23 Sep 2018

President of the United States Mission Locally Employed Staff Association, Mr David Kelapile, has described the out-going US ambassador Mr Earl Miller as a true leader who always have time to listen to welfare issues.

Speaking at a reception to bid Mr Miller farewell, Mr Kelapile said Mr Miller demonstrated his love for US Mission workers by sharing their happiness and provided emotional support.

He said Mr Miller identified Batswana’s values of botho and unity because he made the US mission one big family.

He said Mr Miller boldly took a public HIV test which was symbolic and became a catalyst in the HIV and AIDS testing programme thereby advancing him as an excellent advocate for the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programmes like Safe Male Circumcision.

“He engaged with dikgosi in the kgotla discussing ways of encouraging men to consider circumcision. He also engaged with grassroots organisations and touched lives of ordinary people and impacted their lives giving them hope,” he said.

He noted that he was always available to support programmes not only for the achievement of mission goals and targets but because of the love he had for Botswana and its people.

Mr Kelapile said Ambassador Miller had a way of engaging with Batswana and the way he supported various groups, local artists, traditional groups and cultural activities such as Mmakgodumo among others.

For her part the Public Affairs Officer at the Embassy, Ms Ineke Stoneham said some of the accomplishment by the Ambassador include the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) efforts by working closely with the Companies and Intellectual Property Rights Authority (CIPA) to improve intellectual property rights in Botswana as it was crucial at fostering innovation and economic diversification.

Ms Stoneham said their partnership with CIPA was so successful in such a way that they held a workshop conducted by a US expert on intellectual property rights in Gaborone and Francistown.

The workshop reached out to media practitioners, innovators, visual artists, fashion designers, police officers, CIPA staff and other various stakeholders educating them on basics of IPR, increasing awareness, the need for prosecution on intellectual property related crimes and emphasising on the importance of creating and registering trademarks.

She said they worked extensively with hydrologists, wildlife experts, residents of the Delta, and researchers from an ongoing expedition of the National Geographic Society to better understand the threats of water offtake to the survival of the Okavango Delta.

Ms Stoneham said the USAID continues to support the Okavango River Basin Authorities in promoting biodiversity by connecting protected areas and creating wildlife migratory corridors, improve water resource management and supply and water sanitation, and combat wildlife trafficking. ENDS