18 Feb 2016

Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Shaw Kgathi says the P3.59 billion development budget is justified. 

Debating the budget speech on Wednesday, Mr Kgathi said there was nothing alarming from the proposed budget because there was need to protect the nation and the investment made.

“If you are serious about the security of the nation, the investment made over 50 years, a meagre P3.59bn is far too little,” he said. The minister also indicated that security was a public good any responsible government should spend money on. 

“State security is important, it is just like insurance.  We cannot be saying that we are not doing something because the country is at peace.  Botswana is not a country on a war path but we are just a responsible government that seeks to secure its investment over the past 50 years.  And we cannot be blamed for that,” he said.  

He added that it was through a secure environment where Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and other social activities such as education, trade, culture, among others would exist and thrive.

On the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) spending, Minister Kgathi said it was disappointing that in previous committees of supply, some members of the opposition advocated for funding of the BDF, Botswana Police Service (BPS) and Botswana Prisons Services (BPS), and others departments under the ministry, only for them to say what had been proposed now was “colossal amount.”

He explained that the budget did not only cover the BDF like some members had stated in their debates but was to take care of all departments under his ministry.

“Misconceptions and contradictions and critic statements that were made that this budget covers BDF alone and that it is intended for purchasing only jet fighters shows naivety. We want more than just that.  We want systems that can be able to put us in the right position,” he said.

Furthermore, he indicated that government cannot compromise on expenditure for security on such grounds hence the need to adequately provide for the BDF and other security entities.

He added that argument that there was no need to spend money on security when the Southern region was at peace was shallow because in dealing with defence there were uncertainties involved.  “We can never be certain as to when the country would be attacked. It is at the time when we are at peace that we would be able to adequately and systematically procure as well as train our people,” he said.

 Minister Kgathi added that defence capability also involved deterrence which he said should be credible.  “We have to buy the right equipment in order to afford appropriate deterrence posture, not for war like some members had said,” he added.

Again, he explained that defence procurement was a lengthy which must be followed by a process of training and doctrine development hence the need to do such in earnest. 

The minister also argued that the BDF procurement had been deferred over a long time given that they still had elements of the cold war era equipment which needed to be replaced and make sure that BDF remained high-tech for it to guard against all threats.

Threats, he argued, should not be looked at narrowly because the current environment was complex while terrorism had no boundaries. He added that traditional security threats had long gone but replaced with serious complex non-traditional security threats and no country was immune to such activities. 

Some countries like United States of America, France, and Kenya, he added, had experienced terrorists’ attacks despite their high technology. “Our defence must be ready and we have highly qualified and trained members of the defence and need to equip their inventory,” he said. Ends