Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan has announced a commitment of US$30 billion to support Africa’s development for the next three years of TICAD VI circle, which ends in 2018 using largely public-private-partnership means.

The investment will go towards developing quality infrastructure; building resilient health systems and laying the foundation for peace and stability which form the three pillars of the sixth edition of Tokyo International Development on Africa’s Development (TICAD VI).
Attracting over 10, 000 delegates, 35 African presidents and as many as 200 Japanese corporate sector leaders into the ‘Green City in the sun’- Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, this sixth edition of TICAD was always going to be a landmark event, not least because it is being held in Africa for the first time ever since its inception in 1993 at the end of the Cold War.

But, more poignantly, the occasion buttressed two of TICAD principles – ‘African ownership’ and ‘International partnership,’ the latter finding expression in the participation of co-sponsors, United Nations Development Programme; World Bank; African Union Commission; United Nation’s Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (UNOSAA) and the Government of Japan in a ‘open forum’ format.

An outcome document of the conference, known as, Nairobi Declaration, was expected to be signed at the conclusion of the summit on Sunday 28th August 2016. Prime Minister Abe reiterated the significance of Japanese businesses at the conference in these few words, “Our hunch is that the time has come to make the best of Japan's capabilities, Japanese companies' capabilities, for the advancement of Africa, where you seek nothing but quality in your socio-economic development.”

To that end, Prime Minister Abe vowed that henceforth, Japan will launch the ‘Japan-Africa Public and Private Economic Forum’ as a permanent forum. Under this arrangement, members of the Japanese Cabinet, together with top executives from Japan’s major business associations and corporations, will visit Africa once every three years.

“They will meet with their African counterparts to pinpoint issues from the vantage point of businesses, identifying what needs to be done to enable Japanese and African companies to do more business together going forward. This makes it a forum bringing the power of the public and private sectors together to forge solutions,” he said.

More than 30 years into the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the medical fraternity is still on an elusive quest to find a cure.“You have to understand that achieving a cure is one of the greatest scientific challenges ever undertaken,” said Dr Robert Redfield, Professor of Medicine and Division Head, Clinical Care and Research, Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at University of Maryland School of Medicine. Redfield is the principal investigator in a five-year programme between Botswana government and IHV known as Botswana-University of Maryland School of Medicine Health Initiative (BUMMHI) to combat HIV/AIDS.

Discussing ‘Current Global Innovations to find an HIV cure’ during the 6th Botswana International AIDS Conference held in Gaborone recently, Dr Redfield noted progress on AIDS as one of the most remarkable success stories in the history of biomedical research but said finding a cure, or cures, will take time, and a continued investment in research. Of the estimated 78 million people globally who have been infected with HIV, only one has been cured.Timothy Ray Brown, better known as the Berlin patient, was diagnosed with HIV in 1995 and then with leukemia in 2006. He was treated with a bone marrow transplant from a person with something called a CCR5 receptor mutation, a rare genetic anomaly that makes people naturally resistant to HIV, and it super-charged his immune system.
Brown then stopped taking his AIDS medication and, a decade later, there is still no sign of the virus in his body.

Dr Redfield noted that four main approaches to a classic cure, some more promising than others, have been tried, but so far without success. Attaining a sustained viral remission, which would allow anti-HIV medications to be stopped for long periods of time without fear of viral rebound, is “likely more feasible,” he said. For such an approach to work, “you need to start with a small reservoir and a competent immune system. In other words, he explained further, “patients need to be treated as soon as possible after infection,” a development that is now recognised in new World Health Organisation (WHO) treatment guidelines that Botswana adopted in June.

“This would reduce the growth of the reservoir and the overall damage to the immune system,” he said. Therapeutic vaccines are another, more practical approach. There has been some promising research with vaccines that sharply reduce the level of virus in some patients (about 20 per cent), but the levels creep back up. The next best hope is gene editing, using tools like CRISPR to remove HIV from a person’s DNA. This has been done successfully in animals but, again, Dr Redfield said doing it in humans on a large scale seems impractical.

If the virus can’t be eliminated, then it needs to be suppressed. That is done with drugs, antiretroviral cocktails that stop or slow down the AIDS virus from replicating. An estimate 269100 HIV-positive Batswana are on ARVs, representing coverage of 87.2 percent. According to Senior Consultant Virologist at Botswana Harvard Partnership Dr Madisa Mine, 62 percent of them have viral suppression. While these are evidently effective, the drugs have to be taken for life, and they have side effects like hiking the risk of heart disease.

The “talk-shop,” as the SADC Summit has come to be known, is once again on. This time around, technocrats, bureaucrats, diplomats and their political masters have gathered in the Kingdom of Swaziland. But really, who would want to miss the Summit hosted by Swaziland, especially when it coincides with the annual Umhlanga (reed dance).

I guess not many of the male species would want to miss the summit. As thus, the heads of state braved the scorching heat of just over 30 degrees Celsius to witness as the ‘maidens’ swayed and swerved in the cultural ‘spectacle.’ So far, the few that I have spoken to have been quick to point out how kind and Swaziland has been to them. But the fervour of Umhlanga should neither distract us from assessing political ambiguities in Swaziland nor derail us from discussing political issues that bedevil the region. As for me, the political challenges facing the SADC region would be best captured by none other moment than when President Khama hands over the Chairpersonship of SADC to King Mswati III. That for me sums up everything about SADC. The organisation has either been relegated to comedy or metamorphosed into tragedy.

I guess Mswati’s assumption of Chairpersonship would also go down history as the most traumatising experience for those few and inaudible dissenting voices calling for democratic dispensation in that absolute monarchy. Nevertheless, the trend and precedence have been set. Remember it moved from President Mugabe to President Khama, and now King Mswati is the new Chair. Can you spot the difference?

Having said that the SADC region at large is faced with serious political challenges. As things stand, Lesotho’s security and political crisis is far from over. It has been dragging forever with Lesotho playing hide-and-seek with SADC. The whole mediation and conflict resolution endeavour have degenerated to Tom-and-Jerry games. SADC is merely running after the delay tactics of Lesotho. Hence finding a comprehensive and sustainable antidote to Lesotho’s political crisis will remain but a fleeting illusion. I am of the view that there is no way SADC can successfully pursue Security Sector Reform (SSR) in Lesotho while the main protagonist is still calling the shots in Lesotho Defence Force.

SADC should have simply made the removal of Lt. Gen. Tlali Kamoli a pre-condition on both security and political reforms. On the other hand, Lesotho has made it crystal clear to the out-going Chair, President Khama that Kamoli’s departure is purely an internal issue not for negotiation. In other words, Kamoli will leave the army as and when he pleases. In turn, SADC responded to this steadfastness of Lesotho by taking taxpayers’ money and forming another committee, the Lesotho Oversight Committee. This would be the fourth political instrument thrown into the Lesotho situation since it started in 2014, but the results remain the same.

Other parts of the region are also proving to be very politically volatile. There have been violent protests in the streets of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, with angry mobs of young Zimbabweans shouting “Enough!” Surely, people’s desperation runs very deep, anger and anguish have reached uncontrollable levels and that can be very dangerous for both government and protestors. Uncivil reaction from both sides can easily trigger a major civil unrest which has spillover effects especially on Botswana. On the other hand, Zambia is not anyhow different.

The recent election in Zambia characterised by violence, intimidation and bias coverage of the ruling Patriotic Front by government media is threatening to plunge the country into a political and constitutional crisis. The United Party for National Development has since filed a petition with court challenging the validity of the results hence suspending executive powers of president-elect pending verdict. Mozambique, Madagascar and DRC are also not in any better political situation, they are basically on life-support. If SADC member states are not committed to adhering to democratic principles and values, the region is surely headed for a political turmoil.
tmasokola@gmail.com

As Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Commander Lieutenant General Gaolathe Galebotswe bid the army farewell yesterday (Thursday) some retired BDF officers have dismissed government’s claims that they have been paid their leave days amounting to thousands of Pula.

This comes after Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration Eric Molale on behalf of Minister of Defence Justice and Security Shaw Kgathi recent remarks that retired and serving members of the BDF have been paid their forfeited leave days. The retired officers are said to be owed a lot of money running into thousands of Pula depending on how many days one had from the time they joined the army to the time one left.

The forfeited days are said to have not been included when the officers were paid their retirement packages. Minister Molale told Parliament during the winter session that the percentage base charged was the equivalence applicable to all public officers’ monthly income taxes. “The exercise targeted in-service members because retirees and those who were terminated were paid all outstanding leave days. The exercise to repay forfeited leave days had no link to the sale of Botswana Telecommunications Corporation shares, but it was rather a correction of an omission and payment to those entitled”, the minister told Parliament.

This week some of the retirees told Botswana Guardian that the minister has misled the nation about this issue. The officers revealed that they came to learn about this after they saw an article in the Botswana Daily News of the 15th August 2016. “It is surprising to hear the minister misleading Parliament that we have been paid. All we know is that only those who are in service have been paid not us. In April this year we were requested by the BDF to avail all our details including bank details so that when they are done with payment for in service officers then they would process our payments,” said a former army general who has served for over 20 years.

He further stated, “As we speak we are still waiting for response from them.”Another retiree stated that there is no way the minister could say they have paid them when the system to pay for forfeited days came into effect this year. He indicated that they feel neglected because they are no longer in the service. The former Warrant Officer 1 revealed that there are some former senior officers who had fought to ensure that they are paid. “It is only that some of us do not know who to approach. There are many of us around the country who are still awaiting our funds. The money varies- like for me it dates back to when I joined the army in 1990. So you will have to calculate from that day until the 31st of December 2015, which was the cut-off date when the system for payment of forfeited days was introduced.”

BDF Director of Protocol and Public Affairs Lieutenant Colonel Fikani Machola said conditions of service and remuneration for members of the BDF including those retired are purely internal and administrative. Machola stated that review of conditions of service just like productivity only has a beginning but no end. “Therefore, the process of reviewing conditions of service for members of the BDF are still on-going and will be in the interest of the incoming commander,” he revealed in an interview.

A summit of SADC leaders in Mbabane, Swaziland endorsed the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi‘s candidacy for the position of Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Wednesday. 

Moitoi confirmed through a text message that the endorsement “has gone through” and that what remained was for her to unfold her campaign strategy. The endorsement brings to an end rife speculation that former Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete was positioning himself for the position. As the official candidate of southern Africa, this means that were anyone from the region to show interest, that person would be on their own. The regional leaders’ endorsement follows a recommendation by SADC Ministerial Committee Organ (SMCO) at their meeting in Maputo early August. Venson-Moitoi must now up her game to prepare for the real battle slated for January when elections are held.

There are real fears she may face a new candidate from the ECOWAS region, which boasts numerical strength. Venson-Moitoi’s campaign team will now be expected to provide the SADC Secretariat with her campaign strategy so that the entire region can own it
During the July elections in Kigali, Rwanda, Venson- Moitoi managed to pass all election hurdles to the last stage after former Uganda vice president, Specioza Wandira Kazibwe and Equatorial Guinea’s Foreign Minister Agapito Mba Mokuy were eliminated one after the other.

However, she too was unable to obtain the required two-thirds majority to usher her into U’s lofty office.SADC Executive Secretary Dr Stergomena Tax confirmed that the heads of state and government, for the entire region will rally behind her campaign. She said that Moitoi has assured the leaders that she will hand over her campaign strategy to the Secretariat so that it could be shared among all member states. “But for now I cannot comment on how we are going to enrol the campaign until after I have received and studied the strategy,” said Tax.

The performance of sectors not related to mining will continue to grow below trend in the medium term, further putting pressure on the country which celebrates its Golden Jubilee at the end of this month (September). This is the message that is being sent out by Bank of Botswana in its latest mid-term Monetary Policy Statement issued to the market. According to the paper, uncertainty in the supply of water, electricity and poor agricultural performance will pull back the non-mining sector, which government has hoped to look to for growth on the backdrop of disappointing numbers from mining.

The agricultural sector, the country’s biggest sector during pre-colonial era is currently on its lowest ebb. This is because of sporadic rains and heat waves which have caused persistent droughts in recent years. In fact, President Ian Khama who this week handed over the SADC Chairmanship to King Mswati of Swaziland, has already declared the country drought-stricken. A number of drought relief programmes have been announced to mitigate hunger which is expected to hit mostly the non-working class and rural dwellers.
Before handing over the baton to Africa’ last absolute Monarch, Khama had also declared the Southern African region drought-hit. $2, 4 billion is needed to save the region’s millions of people from El Nino induced drought. The fact that Botswana’s non-mining sector will continue to grow at slow pace spells doom for an economy which is expected to grow by 4,2 percent this year. Perhaps sensing that the non-mining sector will grow at a sluggish pace, FNB Botswana, Chief Executive, Steven Bogatsu said his bank forecasts that the economy will leapfrog by 3,1 percent.

The banking sector, in which FNBB is a market leader, is struggling to grow sustainably as a result of low interest rates and poor general economic outlook. The diamond sector, the main economic driver, is faltering. Consumer confidence in major markets of diamond such as United States and Japan are down, hence lower sales for the world’s most precious stones. As for lower output in electricity and water, the two sectors are expected to stabilise in the coming years. For example, Morupule B power station is being expanded. Most of the major dams are now complete. However, sporadic rainfalls have led to unstable supply of water, especially in the South and Western parts of the landlocked country.

On the other hand, the construction sector is expected to pick up in the coming months. The renewed confidence in the sector will mainly come from the much-touted Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP). The ESP is short to medium term project that is expected to create jobs and diversify the economy. Bank of Botswana also announced in the same report that, the non-mining sector is down because of restrained growth in major trading partners.  South Africa, Africa’s most advanced economy and Botswana’s biggest trading partner is experiencing its worst economic performance ever. The Jacob Zuma-led country is expected to grow by less than 1 percent this year. Most of South African companies have branches here. The fall in that country’s economy means possibility that the branches will scale down expansion in Botswana and in the process hurt sectors such as retail and banking.

A standoff between South Africa’s finance minister Pravin Gordhan and crime busting agency-The Hawks is also not helping the situation as the Rand has also declined considerably. In Botswana, as the Rand falls, small time traders who normally buy new and second-hand items from South Africa will likely benefit. As the South African economy falters, non-mining sectors such as manufacturing are also expected to decline.

The country sources most of its supplies from the region’s biggest economy. Meanwhile, the central bank said not all is lost. “However, gradual recovery is expected in the medium term in response to the projected loose monetary conditions,” said the BoB statement. In an attempt to jack up the economy, the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee has reduced key lending rate to 5,5 percent from 6 percent.  Even then, the bank is wary of disruptions in the supply of water and electricity which can have an adverse impact on the economy.

More than sixty companies have positioned themselves to snap up shares of one of the country’s well-known fast food selling outlet, KFC Botswana, following a High Court ruling which gave the nod to liquidation of previous owners and opened a marathon takeover of the company.

This week, Lobatse High Court Judge, Michael Leburu ruled that the group of 12 companies that has been operating a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchise business in Botswana be placed under final liquidation. The KFC franchisee, which sources said is worth millions of Pula, has attracted the attention of well known companies who are ready to open their purse to acquire the franchise rights of the company, which is better known for stimulating the taste buds of the rich market. Botswana Guardian understands that the country’s biggest retail outlet Choppies Enterprise Limited is one of the companies that have shown interest in acquiring the franchisee. Choppies Arch-rival, Sefalana Holdings has also signaled interest to purchase the local unit of KFC, a fast food company originally from Kentucky, United States. Another company, UNIGEM, which is owned by a group of trade unions, is also understood to be drooling at the prospect of getting a slice of KFC franchise.

Representatives of the named companies this week declined to comment further on their intentions to acquire the franchise of the fast food selling company.  Reached for comment, Otsile Marole, Regional Marketing and Communications Manager Choppies Group said, “Choppies has never been interested in the purchase of KFC.” Choppies is a Botswana based company which has operations in Africa. Two years ago, the BSE quoted company launched Choppies Fried Chicken (CFC). This is a remake of KFC some people have said. If Choppies get the nod to acquire KFC, indications are that they will likely wind-up their in-house restaurant and replace it with KFC. Choppies has the financial muscle to acquire the company. In the past, Choppies CEO, Ram Ottapathu said their expansion will be in a mixture of Greenfield and brownfield projects across all their lines of product offering.

This week all efforts to reach Sefalana top executives proved futile. The company which is breathing on the neck of Choppies as far as fast moving consumer goods is concerned, has also been expanding across all products and services. The BSE company has also acquired fruit juice making company, Golden Fruit and milk producer, Delta Dairies. Chief Executive of Unigem, Julian Willie this week declined to say specifically if they are interested in the business or not. Unigem suffered a setback two years ago after government terminated a contract worth P500 million under which it was granting personal and property loans to civil servants on behalf of government. Willie said the company is focusing on business they currently operate. 

KFC Botswana has been hit by financial challenges which have affected their ability to keep creditors away. For example, a loan from leading bank, FNB Botswana was not paid in full. Other financial houses are also said to be owed by the same franchisee.
At the end, it was decided that the company be placed under liquidation as it could no longer afford to run its affairs in a sound business manner.

However, interested buyers of the company have been patiently waiting for the final liquidation judgment of a group of companies that has been operating different KFC stores in the country. Provisional Liquidator, Nigel Dixon-Warren has since dispatched a note to interested buyers saying, “Since the communication on 14 July 2016 I am pleased to advise that the hearing on whether the companies should be placed in final liquidation has taken place in the High Court of Botswana and judgment on the matter is expected on 30 August 2016. I will, of course, notify you of the outcome. If the judge decides the companies should be finally wound up then the sale process of the business as a going concern will commence in earnest in September and I will write to you early in the month with a revised timetable for the transaction process.”

This week Warren confirmed that 69 companies have submitted to buy the ailing franchise. But he could not confirm the value of KFC as he said they are waiting to see its projections. “Next week we would be starting the sale process and we expect to finish in three months,” he said. Troubles at KFC started in April 2015 when the Franchisor, Yum Restaurants (Pty) and VPB PROPCO (Pty), which was running KFC Botswana, terminated the agreement with companies which operated KFC stores in Botswana over non-payment of franchise fees.

Before the termination of the franchise agreement, a third party potential buyer, namely Country Bird Holdings (Pty) Ltd, entered into a series of conditional sale agreements with the respondents (VBP PROPCO) for purpose of acquiring the franchised KFC business. One such agreement was concluded in December 2015, providing therein certain conditions precedent that were to be fulfilled on the 1st March 2016.

In terms of the proposed agreement of sale with Country Bird Holdings, the 1st respondent accepted a purchase price of P60 million, for the assets and undertaking of the KFC business as a going concern. The said conditional sale of business to CBH ultimately failed due to non-fulfillment of the conditions precedent. As at 1st May 2016, the creditors to the KFC franchise business operated stood at close to P106 million. The said amount is contained in a document that was used during negotiations to sell the business to Country Bird Holdings. 

When they applied for KFC to be wound up First National Bank Botswana, as the petitioner, said KFC Botswana did not have the ability to carry on the franchise business and further that they do not have any means of generating revenue.
“It is the Petitioner’s case that the Respondents have committed numerous acts of insolvency as reflected by the Respondents’ attempt to compromise its debts with creditors, namely the Franchisee, the Petitioner and potential buyers namely CBH,” said Justice Leburu.

In his defence as the company director, Anthony Siwawa said the franchisor’s conduct by alerting the respondents’ financiers and creditors about their financial position was a ploy by the franchisor to tarnish the image of the respondents, so that the franchisor’s preferred buyer of the KFC Business, namely Callus, would be handed the business on a silver platter. They deny that they are insolvent.

South African Public prosecutor, Advocate Thuli Madonsela, this week said there was   need   for strong   independent public institutions in democratic countries. 

Addressing members of the press and Law Society of Botswana (LSB) in Gaborone   today (Friday), Madonsela said there was need for strong   institutions like the Auditor General and Public protector that close the gaps or holes   left by government. Madonsela is in the   country as a guest of the LSB.She is famous   for investigating the Nkandla case, in which South African president, Jacob Zuma, was investigated for using public funds   to   up grade security at his   homestead   in Kwazulu, Natal.  

Madonsela said public institutions that are usually recognized by   the constitution have a role in picking spots that have been missed by government. She added that such institutions   include   parliament, Auditor General and the   public prosecutor. However, Madonsela said such institutions should not be seen bullying government. “Parliament   is also part of the institution that play different but   complimentary roles,” she said. 

The famous public protector who is known to remain cool headed and laid back in the   midst of controversial or adversarial situations    confirmed   that she was a card-carrying members of the ANC until 2007. However, Madonsela said for someone to take up a role like that of the Public protector they should not be active   in politics. 

“Having been a card carrying member or colleague of those governing, I   have always believed   in    good governance.” Moreover, Madonsela said when ANC   came into power, the party believed   they   had high moral standards to govern people properly. “We said we were better that them (previous SA government) but not because of skin colour.” In addition, Madonsela said   coming into office she had to ensure that she made decision that showed she   is independence as stakeholders were watching to see whether   she was impartial. My   relationship   with the ANC   is marvellous. 

“Most people that are excited to see me are ANC   supporters. Quizzed on her relationship with Zuma, Madonsela said her last conversation with the president was three days before the Nkandla judgment that ended   up in her favour. Madonsela said    her private conversations with politician usually include how better different situations or scenario could have been handled. We discuss what could have happened, whether we agree   on it or whether   it could be left   like that or fixed. 

For his part, the chairman of the LSB, Lawrence Lecha, said they would host a dinner later   on the   day where Madonsela was be expected to talk about   strong    independence institution. “We want her to indulge us and come up with solutions to assist us in our country,” he said.

The 2016/17 season is expected to experience generally normal rainfall. Most parts of the country are expected to be moderately wet during the start of the season except for the South West part of the country, where the weather is predicted to be moderately dry.

The Department of Meteorological Services (DMS) confirmed this, this week in Gaborone when analysing the rainfall prospects for the period October 2016 to March 2017. Nevertheless, rainfall is expected to improve over the South West part of the country by mid season. However, the rest of the country is expected to experience a normal rainfall, with likelihood showers below normal. Moreover, the last part of the rainy season is expected to be largely normal with a likelihood of above normal over most parts of the country. In a nutshell, an increase in rainfall is expected over the country compared to the 2015/2016-rainfall season. DMS is confident that the seasonal prediction is relevant only to the time seasonal scale and relatively large areas. However, they noted that local and month-to-month variation might occur.

An effort by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to court political parties to support recent amendments to the electoral process looks set to fail after a meeting with the opposition Botswana Congress Party (BCP) did not achieve the desired results. Following the introduction of several electoral reforms, some of them generating a lot of controversy and resistance from opposition parties, the IEC rolled out a programme to hold meetings with all the registered political parties individually.

“We believe in taking the stakeholders, especially the political parties on board. Through these meetings, we want the political parties to understand the implications of these reforms and assist in the dissemination of information to the public regarding the recent changes in our electoral processes,” said the Principal Public Relations Officer of the IEC, Osupile Maroba. Among the changes forming the subject of the consultation is the increase of the fees paid by the council and parliamentary candidates. Those intending to contest for council will, from 2019, be required to pay P1000.00 instead of the current P100 while registering to contest a parliamentary seat will cost a candidate P5000.00 as opposed to the current P500.00.

On the agenda too is the cancellation of supplementary registration. The introduction of electronic voting, which is also on the agenda, has caused angst in the opposition ranks. Speaking to this publication on Wednesday after his party’s meeting with the IEC on Tuesday, the secretary general of the BCP, Kentse Rammidi, who led the six-member delegation to the meeting addressed by the Secretary of the IEC, Gabriel Seeletso in Gaborone, confirmed the meeting albeit making it clear that the BCP would not join the IEC in marketing the reforms to the voting public.

“Participatory democracy is about affordability. The moment you charge such high fees for candidates to contest will automatically exclude a lot of people who would have liked to contest had the fees been affordable. We also, as BCP have a problem with the discontinuation of supplementary voter. All IEC reports after the elections have shown that voter apathy is the bane of our democracy. It is not registration clear what the IEC will do to ensure that people register in good numbers during the normal registration period.
“Regarding the electronic voting machine, we do not really have any problems with the machines.

The problem is that there are no safeguards,” said Rammidi who added that, the credibility of an election is centred on the ability by those concerned to audit the data. “Although we have been talking about election unfairness in this country, we drew sustenance from the fact that, as far as our traditional mode of voting was concerned, you could audit the ballots,” he said noting that the BDP is likely to use the machine to rig the 2019 general election. “We are not going to be party to the public education effort by the IEC. We are still pursuing this matter through other avenues,” said Rammidi without elaborating.

Certain quarters of the opposition have intimated taking government to court over the introduction of electronic voting arguing that it is unconstitutional. For his part, the secretary general of the Botswana National Front (BNF), Moeti Mohwasa, whose party also met the IEC on Wednesday, expressed displeasure at the fact that government is engaging the parties at the implementation level and not the policy making level. “We indicated our misgivings about the electronic voting machine at the meeting and we have got no intention to participate in the public education programme because government does not take us seriously.

The machine is hackable. Regarding the increase of the fee for election candidates, our view is that the amounts are clearly out of reach for many people. Concerning the cancellation of supplementary registration, many people do not register at the first go,” said Mohwasa. By press-time on Wednesday, the BDP was still locked in their meeting with the IEC. Meanwhile, the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) and the Botswana Peoples Party (BPP) were scheduled to meet the IEC yesterday (Thursday). This is, according to its vice president, Wynter Mmolotsi. Contacted for comment, the leader of MELS, Themba Joina indicated that his party had not been invited to any meeting by the IEC.

A Zimbabwean double amputee, who received a lot of public sympathy after a farmer, Keitumetse Khunou shot him in 2013 over a payment dispute thereafter losing both arms, is appealing the high court verdict.
Gift Ncube, an illegal immigrant, had sued the farmer for attempting to kill him and lost the case. The shooting incident is said to have happened at Khunou’s ploughing field at Diphateng lands near Radisele where he had temporarily engaged Ncube to debush his field.

In his grounds of appeal, Moffat Dick said that the court erred in law when it made a finding the effect of which was to say the respondent acted in self-defence, without fully discussing the law of self-defence as governed by Section 16 of the Penal Code.
“Court erred in law when it held that an intention to kill, and not any other means would suffice for a conviction for attempted murder. (When the intention required by the law should be at least to cause grievous bodily harm)” said Dick. He said in his grounds of appeal that the court suggested that an explanation had to be given as to why the accused would shoot at the complainant hence confusing the issue of motive and intention.“Court erred in law by replying on the evidence of a witness who was initially admitted as per the joint minute in terms of Order 68 (4) (3) of the rules of the High Court but later withdrawn by the applicant at the start of the trial,” he said.

In his verdict, Zibani Makwade said that the accused did not intend to kill Ncube but he only wanted to scare him. He added that it was the first time the farmer engaged the illegal immigrant. He said that days before Ncube was shot, Khunuo engaged him along with Shepherd Ncube who was also a Zimbabwean. “Shepherd left before the completion of the work. Victor Sibanda was then roped in to complete the work with Ncube. Upon completion of the work, the accused gave Sibanda P500. The complainant refused to take the money from Sibanda saying that he was not hired by Sibanda and it was the accused person who was supposed to pay him,” said Makhwade.

He said that on the said date of the attempted murder, Ncube resided at one of the farmer’s residence in Radisele with his girlfriend, Magdeline Letlhogile.“It is not in dispute that a few days before the incident that gave rise to the charge, police went to Khunou’s field in search of Ncube and Shepherd,” Makhwade said. He said that the two were allegedly wanted in connection with theft at one Rra Peter’s place.He added that witnesses who testified about this incident said Ncube and Shepherd ran away but returned after the police had left. He said that it was alleged that the two had threatened to kill Rra Peter when he confronted them about theft at his place.

“There is no doubt that there was a breakdown of trust between Ncube and Khunou because of the visit by the police,” the judge said. Makhwade said that taking into account what transpired between the parties, there was no doubt that the complainant was angry stating that either a Zimbabwean or Motswana was going to die. “First he refused to take his share of money from Victor. On two occasions he refused to take a ride in the accused’s motor vehicle stating that he has never bought a vehicle. He refused to go and meet with Victor and the accused person to resolve the issue of payment.”He also said that Ncube refused to hand over the keys to the accused’s house and that there was no explanation given as to why the accused suddenly shot Ncube. Makhwade concluded: “I cannot find as a fact that the accused fired four shots at the complainant.

I also find it reasonably true that the shots were fired with the intent to scare rather than to kill the complainant.”In an interview with Botswana Guardian, the limbless Ncube said that he prays for justice to prevail. “My life has been a living hell since the incident, I cannot do anything for myself and I am also finding it hard to accept myself,” Ncube said.He said that the government has not made any efforts to help him. The only help I receive is the donations I get from Good Samaritans,” Ncube said adding that the hospital had at some point said they will give him artificial hands, “Unfortunately those hands were straight, they could not bend or anything, therefore I turned them down as they were of no use.” Kgololesego Segabo who is representing the accused in this matter is yet to file his heads in response to the state.

Last week, University of Botswana historian, who is also the director of Confucius Institute, Professor Part Mgadla shocked the nation when he presented a paper stating that the decision to have Gaborone as the city of Botswana was a big error by the Legislative Council before the country became independent.

Mgadla, a historian of note at the UB says this in his paper entitled ‘A very grave and expensive error? The choice of a new site for capital of Botswana 1958-65.’ He argues that the minority members of the LegCo did point out that Gaborone had limited land in terms of expansion, predicting at the time that in future, it would not be able to expand to the north, east, south, or west without encroaching on tribal lands. “Today, fifty years later, that prediction could not have been more on the mark,” he says, emphasising that the decision to find an appropriate place for the location of the capital of Botswana was rushed on both part of the administration and members of the LegCo. “It is arguable whether if the capital had been located elsewhere other than Gaborone, so much money would be spent and continue to be spent on ferrying water supplies to sustain Gaborone” He also feels Gaborone is not central.

The lecture attracted not only UB staff but also members of the public, among them elders such as Gobe Matenge and David Magang. Mgadla managed to keep his audience glued as he explained how the LegCo members that decided on choosing Gaborone over other areas used majority rule. His argument is that ‘majority is not always right.’ But again, his main emphasis is that due to the pledged R4 million from the British government, the LegCo was under immense pressure. Taking too long to reach a decision either by undertaking expensive and complicated water explorations of the Okavango or those of Francistown area, and making other decisions did not guarantee that the British government would withhold its pledge indefinitely, he says.

In response, technocrat Matenge said he admired the hard work of the Legislative Council that chose Gaborone as the capital city. He said that he was impressed by their efforts and noted that at that time, there was no room to make national future plans.  “They did what they were supposed to do. There was nothing wrong with the decision taken that time. Three years was long for us to hang that long,” he said about the duration given by the British government regarding the pledged R4 million. Matenge added that members of the Council deliberated without fear or favour and came to a reasonable conclusion.

For his part, former cabinet minister and businessman Magang said it was not time to decry so much the old but to move forward. He said there was nothing sinister about the decision since experts involved were foreigners. “At the time, reports appeared to be correct. The committee did not anticipate that the population would grow from a mere 5000 people back then,” he said. Former ambassador of Botswana to Namibia Chakabaka Matenge supported the two national elders and challenged Mgadla to focus on what is next. “Are you saying we should relocate it? What are we going to do with the billions spent on ferrying of water?” he asked.

Former UB vice chancellor Bojosi Otlhogile said that even though he agreed with the professor’s arguments on water, land and visibility, he however felt centrality was not an issue. “How many of the world’s capitals have taken centrality as a requirement?” he asked, revealing that Gaborone was located in the right place. According to Otlhogile, the Legislative Council ‘chose the wrong place for the right reasons but did not choose the right place for wrong reasons.’Mgadla strongly felt that Gaborone is a wrong capital city and that if government had enough funds, they could move it and find a place that is near central. “Can we imagine what will happen 50 years from now? If we don’t consider moving it, we are still going to spend millions and billions on ferrying water,” he said.

Altogether, a total of nine sites were considered, most of them along the railway line. The sites included Lobatse, Manyana, Gaborone, Bokaa/Pilane, Dibete, Mahalapye, Tuli Block, Shashe and Francistown. Minority in the LegCo felt Mahalapye would be the right capital city.

In many ways, the appointment of Advocate Thulisile Madonsela to the position of responsibility made her to accept it with a trembling heart. The joys were alluring, the challenges so great. But, once she started snooping into the offices and streets, she got exposed to all sorts of challenges including from the appointing authorities.

As South Africa’s Public Prosecutor who performs diligently, on many times, the outgoing Madonsela found herself and her entire office staff being subjects of abuse that included acts of violence, death threats, intimidation and being held hostage. However, that never distraught her, instead the spiritual Madonsela took solace in her belief that in whatever responsibility that we are given, we all can go forward in victory if together we hold fast to the Lord, trusting Him to lead us and give us the courage and strength we need.
Madonsela was in the country last week Friday at the invitation of the Law Society of Botswana (LSB) as a guest of honour at a dinner whose aim was to create a platform for interaction between legal practitioners and their stakeholders. It goes without saying that her performance in the public office has earned her international recognition and accolades, the latest being the honorary membership of the Law Society of Botswana given in recognition of her unwavering and courageous defence of the strong and independent public institutions.

LSB chairman, Lawrence Lecha says his Society considers strong independent public institutions as one of the most important pillars of a viable and vibrant constitutional democracy. In this regard and as part of its mandate, the Society has consistently engaged its stakeholders on the need for strong public institutions and the centrality of independence to achieving such objective. “Our position in this area as it relates to the Judiciary is unwavering and indeed well chronicled. Some have unfortunately sought to find mischief in the interest of the Law Society in matters such as the above. This is furthest from the truth,” said Lecha last week during the dinner hosted under the theme: the case for strong and independent public institution.

Whilst the mandate of the Society as set out in the Act is primarily to ensure and enhance professional standards for the benefit of the public and the profession itself, the Society is also enjoined to ensure and enhance the supremacy of the Rule of Law and Democracy. In this regard the Society, as with all others around the world, must be in the forefront of advocating for legal reform, justice, the rule of law, good governance, democracy and access to justice. Lecha said it is for the above reason that the Law Society believes that it couldn’t have found better company than the Public Protector as her belief in the above principles have been recorded and well publicised. “It is our further belief that the presence and words of wisdom from such a distinguished Public Protector will find fertile ground in most as they discharge responsibilities similar to hers.”

Meanhwile, Madonsela says that although she is concerned about the death threats against her, equally she does not easily get intimidated because she is a spiritual person who believes we all ought to die one day. She believes that no one can leave a minute longer or die a minute later than the time decided by the Creator. The gentle giant human rights lawyer and Equality Expert whose most powerful tool is her soft voice and calmness irrespective of the situation, fielded questions with ease and answered sincerely.She Madonsela congratulated Botswana for her golden jubilee celebration saying that the celebrations are for the entire continent because those countries that were first to gain independence gave “us hope and example that you can get independence, but not only get independent, but you can also govern properly.”

“We are grateful that this opportunity presented for a specific purpose, but has also allowed us to meet with our colleague the ombudsman of Botswana and have benchmarking session,” she said. Madonsela advocates for strong and independent institutions because they are the foundation of a strong democracy. “Often you get people who say we do not need strong democracies, but we need strong men and I disagree with that talk because while men come and go institutions are there to stay.”According to her, institutions are more true to the essence of democracy which is the government of the people by the people. When people govern it means they are involved in determining the future of a group, whether country or community. It means people responsible in determining who they will entrust with their collective power. It also means those who are entrusted with power and resources will be accountable to the majority and lastly they will handle that power and resources with care because it does not belong to them; it belongs to the majority.
“You have to have institutions that ensure accountability and continuous involvement of the people,” she said, adding that in many of the modern states those institutions are entrenched in the constitution. In South Africa for instance the key institutions are entrenched in Chapter 9 of the constitution which specifically refers to them as institutions to support and strengthen constitutional democracy.

“So you need them strong so that they can play a role in supporting and strengthening constitutional democracy,” she said. Not an ANC member Madonsela denied being a member of the African National Congress (ANC). “I think on the internet it says that. It’s not true I am not a card carrying member of the ANC, but at the time I was appointed I was an ANC supporter because I have been a card carrying member until 2007.” Having been part of the ANC, she says, and being a colleague to people who are in governance gave her leverage because people knew that these things that “I am saying, I am not saying them because I am now Public Protector, I have always believed in good governance and transparency. I have been party to those who drafted the constitution.”
She states that the ANC for example, did not want to replace the apartheid government not because the people were white, it was because it claimed that it had higher morals to govern the people properly and govern by the people’s constitution. “So that allowed me to always go back to Nelson Mandela and say, we said we are better than them not because we have  a different colour, but because we will govern in accordance with the universal rights of the constitution and we are not for one person, we are for one,” said Modonsela.

She said a related challenge as Public Protector is that “you make the decision that shows you are independent, and then ANC colleagues will ask, are you now hitting hard at us to show that you are independent. I still think that when you have been colleagues it’s more of a facilitator rather than an impediment, but you have a choice though and say because these people were colleagues, I am going to decide in their favour, trust is they will be the first to despise you.” She describes her relationship with the ANC as marvellous. “In South Africa, the average person is excited to see me at the mall and rural areas even ANC supporters, in fact if you look at my twitter account, some endorse ANC logo on them. So the average person in the ANC honestly wants to do the right thing, they want a South Africa for all where public resources and power are used to advance the interest of the national democratic revolution, they are happy when I draw back the money that had gone anywhere else other than advancing everyone’s plight.”

She also notes that the average leader in the ANC applauds her work. “When I was a member of the ANC, I was in the Gauteng branch, and I have never met a single leader who is unhappy with me. The Gauteng ANC branch has endorsed my work openly in the last seven years, not secretly because there are people who support me secretly. When there was this debate about whether the findings of the Public Protector are binding or not, and whether government should implement, David Makhura issued a statement -and that was at the height of Nkandla debate- to say they will implement everything and that helped us. At national level, a lot of them gave me a pat on the back.”

On death threats

She confirmed that over the years she has been concerned about the threats and also about the implications for her children. “As I said after I issued the first reports I invited sour grapes. Life is in the hands of God. We all ought to die, and it’s a question of when I told myself that if I had to die I will die, but also I am a very spiritual person and I do believe that I cannot stay a minute longer than my Creator wants me to stay, and I also cannot leave a minute earlier.”
One of her many tweets reads, “At times we have to stand alone with only hope as our companion. If you stand for the truth and do so long enough hope does eventually pay.”

The Registrar of the Engineer Registration Board (ERB) Dennis Olaotse has urged engineers to register with the Board. Speaking during a press conference by ERB to launch Engineers Registration Regulations 2016, Olaotse said statistics shows that out of an estimated 5500 engineers in Botswana, the Board registered close to 41 percent as at 12 September 2016.

The engineers are registered in various categories and disciplines. Most are Batswana and only a few percentage share international engineers. However, the board does not take any disciplinary action against unregistered engineers. Olaotse said the regulations are to facilitate for the operationalisation of the Engineers Registration Act and provide guidelines of how best to regulate the activities and conduct of engineering profession. The profession has been faced with a lot of challenges including fraudsters, forging of ERB certificates to secure employment and people using ERB certificate for procurement of works. The regulation is expected to address all these issues.

The Regulations provide for the categories of registration and its procedures, issuance of practicing certificates and most mentions the importance of compliance by engineering professionals to the set Code of Conduct and Ethics. “Failure to comply with the code may result in the Board instituting an inquiry into the conduct of the engineering professional which may lead to an investigation and disciplinary action taken against such a professional.”

Olaotse said there are other initiatives that go hand in hand with implementation of the regulations, which are the implementation of the Continued Professional Development (CPD) Policy and the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics. The objective of the CPD Policy is to assist engineering professionals to systematically acquire knowledge and skills and develop personal qualities in order to maintain and enhance their professional competence.

Government might find itself once more having to pay a huge wage bill in back pays for public servants due to the delayed salary negotiations, Botswana Guardian has established.Government has in the previous financial year paid salaries for public servants through supplementary budget as negotiations for increment were reached long after the budgeting process has been concluded. Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Kenneth Matambo has on several occasions called for conclusion of salary negotiations on time so that when budgeting is done the agreed increment percentage could be included.

He said this would result in government avoiding over expenditure.Salary negotiations, which could have started early this year, have since stalled following several court cases lodged by trade unions. Government’s attempt to increase salaries by 3 percent were frustrated by Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) interdicting the increase through court. Government’s argument was that it is cushioning the public servants since negotiations are taking long to start. The Public Service Bargaining Council (PSBC) has since failed to convene to start the talks. Unions have blamed the leadership of the PSBC for delaying the process.

On the 16th June 2016 the Court of Appeal directed the bargaining council to convene for the 2015/16 salary negotiations. It also ordered for verification of BOFEPUSU numbers as the date of the judgement to determine whether BOFEPUSU can continue being in the Bargaining Council. The court also ordered that Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) make an application to the PSBC to be admitted.BOFEPUSU Deputy Secretary General Ketlhalefile Motshegwa this week revealed that they have since submitted their numbers in compliance with the order of June 2016.

He said that it has been three months since the Secretariat has been furnished with the matter despite the matter having been an urgent application, “This continued delay is tantamount to contempt of court orders and it continues to negatively impact on the functionality of the Bargaining Council and the need to expeditiously conclude the salary negotiations. The need to conclude salary negotiations is critical in the sense that there is need to improve conditions of service and salaries at a time of high cost of living and inflationary burden on the public servants.

We are worried and disturbed by the delay caused by the Secretariat and we suspect it is a move in cahoots with the Government to cause instability within workers when they act out of desperation that the negotiations are delayed” he indicated. Motshegwa said the Secretariat of the PSBC seem to be determined not to convene meetings of the Council and it is a year since there has not been an Annual General Meeting, Council and Sub Committees of the Council. It remains unclear as to whom the Secretariat report to in the absence of convening of its forums and how they account, he said.

Motshega said they have since given the Secretariat of the PSBC up to today (Friday) to have put notice of convening of salary negotiations and the Annual General Meeting of the Council failing which they will be compelled to haul the Secretariat of the Council before the Court for contempt of Court order. BOPEU General Secretary, Topias Marenga said they have not submitted their name for admission into the PSBC. He said BOPEU is currently having its figures for membership being audited as per the PSBC constitution.
“People should also understand that we are not playing any contribution in the delay of the talks. As court of appeal has stated if we fail to submit then negotiations can continue without us.

The requirements are that audited figures done by a duly recognised auditor should be submitted which is why we have engaged Price Waterhouse Coopers (pwc) to do the auditing for us. BOPEU leadership is meeting on the 24th of this month where expectation is to study the report from our auditors”, said Marenga. He explained that after studying the report then the union leadership if satisfied would direct him to submit the audited figures.

PSBC General Secretary Wilard Ulaula said it is their interest to ensure that verification exercise is concluded and other businesses of the council resume. The secretary stated that the exercise is still ongoing. He denied that his office ever received any letter relating to salary negotiations from BOFEPUSU. Ulaula said the PSBC Secretariat has not received any complaint from BOFEPUSU on this matter. He dismissed accusations that they are colluding with government to sabotage or delay the negotiations.

National Development Bank, the state-controlled bank has made an impassioned plea to government to inject P1 billon into its coffers to bring it back to life, its Chief Executive, Lorato Morapedi told a select parliamentary committee.

The NDB top executive’s request comes hot on the heels of yet another demand of the same amount, this time from Botswana Development Corporation (BDC), an investment arm of government. Morapedi, who has been at the bank’s hot seat for more than six years, told the Parliamentary Committee on Statutory Bodies and Public Enterprises at Parliament when she appeared before them this week. “Currently we have requested P400 million for this first year, second year we will need P165 million and the last one will be P250 million,” said Morapedi adding that they will also look at their options for funding.

She did not elaborate more on these options which are available for the bank to tap on. The bank has previously issued bonds to raise cash on the debt market. “Our focus is agriculture and SMMEs,” she said. According to Morapedi the current loan book of the bank is at P1.3 billion and 40 percent will never be recovered. A visibly incensed Chairman of the committee, Guma Moyo at this point asked the NDB boss why they should be trusted with funding.  “We have a lot of expertise and robust Information Technology and have improved in monitoring.

We have been able to get to the bottom of these problems and we have been able to establish that some loans were given way back in 2009,”said Morapedi who has been given a fresh mandate to lead as from the bank last year.
A look at NDBs executive summary prepared to the committee shows that the bank recorded a total loss of P48.4 million for the year to March 2015 compared to P87.8 million in the previous year. During the period, overall comprehensive loss was P56.9 million from P69.2 million in the previous year. Impairments charge for March 2015 reduced by 48 percent when compared to the previous financial year figures. This is an indication of recovery.”

In the report which Botswana Guardian has seen, Morapedi said during the financial year 31 March 2015 the bank was faced with challenges such as; non-performing loan book, tight liquidity, high cost of funding, over borrowed customers and slow recovery of the economy. The bank which turns 53 this year, also reported that 38 percent of its loan book fell into non-performing loans status during the year under review (2014/15).

“This negatively affected the Bank’s liquidity position,” said the NDB report. The bank has since intensified its collections efforts and cost containment strategies. The bank said it needs more money to increase its loan book. Going forward, the bank will start investing in high margin portfolios as well as improving operational efficiency. Earlier this year, government suspended the bank’s privatisation citing a number of challenges such as decline in profitability, reduced banking rates and strained disposable income. Like BTCL, NDB’s privatisation process would also see the bank floating 49 percent shares in the domestic bourse.Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Kenneth Matambo said, “these challenges, unfortunately, delayed the privatisation of the bank.

To this end, a decision has been taken to first allow for the commercialisation of the bank and return it to profitability before embarking on a privatisation exercise.” The minister did not specify when the privatisation process of the bank would be reinstated.
Matambo said the bank’s profitability decline over the years is because NDB supports start-up businesses as well as finance agricultural projects, which are periodically affected by drought and livestock disease.

President Ian Khama has promised the private sector that his government would create a conducive environment for private sector growth and positive economic growth by maintaining and improving its policies and the regulatory framework.

Officiating at the 14th National Business Conference in Francistown this week Khama said it’s important to realise that the government or private sector alone cannot position Botswana on a high, stable non-inflationary and diversified economic growth. “We have been consistent as government in our view that the private sector has a central role in our pursuit of economic transformation. We firmly believe that the business of producing goods and services through meaningful and productive utilisation of our natural endowments, information and technology, human capital, as well as entrepreneurial capabilities can best be handled by the private sector, hence the true notion that the private sector is the engine of growth for the economy,” he said.He reiterated that government initiated the Economic Diversification Drive (EDD) in 2010 to primarily accelerate economic diversification which had proved to be a challenge since independence.

“EDD emphasises export-led growth while developing productive capacity of enterprises for both domestic and external markets.” The initiative is driven on a Short Term and Medium Term strategy. In the short term, government leverages on its purchasing power through the use of preference margins to promote the production and consumption of locally produced goods and services, explained Khama. He noted that the value of cumulative total purchases since inception in 2010 amounts to P22 billion. Out of this figure, the value of purchases from local manufacturers and service providers is P11 billion. Khama revealed that so far a total of 1 625 enterprises have been registered. These companies have created 44 337 jobs. He said that the Long Term Strategy aims to develop Botswana enterprises to become nationally and globally competitive with little or no government intervention. “The main aim is to diversify the economy into sectors that will continue to grow long after minerals have run out,” said Khama.

He explained that government was also facilitating the use of locally manufactured building and road construction materials by contractors in all Economic Stimulus projects. “To-date, 74 locally-based manufacturers of building and road construction materials have been registered in the Roads, Building and Construction Manufacturer’s Database,” said Khama who added that assessments were currently being undertaken to ascertain their capacity and capabilities to produce the required materials in the right quantities and quality. “These companies offer great potential in our pursuit for employment creation,” he stated.

Khama also revealed that his government will promote effective business regulations and private property rights to ensure that businesses are not hobbled by excessive regulations and red tape. “In this regard, government is implementing a Doing Business Reforms Roadmap and Action Plan with a view to addressing administrative, legal and structural bottlenecks,” said Khama, adding that government has in its quest to modernise the economy and position it as a global competitor, opened up the provision of water and power, as well as delivery of road infrastructure projects to private capital.

Botswana National Front (BNF) leader Duma Boko seems to be headed for another litmus test, this time over the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) membership card. The card is said to have divided the party and there are growing fears that may tear the BNF into factions.

BNF rank and file are worried that proper or adequate consultations was not done and the UDC membership is aimed at annihilating the movement (BNF) that many are very much attached to. The members are questioning the UDC application form, which talks about one’s previous party arguing that technically it renders one’s membership of either the BNF, BMD or BPP null and void.

Boko is widely credited for keeping BNF united- a party, which is synonymous with vicious factions. This would not be the first time for Boko who is also the President of UDC to fight a battle of this nature. He once fought a legal battle against some BNF activists who were against the use of BNF symbol in the UDC emblem.

Insiders within the BNF have informed Botswana Guardian that the UDC membership card has divided the BNF even at central committee level, as some members believe the masses were not taken on board on the matter. Ever since UDC Secretary General Ndaba Gaolathe issued a letter regarding the UDC card the BNF central committee is still yet to meet and deliberate on the matter. Some BNF members are of the opinion that the party should take its time to educate members on how things would work once they have the UDC membership cards.

“We do not argue that the congress as the supreme body of the party could have endorsed the UDC Constitution but the fact is that fellow comrades especially those who did not attend the Gantsi congress and those who cannot convincingly interpret legal instruments like the constitution should not be left behind.

The party leadership was supposed to embark on educational campaign about the UDC Constitution and its structures including this card,” said a source within the BNF Central Committee.Another member of the BNF said the issue has to be clarified to the membership because as the UDC contracting party they need the card.

“For instance, logically all the council and Parliamentary candidates contested under UDC so we need this card,” said the member. Currently the issue of the card is said to be a heated debate in the ongoing regional meetings that are being conducted by the party led by Secretary General Moeti Mohwasa.

The controversial, homophobic and venom spitting US pastor, Steve Anderson, has been kicked out of the country hardly a week since he arrived.

“This is to confirm the Pastor Steven Anderson, a citizen of the United States of America, has been declared a Prohibited Immigrant and as such is being deported from Botswana,” the Botswana government announced through its social media page today.

The fiery pastor   quickly attracted the attention   of local security agents this morning following a heated interview at a local radio station where the 35-year-old American lashed out at homosexuals and came short of labelling Botswana as a nation of drunkards. Following the interview, Anderson was quickly whisked away by security agents and immigration officers.

The recent firing of Edward Tswaipe, by Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) as Head of Department, Education and Capacity Building, is said to be a plan that the leadership of the Union has been hatching for a long time. 

While the union attributes Tswaipe’s dismissal to ‘Serious Misconduct’, BG News is reliably informed that the pair has been navigating a thorny relationship and that the union’s leadership has always sought an excuse to get rid of Tswaipe. The fallout between Tswaipe and his employer is that, he was always questioning some of the decisions taken by the union leadership particularly on staff recruitment and promotion. “When we went for union elections last year, Tswaipe was one of the people who were behind the campaign for union president, Andrew Motsamai to be re-elected. This was done because we wanted to prevent Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) to take control of the union and interfere in our affairs,” said the source.

It is said the tension between Tswaipe and his employer started this year when he questioned decisions on staff recruitment and promotions and the delay to open the labour college at the African Mall. “The president was always asking him why he is delaying the official launch of the school. Motsamai (Andrew) felt Tswaipe is trying to steal the limelight from him,” said an insider who did not want to be named. Initially the school was supposed to have been launched last year in September but was postponed to this year as they were still waiting for accreditation from Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA).  The Vice President, Mokgweetsi Masisi was supposed to launch it. Motsamai refused to comment when approached saying he could not discuss employer and employee issues with the media. He denied that they have fired Tswaipe saying his disciplinary hearing is still ongoing.

When trouble started for Tswaipe two months ago, he rushed to court on an urgent application to interdict the disciplinary hearing against him. But Industrial court Judge, Vigil Vergeer, dismissed his application saying Tswaipe failed to demonstrate the urgency and also failed to show a clear right in the case. “Comrade Tswaipe is not a yes man and he has on several occasions declined to take orders from the union leadership. He was questioning high expenditure of the union leadership,” said the source. In his defence Tswaipe argued that a Secretary General couldn’t institute a disciplinary hearing because he is a specified employee and that the authority lies with the National Executive Committee (NEC). But the court dismissed his arguments saying he is not a specified employee.
It is said Tswaipe in a Facebook page called, “Strategy Room” revealed some confidential information about the union.

“I was always told gore Molale, Carter, etc gaba ganediwe. I differed with them openly, until I left the public service. I even wrote articles in press. I was not fired. I resigned voluntarily. At Kasane retreat I was told gore Motsamai ga a rate go buiwa ka issue ya PR, but I did and even banged the table that BOPEU MUST have a PR function. After he stormed out of the room one colleague said I must apologize because I was new to BOPEU. I said I will not apologize. I’m fighting to say eventually it was adopted into new strategic plan,” reads part of the snippets Tswaipe wrote on the Facebook page.

He also writes, “Nna it hurts me since coming to BOPEU. You use your capacity very sub-optimally. I once said to my colleague Disho that at TAWU we knew that big unions cannot use their resources optimally and we used to capitalize and move quicker. She laughed at me scornfully because she said oh TAWU with less than 1000 members. But we had position papers reaching OP. One of them is being implemented on the split of MOESD, O&M, which was the authoritative policy position of Govt then. Eventually we shaped Govt policy in our direction. That is how advocacy works. We also shaped the takeover of Brigades, challenge BTEP and decided what happens to staff leaving Lobatse College when it was closing down. We stopped sale of Tlokweng Brigade to a South African private university. BOPEU could be running this country if it used that approach. If a small union like TAWU could do so many things.”

POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT
The union is believed to be eyeing some people to replace Tswaipe as head of labour college. But the fear among the union leadership is that they have to find someone who will be a game changer because Tswaipe was the right candidate for the job. “I don’t think it will be possible for us to find someone like comrade Tswaipe. The guy has done a lot for the college and it was going to bring a lot of fortune for the union,” said the insider.  The decision to set up the college was taken at a congress in 2012. “The delay to launch the college leadership is thought to be a failure on Tswaipe’s part,” said the source.

Botswana Guardian understands that the following are being eyed to replace Tswaipe.
Ogaufi Masame: Currently the second Deputy President at the union and lecturer at Gaborone Technical College. The problem with her being appointed is that her husband is currently the Human Resource Manager at Babereki Investments. “Leadership is having a tough time to appoint her because of this,” said a source.

Ibo Kenosi: Former Secretary at Botswana Teachers Union (BTU) and a close friend to the union leader, Motsamai. It is alleged he is the best person to protect the interest of Motsamai. He has Diploma in Primary Education.
Tshiamo Salona: He has Degree in Adult Education and has worked in the department for quite some time.  His knowledge of trade unionism is not extensive enough. He was one of the persons interviewed for the post previously before it was given to Tswaipe.
The union President, Motsamai refused to comment on Tswaipe’s replacement saying as far as he knows the veteran unionist is still their employee. “We do not have a candidate at the moment because his hearing is still ongoing,” said Motsamai. Tswaipe was not available for comment as his mobile phone rang unanswered.
However sources say he is planning to appeal his dismissal.