23 Sep 2018

President Mokgweetsi Masisi has appointed Mr Collen Kelapile and Ms Tebogo  Motshome as Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, USA  and  Ambassador to the Federative Republic of Brazil respectively.

A press release from the  Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation describes Mr Kelapile as an individual who has wide-ranging experience in diplomacy spanning over two decades, having worked  in the ministry and international organisations since 1995.

He is currently serving as chief of staff at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

He has previously served in the ministry headquarters as the deputy director, Department of Africa and the Middle East, as well as at the Botswana Permanent Mission to the United Nations, New York.

Mr Kelapile also served as an expert on the prestigious and renowned advisory committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) of the United Nations.

He replaces Mr Charles Ntwaagae.

Further, the release says Ms  Motshome, who is currently serving as the director in the Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation, has wide-ranging experience in diplomacy spanning over two decades.

She  joined the then Ministry of  Foreign Affairs in 1990.

Ms Motshome, who replaces Ms  Bernadette  Rathedi, has also served in various Botswana Missions abroad such as  Botswana Embassy in Zimbabwe, Botswana Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland; Botswana High Commission in  Namibia; as well as Botswana Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium.

Both the ambassador-designates are expected to take up their appointments in October 2018.

Meanwhile, the release says  Ms Mmamosadinyana  Molefe, permanent representative of Botswana to the African Union and Ethiopia , has completed her tour of duty abroad.

She has assumed the position of Deputy Permanent Secretary, Corporate Services in the Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation.

Furthermore, the release  confirms the return and retirement of three envoys, who have completed their tour of duty abroad.

The trio are; Mr  Roy Blackbeard,  former High Commissioner  to the United Kingdom for Britain and Northern Ireland, and Mr Charles Ntwaagae, former High Commissioner to the United Nations in New York, Geneva as well as Ms Rathedi. ENDS