28 Feb 2016

By Pako Lebanna

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) has been praised for being an effective instrument of state that articulates Botswana’s values to the world.

Vice President, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi said this at the National Assembly on Thursday February 25 when contributing to the debate on the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi’s budget request.

In supporting Dr Venson-Moitoi’s budget proposals of over P491 million for the recurrent budget and over P31 million for development budget for the 2016-17 financial year, Mr Masisi said in his international travels on state duty he has come across MoFAIC staff marketing the country to the world.

 “I applaud the honourable minister for personally traversing the world eloquently expressing Botswana’s position on various issues.  I have also come across her ministry staff in my foreign travels, they have proved to be nimble footed and intellectually competent in serving their country,” Mr Masisi said.

Furthermore, Mr Masisi, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Moshupa-Manyana, said Botswana’s foreign policy has been widely understood in the African continent and abroad.

“Our foreign policy is based on our domestic position of believing in democracy and human rights, which is why we have members of the opposition representing us in international forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union.  There, our opposition legislators often represent our country with much honour, so I do not expect them to be challenging the country’s foreign policy here,” Mr Masisi said. Earlier, Gaborone Central MP, Dr Phenyo Butale had expressed concern about Botswana’s foreign policy, stating that pragmatic diplomacy had been jettisoned in favour of a more confrontational approach.

Dr Butale said that instead of Botswana making public pronouncements on international events, the country should exhaust internal mechanisms such as closed-door discussions with foreign embassies as well as with regional and international bodies.

Cautioning that the country was small than most global powers, Dr Butale urged the government to desist from commenting on the political affairs of other states, saying Botswana could be better served by pursuing “economic diplomacy,” of marketing the country to potential investors.

Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele praised Dr Venson-Moitoi for her presentation before the committee of supply. He also urged the ministry to seek ways Botswana could benefit from broader partnerships with African states and Asian ones.

Mr Makgalemele said the Vice President had attended the Indian-African summit, and said the ministry should work on implementing what had been agreed upon to the benefit of the country.

He further said at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), Japan had proposed accelerating infrastructure development for African states, and he urged the country to pursue such potential support. Mr Makgalemele cited roads in his Shoshong constituency, in villages such as Poloko, Mokgenene and Otse as potential beneficiaries for such infrastructure support. ENDS