10 per cent every year.
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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.