Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) has launched the second phase of Integrated Procurement Management System (IPMS), web-based system, which is expected to improve efficiency and transparency in contractor registration and procurement and asset disposal system.

Botswana is the first country in Africa to develop IPMS. It is also used to update company information, check status and receive feedback from PPADB regarding a company’s application for registration. PPADB Executive Director, Bridget John said the introduction of IPMS is in line with the broad objective of driving efficiency and improving customer service as per the 2008/13 and 2013/18 strategic plans. “Our value proposition is to keep tenders clean and we shall continue to do so boldly,” she said.

The system was developed in two phases, with phase 1 consisting of contractor registration and procurement planning. Phase 2 comprises  e-bidding, capacity building and asset disposal. E-bidding module includes IT creation by procuring entities and vetting by PPADB, evaluation and adjudication and dispute resolution.

The e-bidding is expected to assist the PPADB in managing procurement better as tenders will be submitted, evaluated and adjudicated online. In addition, IPMS is expected to enable PPADB to provide a platform where procuring entities and the bidding community can access its services outside their offices in Gaborone and Francistown.

Other modules, being capacity building and asset disposal will facilitate the ease of managing asset disposal and training of various stakeholders to achieve desired outcome. Permanent secretary in the ministry of finance and development planning, Solomon Sekwakwa hailed IPMS and said it will assist in the ease of doing business in the country. “Those who registered with PPADB prior to the advent of IPMS would recall that applications used to take a long time to be decided upon, compared to now,” he said.

In response, Bakers Association Botswana, Botshabelo Ontse said the system will address hindrances that have been making it hard for business community to access tenders. “I hope PPADB will train tender evaluators well for the system to work, otherwise it is going to be a challenge for operational staff,” she said. So far, three online tenders have been successfully awarded through the system.

Botswana National Front Youth League (BNFYL) President, Khumoekae Richard has demanded that Parliament retract a letter threatening action against him over involvement in politics or he will proceed with a legal suit. Through his lawyer Mboki Chilisa of Collins Chilisa Consultant Richard warned that failure to retract the letter a legal action would be instituted against Parliament in the event that any action detrimental to Richard in pursuance of the said letter is taken.

“In amplification, our client has a long standing political reputation known to yourselves prior to his appointment and assumption of duty. It is his political involvement and experience thereof that motivated his appointment to serve under the Member of Parliament Dr Phenyo Butale whose job is in its very nature political. Additionally, the direct correlation or link between our client’s tenure and that of the aforementioned Member of Parliament as specified in our client’s contract of employment is indicatory of the fact that he is exempt from the impugned provision of the Public Service Act and that it is in his best interest that he promote the interests of this Member, which in many instances involves political participation”, stated Chilisa in the letter.

The attorney further contended that the said restriction is in essence unconstitutional as it serves no legitimate purpose and is not reasonably justifiable in a democratic society. “It serves to impede our client from effectively discharging his duties, which as already established are political in nature,” said Chilisa, adding, “it would therefore defeat the very import of his job to place upon him and any other officer serving in similar capacity the restriction under Section 5 (5) of the Public Service Act.”Parliament through office of Clerk of National Assembly wrote the said letter of the 3rd June 2016 after the Botswana Democratic Party Youth Wing expressed worry that Richard continues to serve as a public servant while he holds a political office.

Clerk of National Assembly in the letter gave notice that due to Richard’s and or other active involvement in partisan politics contrary to Section 5 (5) of the Public Service Act,appropriate action would be taken against them. The complaint came a few days after Richard was voted the BNFYL President in Mahalapye. Richard is a Senior Administration Officer/ Researcher at the Gaborone Central Constituency Office.

BDP Secretary General Botsalo Ntuane said they await to see if action would be taken against Richard if he does not resign. “The law is the law and must be complied with. It cannot make an exception because an individual is leader of the BNFYL and therefore wants to have his cake and eat it. We trust Parliament to act accordingly”. Parliament Acting Corporate Services Manager Nametso Sephephe had not responded to our enquiries at press time.

Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) in partnership with SADC Development Finance Resource Centre (SADC DFRC) has this week brought together stakeholders for a two day empowerment training course on the Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).

Through Business Botswana, formerly BOCCIM, the government of Botswana positively embraced the call in establishing PPPs policy framework in 2009. This was anchored and enabled by a fully-fledged coordinating unit within the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.

Business Botswana President, Lekwalo Mosienyane officiating at the opening of the training programme this Wednesday, admitted that, while PPPs are always reflected in different forums as the way to go for Botswana, “very little has been achieved on the ground owing to a number of challenges particularly availability of necessary capacity.” He said this therefore calls for a renewed discussion by relevant parties, to establish interventions required to accelerate the adoption and utilization of PPPs in public infrastructure project delivery in Botswana.

The training programme started on Wednesday and ended on Thursday and it was to establish their benefits to Botswana if well implemented, as well as the opportunity costs that arise out of the prolonged delay in implementation of the policy framework.
Botswana’s pension industry is highly liquid, with funds in excess of P 60billion. The fact that more than 70 percent of these funds are currently invested abroad points to some subdued ability to create investment opportunities for this money to flow back and stimulate the domestic economy.

The creation of such opportunities is enabled by the level of appetite by government to partner public funds with private funds in delivering social and economic public infrastructure projects. With regard to such investments, Mosienyane indicates that, “there is need to establish the level of appetite, but in saying so, I can assure you that the private sector is ready, we just need government to commit to facilitate us.”

On the government’s side, when recently launching the new SADC DFRC head office in Gaborone, Finance Minister, Kenneth Matambo is reported to have indicated that the government is fully committed. Matambo has since indicated that implementation of these PPPs will need technical support from experienced partners such as the SADC DFRC to establish the PPP office. However, all is still not lost, as BITC Chief Executive Officer, Letsebe Sejoe, says at the end of the training programme government and its agencies would have gained an in-depth and technical knowledge of PPPs in order to develop policy frameworks and manage various elements of the projects.

“Participants can understand and apply the PPP concepts they have learned in their respective environments – break the glass ceiling and adopt this instrument,” he said. At a British High Commission sponsored PPPs seminar, earlier this year, the chairperson of UK PPP advisory board, John Davie was of the view that Botswana was not ready for this and that the public still needed to fully understand the PPPs.

PPPs,  he said are about better procurement, better strategic planning, public sector reforms as well as sharing of risks between the parties. “The government needs to explain the PPPs policy to the public. It seems like citizens do not understand its benefits but rather see the involvement of the private sector as a profit motive coming in government service delivery. In order for people to back it, it needs to be discussed and understood”. He went on to add that, Botswana needs to implement mechanisms for citizen participation to ensure citizen consultation, transparency and community representation on key decisions.

Infrastructure
World Bank studies have shown that infrastructure is responsible for driving more than 50 percent of the improvement in economic growth for the of sub-Saharan Africa region, in recent times.  It has been proven that its potential impact on the performance of the regional economy is substantial. Sub-Saharan Africa’s infrastructure development increasingly lags behind those of other developing regions. It has further proved that, Sub-Saharan Africa’s infrastructure services are twice as expensive as elsewhere, reflecting public inefficiencies and possibly lack of economies of scale from the absence of regional integration of projects

Power is by far sub-Saharan Africa’s largest infrastructure challenge, with 30 countries regularly unable to meet domestic demand and facing power shortages. Sub-Saharan Africa’s infrastructure requires an investment of $93 billion a year, and approximately 33 percent of this is for maintenance alone.

Thousands of refugees at Dukwi Refugee Camp in northern Botswana would be left in the lurch as the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) scaled down its operations in the country effective last week Thursday (June 30th 2016). Botswana Guardian has established that even though Botswana government has demonstrated its ability to ensure the legal and social protection of refugees nothing on the ground is showing.

The 2 123 refugees in the country are said to be restless due to no communication regarding their future. Refugees in Botswana are from Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia Uganda and Zimbabwe among other countries. UNHCR is expected to maintain a reduced presence in the country but will continue to provide support in Botswana for various programmes until December this year. Sources at the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security have however revealed that government is still discussing this matter with UNHCR.

Information gathered indicates that the refugees have since approached Ditshwanelo- The Centre for Human Rights for intervention. The refugees complain that ever since the refugee profiling and assessment exercise was conducted in March 2015, it is not clear what the outcomes of the exercise were in relation to some of the refugees in the Dukwi Camp.

This publication has it on good authority that a new delegation from the UNHCR Southern Africa regional office in Pretoria- South Africa, expected to assist the refugees, arrived in Dukwi early this week after the Head of field officer and Associate protection officer left the camp last week and only the Database Manager remained. A letter from Ditshwanelo Director, Alice Mogwe written to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Justice and Security seen by this publication, calls for urgent attention to the situation at Dukwi. Mogwe points out that the most affected are the Congolese refugees from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ditshwanelo requested information on durable solution for the refugees since the profiling exercise was done last year.

“It appears that there are a number of refugees whose applications for refugee status have been rejected, without providing the applicants with reasons for these. We are aware that during the years of conflict, which the DRC has experienced, there have been several armed groups and armies from neighbouring countries. Could those who have been rejected and are either at Dukwi Refugee Camp or are currently detained at the Centre for Illegal Immigrants, be informed about their future options. We are informed that the majority of those whose cases have been rejected and are at the centre for illegal immigrants; comprise women, children and the sick”, Mogwe wrote in the letter received by the ministry on the 14th of last month.

Ditshwanelo also wanted to know what was happening to the children detained at the Centre for illegal Immigrants in Francistown following the death of their father the late Bawili Kashindi. Kashindi was allegedly buried at the Dukwi Camp. Ditshwanelo asked if there were any alternative options for orphaned children, other than indefinite detention, “without resolution to the above matters, there is a possibility that the issue of statelessness may arise”. UNHCR Protection Officer Madipa Machacha could not be reached as she was said to be out of the country.

Attorney Meshack Mthimkulu representing a ‘hitman’ who killed a man in Ntlhantlhe in the Southern District in 2008 pleaded with the three man panel of Court of Appeal (CoA) judges led by Isaac Lesetedi that his client, Daniel Semi, aged 38 receive less sentence.
The particular of the offence is that the three accused persons acting jointly murdered Montlhanka Mokutwa. It is said this was the plan by one Agisanyang Motukwa, the son to the deceased who ordered Semi to kill his father.

“The second appellant was an agent for this murder and it was the first appellant who was the mastermind and the accomplice witness. The first appellant did inform the accomplice witness to recruit the second appellant and he was in the dark on what was going in this whole process,” argued Mthimkulu, adding that it is Motukwa who pushed his client into the house where the crime is said to have taken place.

“The second appellant has little education background and looks up to the first appellant who has some influence over him. This principal has been given a second chance and agents have been sentenced to death even though they did not have anything to do with this case,” said Mthimkulu.

Initially, there were four accused persons, the fourth one being Modise Sekai who had the charge withdrawn against him as he was sworn in as an accomplice witness in terms of Section 237 (1) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act. “The sentence should reflect that there was a principal offender. The court below did err that there was no extenuating circumstances in the case,” said Mthimkulu.

Motukwa was alleged to have hired two hit men to kill his father after believing he was bewitching him. The State lawyer, Rahim Khan was in pain to explain to Justice Lesetedi why the first appellant received light sentence even though he was the mastermind in the case. “The first appellant was the mastermind in this case, what do you say about this. He did organize everything. He directed what to be done, when should the murder be done and at the end of the day he got away with lucky escape and people got ultimate sentence,” asked Justice Lesetedi.

In his response, Khan said, “I admit that if the court think the low court erred it is at liberty to decide,” he said. Meanwhile Moses Kadye who is representing the third appellant, Gaolathe Thusang aged 35 urged the court to consider that there were extenuating circumstances in the murder which the lower court failed to see.

Motukwa, who is said to have hired the two to kill his father after believing he was bewitching him, was sentenced to 25 years in jail while the duo were condemned to death by Lobatse High Court Judge, Justice Michael Leburu in 2013.

A  shooting incident at Botswana Defence Force training in Ntwetwe Firing Range near Maun resulted in one death, two serious injuries, 3 minor injuries and the army official statement insists it was an accident. “As part of the Botswana Defence Force’s continuous arm specific training, one member of the BDF lost his life and two others are critical after an accident during a basic gunnery course at Ntwetwe Firing Range today 6th July 2016,” reads the statement from the Director of Protocol and Public Affairs, Colonel Tebo Dikole.

For now details are scanty, but sources that spoke to Botswana Guardian report that there was an argument between the deceased and his colleagues. “It looks like there was an argument and exchange of words which ended up leading to this unfortunate incident”.  Botswana Guardian was unable to validate this version of the incident with sources immediate to the incident.

Another source, a former military officer revealed that safety at Ntwetwe Firing Ranges is of top priority. He expressed doubt that this could have been a human error because all units and their leaders who use the range know the importance of safety when handling these machines. He suspects it could have been a mechanical fault with the machine adding that continuous inspection of the machines is key especially during training to avert any unforeseen incident.The source further suspects that a mortar from the SK 105 light tanks went off prematurely. The Austrian tanks are said to be old and in the past calls were made for them to be decommissioned. “The tanks are very old,” maintained a source. 

He informed the paper that of late the tanks have been misfiring and therefore have mechanical faults and indications are that the shell from the tank went off prematurely. When further contacted, Dikole rubbished the speculations that were imputing some altercation or defective machines. “What you are telling me is pure speculation; I would not like to speculate because we have expertise that is capable of thoroughly investigating and will ascertain the cause of the accident.  It must be noted that in BDF we have different arms and equipment and our troops are put through military occupational arms specific training.”

Dikole further denied that army tanks were used and revealed that the incident was caused by fixed 120 mm artillery Mortar that has a detachment of six operators. It exploded killing one, leaving two seriously injured and three escaping with minor injuries.
“This was just Artillery Unit training, there were no tanks involved as tanks belong to a different unit called

Armour Unit’’, he said.
He further said they are currently investigating to find out what exactly happened. “I wish to underscore the fact that as much as we put safety first and we regret the death and, or incident, but in our scope of work we cannot completely 100 percent insulate ourselves against injury.  However all the necessary precaution is taken in every stage of our work.’’

Kenya’s Ambassador to Japan, H.E. Solomon Karanja Maina is confident that his country has the “requisite capacity” to host the first-ever TICAD VI conference scheduled for next month in Nairobi.

He told a group of African journalists touring Japan at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wednesday during an interview in his offices in Tokyo that Kenya was very “proud” to have been bestowed with the “honour” to host the summit, which brings all African heads of state and government together with the Japanese Prime Minister and the other co-sponsors, United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank, African Union Commission and UNOSOC.

In their “good wisdom” the African leaders through the African Union selected Kenya to the venue of the first-ever TICAD Summit in Africa following the 2013 TICAD V Summit that was held in Yokohama, Japan. The Kenyan envoy was confident that Kenya would prove equal to the task during this “defining moment” of Africa’s history and rise to the occasion to pull a Summit that will set a “template” for future TICAD summits in Africa.

The reason is simple. “Kenya has facilities and capacity,” that is in terms of infrastructure and the “requisite human capacity”. It is the regional hub of east Africa and most importantly, has the “acumen” to undertake an exercise of this gigantic proportions. The country has in the recent past hosted big events such as the August 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit; the Pope in November 2015 at which two million people attended; the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting in December and is bracing to host the 14th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) next week, in which three heads of state and over 3000 people will be in attendance.

Ambassador Maina also mentioned the recent visits to Kenya by the presidents of Turkey, South Korea and India to prove Kenya’s “experience” and ability to host big summits. The envoy expressed gratitude to the TICAD process for affirming the ‘ownership’ principle by alternating the summit between Japan and Africa after every three years. He said this was a good start given that five-years interval for summits had been very long in contrast to G7 and G20 which holds their meetings annually.  “TICAD VI even as it comes midway through TICAD V will allow us an opportunity to tackle new emerging issues such as Ebola; climate change; rising extremism; youth unemployment and terrorism.”

The Ambassador said the summit will also for the first-time ever include the direct participation of both African and Japanese companies in plenary sessions, something that has never happened since the process began in 1993. “This means business leaders will have a chance to talk directly to the presidents” and hopefully at the end of the summit, from the engagement of the business leaders, will emerge the Africa-Japan Business Association. Indeed, for the envoy, these are exciting times for Africa - the only continent experiencing growth currently; whose governments have also adopted liberal economic policies. Added to these, the fact that African Union Agenda 2063 is in accord with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) means for Maina that the “efficacuy of implementation” will be more clear.

Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) is preparing for the sixth International Conference on Africa’s Development (TICAD VI) to be held late August in Nairobi, Kenya, the agency’s chief executive confirmed on Friday.

In a brief interview with Botswana Guardian Online, Letsebe Sejoe said he had just had “lunch” with Japan’s Ambassador to Botswana, Masahiro Onishi and had used the opportunity to discuss bilateral issues with him. “The issue of TICAD also cropped up during our discussions,” he said.

Sejoe said the envoy’s attitude is that “Botswana is wonderful,” but sadly Japanese investors do not know much about her as an investment destination. Sejoe is now pulling all stops to participate in the summit in order to extract some investments for Botswana.

He said since TICAD is a big conference with participation of many big businesses and the world’s captains of industries, he was strategizing on how best to approach it. “I want to host the Japanese investors participating in the conference for breakfast before they go into conference,” to make the case for Botswana as an investment proposition.

In any case, as the country’s lead agent for inward and outward investment, Sejoe was still bound to return the recent visit by Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta to Botswana. The two countries agreed on a number of areas to explore further among them aviation; mining and infrastructure development.

The Turkish  ambassador to Botswana, Ibrahim Yagli, this week said his government is   extremely frustrated by certain distorted comments and spinning by foreign politicians after a failed   coup by a faction of (Turkish) armed forces recently.

Speaking at a press conference   in Gaborone to explain the recent failed   military coup, Yagli said despite all their efforts and very transparent media reporting they were extremely frustrated by comments made by certain foreign politicians. Yagli explained that last week there was a coup attempt in various Turkish cities   including Ankara and Istanbul where 208 people died while 1400 were wounded. “It was understood that    in a short time that this was terrorist campaign.  The perpetrators fired at their own people, betrayed their commanders and bombed the   National Parliament and the Office of the Presidency.”

“From the very begging, the command chain and vast majority of the Turkish Air Forces stood up against the coup attempt. It was merely some elements of the Air Forces, Gendarimerie and armoured units that joined the violent conspiracy.” Addressing members of the press at   his residence, Yagli said during   operations   against the terrorist group, more than 7500 people have been detained, with 218 arrested so far.

Yagli said the European nation is currently in a state   of emergency   that    is likely to last for three months.  The coup attempt follows a bloody terrorist attack at Istanbul airport where 41 people   died. Meanwhile, Yagli said the Turkish was recently established   in Botswana and operations will soon move to a new address in Gaborone. Moreover, Yagli could not give the   number of   Botswana citizens currently residing in Turkey. However, he added that the European country has previously offered scholarships to some Batswana.

Transport and Logistics Sector Chairperson, Gobusamang Keebine has appealed to investors to invest in the aviation industry of Botswana as the sector needs to grow.

Addressing Namibia business delegates recently, Keebine said Namibia and Botswana should work together in the aviation sector. “There is no air connection between Namibia and Botswana but Air Namibia used to fly to Botswana but it only lasted for about some months. There is a gap in this area,” he said

He said the two countries should avoid competing in certain areas and work together. “Instead of working together we like to compete over little issues that we ourselves are not able to fulfil. There are lots of opportunities in the transport sector between the two countries,” said Keebine. Currently there is one flight from Windhoek to Gaborone operated by Kenya Airways.

For his part, the Namibia Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, Immanuel Ngatjizeko said Namibia is prepared to take its economic cooperation to greater heights by affording more opportunities to Botswana entrepreneurs to exploit further trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. “We believe the two governments have put in place mechanisms to enhance business,” he said.

He said the two countries already share a great amount of tourism related visits. “This relationship can further be improved by investments in infrastructure that support the demands of each party. Although we relatively possess the same population sizes, it is impressive to look at what our countries have achieved in a short period of time,” said Ngatjizeko.

Minister of Transport and Communications, Tshenolo Mabeo has said efforts are still under way to obtain a commercial banking licence for Botswana Savings Bank. BSB currently operates with a development banking licence and its merge with BotswanaPost has long been overdue. 

Responding to Member of Parliament for Gaborone Central, Phenyo Butale’s inquiry last week, Minister Mabeo confirmed that BSB has not obtained a commercial banking license yet, “but I can confidently assure this House that plans are at an advanced stage to submit an application to Bank of Botswana (BoB) for consideration before the end of this year.” He added that it has come to the attention of the government that there are some Batswana who are unable to bank, therefore talks with BoB are still underway.
Meanwhile, at a recent BotswanaPost media brief, the chairman Polokoetsile Motau highlighted that, for “BSB to be granted a commercial banking licence, they will have to merge with a profit making entity.

Therefore we have to be profit making as BotswanaPost.Motau could not be drawn to discuss more details on the merger progression, but just said efforts are still underway. On the other hand, BotswanaPost, which has been on its transformation journey, has finished the year 2014/15 with a total loss of P47million. The BotswanaPost expects modest revenue for the 2015/16 financial results, which are understood to be at an audit level and will be released soon. Giving an update on the bank’s performance over the last five years, Mabeo

indicated that BSB has consistently delivered good results over the period. He told parliament that, “for the period spanning from 2011 to 2015, BSB profits increased from P4 million to P20 million. Its revenues increased by up to 64 per cent from P52 million to P85 million. At the same time, BSB has more than doubled its asset book from P606 million to P1.57 billion.”

Meanwhile, as part of the Botswana Savings Bank and Botswana Post merger, BSB has developed an overarching strategy that defines a transformation phase taking into consideration new value proposition for customers. BSB has undertaken initiatives to turn the business around such as the successful completion of a restructuring project in 2014 to align human resource planning to the current operating model; the bank launched three new products namely Debit card, Express loan and Lecha Loan. The bank is enhancing its technological systems as well by implementing a multi-channel network that embraces other self-service options like Point of Sale (POS), ATMs and co-branded branches within selected post offices.

The aim is to turn the business around to drive the financial inclusion agenda with the intention to provide customer-centric financial services at affordable costs to disadvantaged and low-income segments of the society. Amongst its many initiatives to increase its channels, BSB has recently successfully rolled out ATMs on its network of branches for faster and easier access to financial services. Mabeo revealed that the project will be officially launched at the end of this July.

Member of Parliament for Gaborone North, Haskins Nkgaiwa has called on Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) to bring a Bill on declaration of assets if they are serious about fighting corruption. He made this call when debating the Whistleblowing Bill in Parliament this week.

Nkgaiwa said BDP cannot bring the Whisleblowing Bill in Parliament and expect that the fight against corruption will be achieved when it has left behind declaration of assets, which is the backbone of the Bill to end corruption. “This Bill can only be effective if laws such as declaration of assets are introduced. If us as leaders disclose what assets we have I believe the fight against corruption could be achieved,” said Nkgaiwa.He also expressed displeasure at Clause 9 of the Bill, which says a declaration of information made by a whistleblower may be made in writing or orally.

“A disclosure of impropriety shall contain as far as practicable, the full name, address and occupation of the whistleblower. The nature of the impropriety in respect of which the disclosure is made. The name and particulars of the person alleged to have committed, who is committing or is likely to commit the impropriety,” reads clause 9 of the Bill.Nkgaiwa said this clause would deter would-be whistleblowers that are determined to end corruption. “This looks like you want to gag those who want to be whistleblowers. People should be allowed to report if they have any doubt about something,” said Nkaigwa.

According Clause 17 of the Bill, a person who knowingly makes a disclosure alleging impropriety knowing the information to be false commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding P10 000 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years or to both.But Nkaigwa thinks that people should be allowed to report freely so that they can fight corruption. He said Clause 19 will not help because it will victimise potential whistleblowers that want to talk about corruption.

“A whistleblower who, after making a disclosure of impropriety under this Act, proceeds to disclose the same information to a third party, commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding P10 000 or to a term imprisonment not exceeding five years, or to both,” reads the bill.Sharing the same sentiments, Vice President Mokgweetsi Masisi said the Bill is one of the key instruments for tackling corruption but expressed uneasiness with Clause 9 which requires that a whistleblower state his or her details. 

“This kills the motive of this Bill and might undermine our true intentions of ending corruption,” he said.

Kgatleng Beef Producers Association (KBPA) has expressed concern about the impending overstocking of cattle in their area, which would have adverse impact on the environment.

The association has on several occasions approached the Kgatleng Land Board about the issue with no positive feedback as the land board has never addressed the issue or responded to any communication that has been forwarded to their office. KBPA has now placed their hopes on the Minister of Lands and Housing, Prince Maele for intervention. The association is however racing against time as the land board has short-listed people and is undertaking interviews on allocating livestock water points in Kgatleng.

Last year the association wrote to the land board Secretary, Abednico Maphuru expressing concern about the advertised invitations for application for livestock water points. KBPA Chairman, Dr Christopher Tsopito through a letter to the land board decried lack of consultation by the land board on new developments that could affect adjacent stakeholders. These, he maintains, are procedures stipulated in the land board’s requirements for new land allocations.“Our members in the affected borehole syndicates have come to voice complaints regarding the decision by Kgatleng Land Board to go ahead with this decision without consulting the syndicates surrounding the water points,” he stated.

The association argues that the current six kilometre radius between boreholes has not considered syndicates already within stated radius, a factor which had led these cattle from these syndicates encroaching on adjacent boreholes’ grazing rights and thus leading to overstocking and reduced carrying capacities in those adjacent boreholes.

Dr Tsopito says such borehole syndicates as Tlhagale, Monametsana, Ditladi, Moduane and Monoga on the western side of A1 road and railway line and Morekhuru, Dikgama and Sesobane on the eastern side use other boreholes’ grazing rights leading to overstocking.
“Livestock census figures compiled by Department of Veterinary Services (Kgatleng) should be used to determine the current stocking rates and carrying capacities given the various livestock species utilizing the areas. The area is overstocked and overgrazed. The vegetation distribution in these areas should also be considered since there is a lot of bush encroachment,” revealed Dr Tsopito.

It appears the lands ministry has turned a blind eye on the request by the association for intervention. According to the association Chairman, the ministry has not replied to their letter of December last year. In a follow up letter of March this year, the association requested an urgent intervention by the ministry as the Kgatleng Land board has denied them audience on the allocation of watering points. The contention by the association is that there has been an inadequate assessment of the intended land use given the current rangeland assessment criteria provided by the Range Ecology Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Principal Scientific Officer at the Department of Animal Production- Ministry of Agriculture, John Mothetho told this publication that his office is not aware of the concerns raised by the association. He said when such an allocation is made their involvement is where they deal with range resources that livestock could use. “But the only difference is that we cannot quantify such resource. When we do quantify it is done in general terms. The issue could have not reached our office probably on the basis that it was dealt with at district level”; he said adding that Ecology Unit has since been moved to the Ministry of Environment Wildlife and Tourism. Officials at the Kgatleng Veterinary office could not be reached for comment. Minister Maele said he could not comment at press time because he was still in a meeting.

The Speaker of the National Assembly has suddenly found herself on the other side of the aisle as the opposition parties, Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) take her for just another Botswana Democratic Party legislator.

In their mission to oppose the proposed Bill for Presidential Gratuity and increment of Specially Elected Members of Parliament and Ministry’s Bill, the two parties accuse the speaker of mischief in favour of the ruling party and therefore promise no generosity towards her.The speaker has been identified as a major stumbling block following her decision to invoke standing Order 60.4, which she vowed to use on her quest to tighten screws against ‘misbehaving’ MPs.

The opposition whip, Wynter Mmolotsi told a media briefing recently that they were aware that the Speaker would try to intimidate them with the newly discovered Parliament Standing Order. Under this standing order, Kokorwe has so far suspended from Parliament two opposition MPs, Haskins Nkaigwa and Dithapelo Keorapetse of Gaborone north and Selibe Phikwe West respectively.

Kokorwe revealed at the start of the current session that she has been lenient on the MPs and she would stop at nothing to use Standing Order 60.4 against any MP whose behaviour would be un-Parliamentary. Mmolotsi, who is also UDC Member of Parliament for Francistown South stated that Kokorwe is serving the interest of the BDP. He said as opposition MPs they do not need the Speaker’s leniency. 

“This standing order was just discovered when Parliament went on recess. This is the same discovery as that of some clauses of the Constitution that have been discovered on several occasions and used. The current administration would continue to use such clauses or pieces of legislation that would work to their advantage. We would not be silenced by the speaker to speak what we believe is true or oppose anything that is of no beneficial to Batswana and our country,” the legislator stated.He revealed that they have expressed their concerns on several occasions during the General Assembly.

According to Mmolotsi they have reached a point where they have no confidence on the speaker. He said they would also oppose the Bill that calls for the increase of Specially Elected MPs and increase of Ministers, which according to Mmolotsi, would be a costly exercise.

Mmolotsi said they were surprised to learn that the Bill would propose for a housing allowance as opposed to the current arrangement where government provides a retirement home for any President leaving office.The MP for Maun West, Tawana Moremi indicated that as the opposition they are against this development. He said they are already constrained to do parliament business, as there are a few backbenchers from the BDP. It is Moremi’s opinion that government was supposed to have first identified problems then look for resources to fix such problems.

“You cannot fix the problem at education ministry by splitting the ministry. You need to assess what you are trying to achieve. Then get resources to fix the problem. There has never been any mention of increasing MPs or ministries during the 2015 State of the Nation Address or even during the budget speech in February this year. Then all of a sudden the issues comes in June, who are they intending to reward?”

The academic wing of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) - the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE) is poised to participate at next month’s sixth Summit of Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI). This was confirmed by Katsumi Hirano, the executive director of JETRO in his offices last week in Osaka, Japan when briefing visiting African journalists.

JETRO is a government agency tasked with promoting mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world, while IDE’s mission is to do research on the developing world and prides itself as the country’s biggest institute in social sciences. Hirano said that three of IDE’s researchers will be travelling to Nairobi, Kenya to present on economic seminars that will be organised alongside the Summit. It is also expected that JETRO Chairman Ishige, will be at hand during this high-level summit bringing Africa’s leaders and Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe and the TICAD co-sponsors, World Bank, UNDP and African Union Commission together.

There are some 650 Japanese companies doing business in Africa, 70 per cent of which JETRO undertakes research for. Closer to southern Africa, JETRO has offices in Johannesburg, according to Hirano. Ahead of the historic summit, JETRO called the second African Investment Promotion Forum early March in Tokyo at which investment promotion organisations from Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria and Tanzania, where 70 percent of Japanese companies in Africa are located, participated.The IPOs and JETRO mulled over direct investment prospects for Japanese companies in anticipation of TICAD VI, which is likely to be biased towards investment especially after the Yokohama Declaration adopted at the 2013 TICAD V, called for intensified promotion of ‘direct investment into Africa’ by Japanese companies.

Information sourced from JETRO shows that Ethiopian Investment Commission was received as a member of the investment promotion forum at the March meeting in light of the attention that the country’s economy has attracted most rapidly growing in the continent.Briefing journalists, Hirano said JETRO is organising a business forum and fair at Kenya International Convention Centre pavilion where they will mount some 100 or so booths in which Japanese companies will display their products, services and technologies. He said they expect each African president attending the Summit to be accompanied by three chief executives from private companies of their countries.

“We expect that there will be business matching at the end of the summit,” he said.Hirano believes that Africa must emulate Asia, by making regulations easy and arranging flexible conditions for doing business in the continent. He cited Thailand and Japan as some of the Asian countries that have long relaxed conditions of doing business. As for China, he conceded that it was enjoying a big share of investment in Africa relative to Japan, which he said needs to “do more” to enhance economic activity in Africa.

“China has built railways and are generating electricity which efforts are helpful to Africa’s development,” he said. Hirano is confident that Japan has “strong advantage” in health care technology and should do everything in its power to exploit this niche especially that health is one of the thematic areas identified for support under TICAD VI.

“I am certain that if African hospitals could adopt Japanese health technologies, they would advance, “he said.But Hirano reckons that Japanese automobile industry, a good example being Toyota, whose presence in South Africa is double that of Malaysia, could be intensified in Africa to create the much-needed jobs and diversify African economies. As for Botswana, he mentioned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals Corporation (JOGMEG) which has deployed its satellite information for minerals resources into the country. JOGMEG set up a Geological Remote Satellite Sensing Centre in Botswana in July 2008 in collaboration with the Department of Geological Surveys (now known as the Geo-Science Institute of Botswana).

By last year, it was reported that more than 300 geologists from some 12 countries had participated in the joint satellite image and analysis project as well as field surveys. Hirano told the African journalists that TICAD VI provides a “good opportunity” to prevail Japanese products and technologies in Africa in the true spirit of partnership and mutual benefit.

There will also be a mounted Africa-Japan Public Private Conference for High Quality Infrastructure at Sarova Stanley hotel from August 25 to 27th in Nairobi at which Japanese companies will showcase some of their cutting edge technologies for high quality infrastructure in ports and harbours and roads and bridges. Urban planning and urban transportation will also be considered as will ways and means to finance high quality infrastructure.

Botswana Congress Party (BCP) said President Ian Khama is to blame for the unsuccessful campaign of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi in her bid to ascend the chairmanship of African Union Commission over the weekend.

The Minister wanted to replace the incumbent, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma but could not as she failed because she could not obtain the necessary two-thirds majority vote.According to BCP Information and Publicity Secretary, Dithapelo Keorapetse, the party is of the view that President Ian Khama should be blamed for the loss of Venson-Moitoi because of his isolationist foreign policy and snubbing of AU heads of state and government meetings for almost eight years. “It was Khama’s duty (not Festus Mogae or Mokgweetsi Masisi) to persuade the countries that abstained to vote for Venson-Moitoi,” said Keorapetse adding that it did not make diplomatic sense that Khama expected other Presidents to vote for his candidate whilst he was having fun at Makgadikgadi Epic and Presidential Performing Arts Competitions.Over the long weekend, the President joined party revelers at Makgadikgadi for quad bike rides and planes.

“Botswana will during this July session domesticate the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) when the AU has fundamental misgivings about the ICC and some African countries are actually withdrawing from the Court. Botswana is ready to arrest and handover Africans indicted by the ICC but is unready to arrest and handover Americans indicted by the ICC,” writes Keorapetse adding that it was unrealistic and unreasonable for Khama to expect Africa to vote Botswana candidate under these circumstances.Vice President Masisi was quoted on Bloomberg after the elections saying, “The best defense is not to abuse, stick to the law. We would never allow our president to get away with murder. We are not being prescriptive, we are just asking that we up the game.”Speaking in an interview with BG News, Tati West MP, Biggie Butale who was in Moitoi’s campaign team said Khama could not be blamed for the loss because already the good work was done.

“Our campaign was going very well and during elections when some countries realized that we were going to win they abstained so as to stop our candidate from being confirmed as AU Commission Chair. Most people, like BCP, do not understand the geo-politics of Africa, that is why they make ill informed statement, shooting in the dark.” He said they are confident that Moitoi will emerge victorious in January next year. He reveals that some countries from West Africa have expressed desire that Khama should visit them but he declined to mention them.

“I will have to sit down with him first to pass the message. Botswana has a lot of respect in Africa. Quite a number of Presidents have asked me to convey to the President that he visits their countries” said Butale.According to Butale there are some countries in Southern Africa that want to field a different candidate in January. “They are our friends but we are confident that Moitoi will win because they want to frustrate us,” he said.

Venson- Moitoi managed to pass all election hurdles to the last stage as she remained the last candidate standing after others, in the former Uganda vice president, Specioza Wandira Kazibwe and Equatorial Guinea’s Foreign Minister Agapito Mba Mokuy were eliminated.Venson-Moitoi is not the only woman from Botswana to be snubbed at a regional or international level. In 2014 African countries rejected Attorney General Athaliah Molokomme’s candidacy for the presidency of the International Criminal Court (ICC) rather endorsing Senegalese Minister of Justice Sidiki Kaba as their preferred candidate.

In 2015 Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba failed in her bid to become the Commonwealth secretary-general. Dominica-born lawyer Patricia Scotland beat her to the post. The other candidate was Ronald Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda's ambassador to the United States.Still in 2015 President Ian Khama nominated Dr. Gloria Somolokae as Botswana’s candidate for the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for the period 2016-2019 but the candidate failed to get the nod. Keorapetse argues that these are women of substance who are qualified but were let down by “their President and Government who didn't campaign seriously for them.”  Khama and the government could have done more for these women and secured a place where it could play a meaningful role in international relations, he says.

Senior Officials from respective ministries and departments dealing with transport logistics and food security in SADC Member States are currently attending a two day meeting  in Johannesburg, South Africa.The  meeting convened  in  order to map the way forward on how the region could sustain itself during the difficult times caused by the effects of El-Nino.

The meeting is a follow-up to the recent declaration of a SADC Regional Disaster and launch of a Regional Appeal for Humanitarian and Recovery Support amounting to US$2.4 billion by the Chairperson of SADC and president of  Botswana, Lt. General Dr  Ian Khama.
A statement from SADC this week states that the objective of the meeting is to strategize and adopt a coordinated regional transportation plan for humanitarian relief cargo.

The Regional Disaster Appeal reveals that the devastating El-Niño-induced drought has affected an estimated 40 million people across the SADC region, and out of this figure, more than 23 million are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

It is further stated that the Regional Disaster Appeal estimates that the region has a cereal shortfall of 9.3 million metric tonnes. Considering that only two SADC countries recorded a surplus, (Tanzania and Zambia), the bulk of this shortfall will be covered with imports from outside the region.
A supply chain assessment conducted by the WFP in March this year and the recent consultative mission to key SADC ports by the SADC El Nino Transport Logistics Team this month, on the state of preparedness of the regional transport corridors, both indicate that the regional transport infrastructure and services have adequate capacity to handle the anticipated surge in imports, their storage and distribution. However, they need to be coordinated.

Some of the University of Botswana graduates are a frustrated lot as it appears their former institution has two public faces bearing its re-introduced original logo on certificates and the new but now abandoned logo on transcripts for the same graduating period.

The latest from graduates is that even though the institution embarked on bringing back the old logo in 2014, up to now (July 2016), UB is still issuing transcripts bearing the disbanded logo, and yet the degree certificates for 2015 bear the official logo. In an interview with the Botswana Guardian, graduates complained that this is affecting their job opportunities. Most of those that are disgruntled are graduates seeking employment outside the country. “No one the world over has ever issued such contradictory academic documents and this is affecting us as graduates in the market,” says one of them. The graduate states that the credibility of UB academic documents is being questioned, which in turn jeopardises the good image of the university.

A Bachelor of Sciences graduate reveals that he was about to be employed by a popular South African health post until authorities realised that the academic certificate carried the new logo. “I could not say anything convincing to them about this controversy because it just doesn’t make sense. What is difficult in putting the right logo in certificates?” asks the graduate.

Another graduate says he has lost two job opportunities due to the wrong logo in his academic documents. “This is the highest level of incompetence. Employers in other countries don’t have time to listen to what happened in the past about these logos because it undermines the university,” she says.

UB spokesperson Mhitshane Reetsang referred BG News to the Director of Academic Services, Motsei Rapelana who could not respond to a questionnaire at the time of going to press.
The University had in 2014 decided to revert to the old logo, including the original UB ceremonial gowns for the Chancellor and his deputy and Chairperson of the council.

The duel in which the presidential aspirant, Kenathata Dipogiso takes on the incumbent, Johannes Tshukudu in the Botswana Teachers Union (BTU) leadership election is due this weekend in Palapye.

Both the incumbent and his deputy are determined to emerge victorious over the weekend, as they have done a lot of groundwork. But the reality they both know is that despite their confidence, one of them will remain powerless after the election.  In 2013, Dipogiso had ambitions of contesting for the union’s presidency but pulled out after he was advised by members to pave way for Tshukudu.

Speaking in an interview with BG News the youthful Dipogiso said, “our campaign has been running smoothly and we have been preaching unity in the union. The biggest challenge for us is the use of pseudo accounts on Facebook where we are being attacked but this cannot stop us from winning over the weekend.”

His rival, Tshukudu, who is reportedly enjoying the support from the mother body, Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU), said he is confident that he will retain his position. “I have been running a clean campaign and it is up to members of the union to decide who they want as their leader, but I am confident that I will win over the weekend because my record speaks for me,” he said.Dipogiso said he was challenging Tshukudu so that he re-focuses the union’s direction. “We need a leader who will be available to do duties in the union,” he said adding that they want to bring back the union to members.

“BTU does not exist in a vacuum. There are issues of teachers we have and we need the voice of the union over it, not that of the federation.”On the other hand, Tshukudu said even if he loses the election over the weekend, he would remain the federation’s leader. Asked about the support from the federation to win the election, Tshukudu said, “BOFEPUSU has always said they do not want to get involved in the election of the affiliates and that is how it is. It will never change. But I have fellow comrades who are supporting me in this cause”.

BOFEPUSU FACTOR
The federation is said to be backing Tshukudu because the other team want to pull out from BOFEPUSU. “For the past few years the federation has been focusing its energy in politics while issues of workers are growing every day,” said a concerned unionist. Dipogiso is not a wanted man at the federation because he is not a yes man. “There is a cartel at the federation that want Dipogiso out so that BTU can remain voiceless like other unions,” said the source.

The Secretary General of BOFEPUSU, Tobokani Rari said as the federation they do not want to get involved in the elections of the affiliates.  “During BOPEU elective congress last year we were even accused of supporting Sikalame Seitiso against Andrew Motsamai   and we hear those sentiments again,” said Rari adding that the policy of the federation is not to interfere in the internal affairs of the affiliates.

He said they are ready to work with anyone who will be voted over the weekend. “Anybody who has evidence that we support Tshukudu should demonstrate and show the deeds we have done,” explained Rari.Minister of Education, Skills and Development, Unity Dow will deliver a speech while the Secretary General for Kenya National Union of Teachers; Wilson Shisoke will give a keynote address.

There was pomp and funfare in Senyawe village on Saturday when the Assemblies of God church of Botswana and the Presidential housing appeal became a blesser for an economically challenged resident of the village, Nicholas Robert who was all smiles during the official handing over of his new house.

Although many theories exist regarding the relationship between the Church and government, others aver that no state or government can survive or function by ignoring the role of the church. Yet some will equally contest that the church should stay away from issues of governance or politics. Whatever the arguments, the bottom-line is that God is the supreme governor who reigns in every government and that no government can be successful if it undermines God and the leadership that God has bestowed on his people through the church.

When President Lt. Gen Dr. Ian Khama ascended the throne, he had within his leadership mapped the 5Ds: Democracy, Discipline, Dignity, Development and Delivery and little did he know that the Assemblies of God in Botswana under the leadership of Bishop Dr. Raphael Habibo will contribute towards the answering of his prayers on one of the Ds-Dignity.

Khama’s conviction is that every human being’s dignity matters  and it is on the basis of that principle that he vigorously introduced the Presidential Housing Appeal which to date has handed over 622 houses countrywide. One of those houses, the 622nd, came as a token of compassion and love from the Assemblies of God Main Church in Gaborone to Robert of Senyawe village in Tati East constituency. The Assemblies of God became one of the latest “blessers” of  Khama by donating a 2-bedroomed house with 2-bathrooms, a kitchen and a sitting room towards his Presidential Housing Appeal initiative.

Speaking at the handover ceremony over the weekend in Senyawe, the jubilant guest, Tefo Mokaila, from the Office of the President acknowledged the instrumental role the Church plays in the running of any government. He impressed upon the Bishop of Assemblies of God in Botswana to continue sowing seeds of hope and love to those in need since it is the wish of Khama to see every person living a dignified life. Mokaila also requested the church to continue praying for the President so that God can guide him in his challenging task of leading the nation. Mokaila reflected on the fact that the Presidential Housing Appeal is an innocent and legitimate call to every Motswana to contribute towards making lives better for those whose socio-economic and political circumstances are unfortunate.

One of the guests at the ceremony, Professor Agreement Lathi Jotia of the University of Botswana said that no government can achieve its mandate if it fails to recognise the Church and the instrumental role that it plays in national development. Prof. Jotia, who is a Democracy and Education Specialist, vibrantly spoke about the fact that the wheels of any democracy are oiled by the people and that it was therefore not accidental that the Assemblies of God Church saw it fitting to contribute towards the building of democracy by building a house for Nicholas Robert. Prof. Jotia said that a democracy can never triumph if it is run by a leadership that does not care about involving the masses in the development process.

“In our participatory democracy, the role of the church should never be undermined since more often the church has visionary leadership,” said Prof. Jotia. Bishop Dr. Raphel Habibo expressed his gratitude to the entire Assemblies of God Church in Botswana for the good gestures they continue to make towards the nation and urge them to pursue the good job throughout the good and bad seasons.

For his part Nicholas Robert, registered his appreciation to the Assemblies of God church as well as to the Office of the President in a few words; “I am so excited about what you have done for me-lenna ke motho gompieno. Tswelelang jalo lo thuse ba bangwe. Ke a leboga thata thata,” he emotionally said.

Area Councillor  William Tatose could not hide his excitement regarding the history that the Assemblies of God church has made in Senyawe by contributing a magnificent structure towards the development of his village. Tatose noted that the church plays a crucial role in the development of a person morally and spiritually and urged Assemblies of God Church to forge on with its development mission in Botswana.