15 Jun 2014

President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama has commended the Vice President, Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe for serving the nation deligently.

President Khama said Dr Kedikilwe, who will be retiring from politics after this year’s general elections, had served Botswana well.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Mmadinare on June 12, President Khama said the Mmadinare MP had served the nation as a civil servant, MP, cabinet minister before becoming the Vice President, during which period, he played a significant role in the development of the country. 

President Khama announced that Vice President Kedikilwe will be awarded Naledi Ya Botswana, the nation’s highest honour.  He thanked the constituents of Mmadinare for choosing Dr Kedikilwe as their MP and for supporting him throughout his political tenure. 

He described Dr Kedkilwe as a hard worker who loved Botswana and wanted a continued development for the country. For his part, Dr Kedikilwe thanked President Khama. He also thanked residents of Mmadinare constituency and the nation at large for supporting him. 

Dr Kedikilwe said he had played his part and it was time for him to step down and make way for younger and more energetic leaders. He said the government did well in developing Botswana using resources such as diamonds. 

He explained that the diamonds for development approach was meant to ensure that the mineral was not used only to benefit a particular community or people just because it was discovered in their area, but to benefit the whole country.

“All mineral and natural resources in Botswana belong to all Batswana and not a particular people and that is why diamonds revenue has been used to develop the whole country,” he said.

Just like diamonds, he explained, the Dikgatlhong and Letsibogo dams in the Selebi Phikwe region did not provide water only to Selebi Phikwe and villages in the area but also to the southern part of the country. ENDS