10 Dec 2014

The Vice President, also Leader of the House, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi says government remains determined to pursue a zero tolerance approach to all forms of criminal activity, including corruption.

Responding to the State-Of-the-Nation Address on December 9, Mr Masisi said with regards to the constantly evolving and increasingly sophisticated forms of criminal activity, government had not and would not allow past achievements or international accolades to breed complacency.

As a result, he said investigative and law enforcement agencies had deployed integrated strategies to combat all forms of criminality and anti-social behaviour in efforts to counter emerging domestic and trans-national challenges.

That, he added, involved an ongoing redirection of resources to deal with violent and intrusive, cross border and cyber based criminal activities.

“As custodians of this nation, we have chosen to err on the side of caution in this regard. The result has been the safe, friendly internationally acclaimed nation that we all call home. We strive to nurture and protect Botswana daily,” he said.

Mr Masisi, who is also MP for Moshupa-Manyana constituency, further said as President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama had said in his address, advancing the country’s record of peace, order and good governance by upholding the rule of law had been central to five decades of uninterrupted progress under the successive Botswana Democratic Party (BDP administrations.

“In this respect, the Leader of the Opposition himself acknowledged that President Khama cited some of the most recent independent comparative surveys as well as domestic polling that continue to place us among the best in the world as well as first in Africa in terms of our upholding the rule of law while ensuring the safety and security of all our citizens,” he said.

Also, he said many of reputable studies relied on perception surveys of ordinary Batswana as well as domestic and international monitoring.

Mr Masisi also indicated that he was therefore disappointed that the Leader of Opposition in his statement thought it sufficient to dismiss the weight of such evidence by talking about an unfortunate incident dating back to 2009 which he added had long been addressed through the judicial process.

“And they accuse us of coming up with nothing new!” he said. ENDS