15 Nov 2016

Minister of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Mr Tshekedi Khama says it is a travesty for a country like Botswana, with little water and so much sun to have never seriously considered water recycling and solar for electricity.

Minister Khama said this in an interview in Morocco on the sidelines of the 22^nd Conference of the Parties (COP 22) United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on November 14.

He said there was need for Botswana to play catch up on issues around water recycling and solar energy.

The Serowe West lawmaker said with the world going green, Botswana has little choice but to join the band wagon of the countries of the world and take the green route.

The minister however pinned his hopes on the recent renaming of ministries which speaks about renewables and green technologies saying that could present a shift that Botswana needed.

He sighted Morocco as a good example of an African state that has taken a quantum leap in as far as green technology is concerned.

Although almost a desert, Minister Khama said Morocco has managed to use recycled water to water trees and turned an otherwise barren land into an oasis.

“They have the world biggest solar plant and export power to Europe,” he said adding that Botswana as a country can draw great lessons from Morocco especially that the two nations have a lot in similarities.

He said for instance in Morocco, Mosques have changed to LED lighting and installed solar panels on the rooftops; an exercise he said has significantly cut down on drawn power.

By taking the route of Morocco, Minister Khama stated emphatically that ‘Botswana will become self-sufficient on a natural resource that it is not only readily available but also in abundance.’ BOPA