10 May 2017

President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama has signed and acceded to the Revised SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by the SADC executive secretary Dr Stergomena Tax and cabinet ministers, among them the Minister of Nationality Immigration and Gender Affairs, Mr Edwin Batshu at Office of the President  yesterday (May 10).

The protocol aims to provide for the empowerment of women, eliminate discrimination against them, and also achieve gender quality by encouraging and harmonising development and implementation of gender responsive legislation, policies and programmes.

In an interview after the signing ceremony, Dr Tax said the secretariat and the SADC region welcomed the decision by Botswana government to sign the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.

She said Botswana had been adhering to the requirement of gender empowerment and that the signing was only a testimony that the country was part of the Protocol and would continue abiding by the requirements of the gender equality and women empowerment.

She said the Protocol came in to force in 2008 and was amended in 2016, and that so far 14 countries including Botswana have signed and only Mauritius remained.

"The implication is that gender equality and women empowerment is a global thing. We are all promoting it. As you might have noticed there are disturbing trends whereby in certain instances there is progress while along the way there is backward movement. So we hope all our member states will abide by the requirements of the Protocol. I call upon everyone to make sure that indeed there is gender equality not only to promote it but to make sure that it is embraced in the economic font and political decision making," she said.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Nationality Immigration and Gender Affairs, Ms Banny Molosiwa said Botswana came a long way in negotiating for the amendment of some of the clauses of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.

‘’I can only thank the SADC member states for agreeing with us, after engaging them with regard to the reservations we were having,’’ she said.

She said it was important to indicate that despite not being a party to the Protocol, Botswana government remained committed and had been implementing a lot of what was in the protocol.

Ms Molosiwa said the country made a substantial progress regarding gender equality and women empowerment .

Meanwhile Department of Gender Affairs director, Ms Thapelo Phuthego said the decision to sign the Protocol was a welcome development.

She said initially, Botswana had some reservations with some of the clauses in the document.

She said at the time the Protocol came in to force, the set timeframes were unrealistic, with serious resource implications that government could not guarantee because of the instability of the economy at the time.

‘’Signing at the time would have meant that more funds are diverted towards implementation of the Protocol,’’ she said.

Ms Phuthego also said the other concern was that the language used in crafting some of the clauses of the Protocol was prescriptive, hence not giving countries a leeway with regard to implementation.

“We are happy that after revision, timelines have been removed and countries are now free to implement the Protocol according to their affordability.” ENDS