04 Jun 2014

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr Phandu Skelemani has proposed to source water from Lesotho.

Mr Skelemani said this during the presentation of letters of credence by high commissioners of Lesotho and Cyprus and the ambassador  of Greece.

They are  Ms Evelyn Letooane of Lesotho, Mr Petros Nacouzis of Cyprus and Ms Maria Diamantopoulou of Greece.

The minister said relations between Botswana and Lesotho have always been good, saying it was only essential to establish how they could strengthen them.

He said he was impressed by the large volumes of water he witnessed during his visits to Lesotho.

The country, he said, has plenty of water, citing the Katse Dam.

Mr Skelemani noted that Lesotho has lots of mountains that captured water into rivers, saying it has the potential to create dams.

He informed Ms Letooane that Gaborone was dry, noting that water was sourced about 460 kilometres from the northern part of the country.

Mr Skelemani said Dikgatlhong Dam was currently full, but that due to rural-urban migration everybody seemed to be in Gaborone, and that there was no water.

The plan, he said, was to source water from Lesotho to supply the southern part of Botswana, and to utilise water in the northern part of the country to supply the eastern and central part of the country.

Commenting, High Commissioner Letooane said Lesotho was fortunate for being at an elevated location with water oozing out of the mountains.

She said it was for countries within the region to make use of the water. Ms Letooane said there was a need for countries to put in place a legacy for the benefit of future generations, adding that it was critical to share expertise and resources to ensure that countries achieved their objectives.

She added that there was a need for the two countries to start working on an agreement with regard to the issue of water.

Ms Letooane said with the coalition government, the plan was to control the movement of diamonds hence King Letsie’s visit to the mines during his recent visit to Botswana.

Furthermore she highlighted that the independence of judiciary was essential, saying it was important to regularly review and amend laws, adding that harmonisation of laws was also important.

For her part, the Greece Ambassador, Ms Diamantopoulou said she was happy to be in Botswana as the two countries have excellent relations, as they were both modern countries with prominent positions in the world.

The economy of Greece, she said, was improving. She added that the two countries have much to benefit from working together, citing areas such as tourism, education and construction. Ends