30 Aug 2017

Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Shaw Kgathi says the primary role of the Botswana Defence Force is to protect the country and it can only perform its duties if it has the right and proper ammunition and equipment.

Addressing Bobirwa Sub-district councillors recently, Mr Kgathi said ‘BDF should be allowed to protect and defend us’, because it was its responsibility to ensure that borders were secure and must create deterrence.

Mr Kgathi said the right equipment was required to protect the country against external forces, hence people must understand that acts of terrorism had no appointment and as such it was the responsibility of the ministry to ensure the army was well armed.

Mr Kgathi, also MP for Bobonong said BDF has been using refurbished equipment for quite some time and that the army solely depended on the technical expertise who suggests the right equipment.

The minister was responding to a question from councillor Keoagile Ramatlotlo who wanted clarification on the Gripen fighter jets to be acquired by the BDF and whether P16 billion would be spent to procure the jets.

Mr Kgathi said the political leadership from both opposition and the ruling party had the obligation to tell the nation the truth.

He said the BDF did not have a budget of P16 billion, but Parliament approved the itemised budget of P14.3 billion, out of which P2.6 billion would be spent on soldiers accommodation, airforce and ground forces logistics while other spendings were for personal emoluments.

Concerning BCL and Tati Nickel mines closure, the MP appealed to councillors to treat the matter with caution saying sensationalising the issue was ‘adding salt to injury’.

He said as the area MP, he had designed a stewardship programme through the office of deputy district commissioner to ensure that former workers who seek government schemes to empower themselves should get assistance accordingly.

Mr Kgathi stated that he held consultative meetings with former mine workers who shared their challenges, but explained that their challenges  were not as pronounced as reported.

He said government took the right decision for the voluntary liquidation to save some of the mines property such as the mine hospital, housing units and many others.

If it was a forced liquidation he stated that workers were going to lose everything, but Mr Kgathi highlighted that there was a light at the end of the tunnel as 32 foreign companies have shown interest in buying the BCL mine. ENDS