12 Sep 2018

The Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation has succeeded in rolling out the Government Accounting and Budgeting System (GABS) to foreign missions.

Presenting the ministry’s executive summary to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in Gaborone on September 11, its permanent secretary Mr Gaeimelwe Goitsemang explained that 21 out of 22 offices abroad were now using the system.

He said the development had helped to improve transparency and accountability in terms of reconciliation of accounts and avoiding over-expenditures.

However, he said the big amounts of money the ministry spent on office rentals abroad had remained a concern, revealing that they had now decided to buy office space as a cost cutting measure.

“We are going to do it in phases, already we have bought one in Kenya just recently and we are in the process of acquiring some. The only constraint is the finances,” said the permanent secretary.

He said foreign missions  continued to struggle with shortage of staff.

In terms of recruitment of staff for foreign missions, he said the ministry submitted requests to the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) for positions below the level of ambassador since the country did not have legislation specifically for the foreign service.

“Maybe if we are to professionalise our foreign service, it is time that we come up with a foreign service act that will deal specifically with foreign service,” he said.

On appointment of ambassadors, he explained that the ministry made recommendations but the final decision lay with the president.

Mr Goitsemang said the ministry had prioritised bilateral diplomacy in order to enable Botswana to harness available opportunities through international cooperation.

“This is whereby we engage with other countries in terms of making sure that we enhance the relations and by so doing we would be able to explore the opportunities that are available.

Therefore, we have engaged extensively at a high level with our immediate neighbours,” he said. ENDs