Why Khama can’t suspend Kgosi
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Khama was informed of an investigation on Kgosi
President Lt Gen Ian Khama has explained why he will not rush to dismiss or suspend an official who is a subject of investigation or is faced with answering charges in a court of law.
In an interview tackling a wide range of issues with this publication on Friday, President Khama candidly opened up on his current and former ministers who had been subjects of investigation and or faced corruption charges. He said it is a subject that he has given thought to and ended up leaving it to an individual involved to make a decision. Along the way, the President said he has made certain observations.
MINISTERS AND CORRUPTION
He said there have been three cases involving ministers and in all cases, it is either the charges were dropped or the cases dismissed. He said the principle of innocent until proven guilty should reign supreme because removing someone from their position on the basis of untested allegations has the potential to destroy careers and reputation. He pointed out that there was a case involving the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Kenneth Matambo in which he was ultimately cleared.
“The Minister was being accused of things that happened while he was still at the Botswana Development Corporation (BDC), he was confident that he has not done anything wrong. I agreed with him that he is innocent until proven guilty. As we all he was ultimately acquitted.”
The President gave the example of another former Cabinet minister who quit his post following allegations of corruption and the charges were later dropped. He said the minister involved lost his job and his career was derailed. There was another case of corruption involving a minister and the matter was dropped again.
Khama said these precedents more or less support the notion that someone is innocent until proven guilty. He said there is no need to be quick to destroy people’s careers before allegations against them are tested.
Khama said this is the case with the Director General of the Directorate on Intelligence and Security (DIS), Isaac Kgosi. He said there are allegations which were made against Kgosi and contact was made with the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and indicated that they were investigating. The President said they are still waiting on the investigation from the DCEC. He said there is no reason to suspend or dismiss Kgosi on the basis of an investigation.
GENERAL VIEWS ON CORRUPTION
The latest corruption index by Transparency International ranks Botswana as the least corrupt country in Africa and is faring favourably on the international scene. Khama said it is unfortunate that there are those who downplay these ratings where as they cannot produce any proof to the effect that the rankings are wrong. He said corruption like any other crime is under surveillance in Botswana.
He said it matters what government is doing to fight corruption. He said Botswana has set up the DCEC, anti-corruption units in Ministries to reduce the opportunities of corruption finding room; agreed to have specialised judges to handle corruption cases; have a specialised team to handle corruption cases at the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP); and there is also an Anti-Corruption Curriculum in schools. Khama said these are indications that his government is determined to fight corruption.
President Khama also weighed on the criticism that the corruption busting bodies only target “small fish”. He said under his watch he has seen ministers being charged and cleared by the courts. He said Ministers make declaration of assets to him in writing and he keeps the register. He said this helps to avoid conflict of interest.
The President also spoke on other issues ranging from party politics to government’s relationship with civil service unions.
OPPOSITION MP WALK OUT
Although the President was not privy to the details as to what could have led to the walkout, he indicated that it is important for the opposition to appreciate democracy. He pointed out that as the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), they have a two-thirds majority in Parliament, and when it comes to voting those in minority will always come out second. He buttressed that they are determined to cooperate with the opposition parties to advance ideals that will “take Botswana forward”.
PUBLIC SERVICE UNIONS
Asked whether the stance he took to heed the Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) invitation to address their congress actually set the tone of his relationship with labour unions, the President indicated that “government has always been willing to work with unions.” He said they had only expressed misgivings about unions that adopt a political agenda.
He gave the example that one of the Federations (Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions) had taken a decision to support a particular party (the Umbrella for Democratic Change). Khama said as government they are of the view that unions should focus on the welfare of their members and advance their course in relation to their welfare. The President also responded to agitations that he has adopted a divide and rule attitude towards unions.
“I am not applying divide and rule, I was invited by BOPEU to come and address them at their congress. But I must point out that this does not necessarily mean that I will attend events of all the other unions because I have a schedule,” he said.
The President also indicated that he will be careful not to be invited to an event that could potentially turn into a shouting game. He said there is no way that he could be dividing unions, instead they have divided themselves. Khama’s view is that the unions are just too many; in most cases they duplicate the same duties of serving a similar constituency. He cited teachers’ unions as an example – “they have about three unions, if I recall,” he said.
He proposed that they could form one strong union representing all cadres. Under the current circumstances, Khama said unions are only dividing themselves.
He said unions must disengage from active politics to lay the foundation for constructive engagement with government. He said there is a new Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, a new Permanent Secretary to the President and a new Permanent Secretary – a good platform for new beginning.
Khama said government is more than willing to negotiate with unions, “not only at the Bargaining Council, we can also invite them here to engage more and take up our agreements with the Bargaining Council”. He cautioned against politicising unions, and further pointed out that there are union leaders who are using the platform to advance their political affiliations.
RELATIONSHIP WITH FORMER PRESIDENTS
According to Khama, he tends to be amazed by some of the reports he sees in the media. “Sometimes, they write as if they are my eyes, ears and they are in my brain, they do not even ask us the material they write about.”
He said it is disturbing for untruths to be written about him and former Presidents like Dr Festus Mogae. He said he has served under Mogae as his Vice President and there is no way that he would not engage the former President, either formally or informally. He indicated that he has a good relationship with Mogae, “I have met several times this year,” he said.
Khama was quick to admit that there are opinions that Mogae can share with the public, “he may have views divergent from mine, but that does not mean that we are not in a good working relationship,” he said. He spoke out strongly against what he termed manufactured stories in the press and encouraged the media to focus on “sharing news and not untruths”.
POST ELECTION FEVER
The President said he has the confidence that Batswana as a nation used to participating in elections, will revert back to their normal day to day business following political party campaigns. He acknowledged that politics has the potential to polarise a nation, but based on precedent, he said Batswana have always dealt with post-election period very well. “It is business as usual after elections. You should note that as a government we also do not rollout developments according to political lines,” said the President.
BDP CONGRESS: HOW INVOLVED WILL HE BE?
Khama said like all the years, his interest will be to ensure that the process and the outcome do not divide the party. He said any event that has an election has the potential to divide. He pointed out that he is ready to work with whoever will be elected to govern the party.
He said in 2009, the BDP lost about six or more constituencies as a result of disgruntlement emanating from primary elections; therefore he does not want differences resulting from congress elections to divide the party. He said he has already observed that there is some ongoing posturing ahead of the congress and if the atmosphere gets toxic the leadership will step in to address it and restore order. He said as a party they want to manage their differences in an orderly fashion and avoid bickering.
Khama also clarified on the issue of Vice President assuming the role of chairman, he said the arrangement was never cast in stone. He gave examples that he did not become chairman for five years when he was Vice President and that former Vice President Mompati Merafhe was never chairman of the party. We had inquired if the loose arrangement shall hold under current Vice President Mokgweetsi Eric Masisi. Khama said the Vice President will look at his roles and determine if he wants to run for chairman. But in essence it is an open race.
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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.”