13 Sep 2018

The Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) has appointed Mr Edward Robert as the organisations communications officer.

A press release from DIS says Mr Robert brings with him a wealth of experience in the communication field spanning 18 years. It says Mr Robert has been serving as an editor at Dailynews responsible for ensuring that content of the paper is in line with its mandate of communicating government programmes and policies.

It states that he has also been involved in the activities of the media bodies locally and international and currently serving as a member of the Botswana Press Council’s media complaints committee whose mandate is to adjudicate over complaints lodged against media houses by entities and individuals.

The release says before his appointment to the editorship he was also part of the presidential press team.

“Academically Mr Robert holds BA (English and History) from the University of Botswana and a diploma in Development Communication from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in India,” reads the release.

It further states that he holds Masters of Arts in Development Studies from the University of Botswana as well as Masters of Arts in Finance Management from Amity University.

The release says the appointment of the officer is a demonstration of DIS’s commitment to opening channels of communications between members of the public, media and others.

However, the statement says it has been noted that even with this development, most of the operations of the organisation remain hidden from the public eye, which at times is misconstrued as being inaccessible to the public.

It says DIS’s core mandate is to gather intelligence to ensure national security. ENDS