03 Sep 2019

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has commended Boteti residents for understanding that natural resources did not belong to localities where they were discovered but should benefit the entire nation.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Letlhakane on September 3, President Masisi said diamonds were first discovered in Orapa, a development which had accorded Botswana its present status.

 He said Batswana, regardless of geographical location, understood that they were one and should stand together.

President Masisi said Jwaneng was developed through the diamonds discovered in Orapa and so was the nation, himself included.

Residents of Boteti, he said, were never greedy about the diamonds discovered in Orapa noting that Botswana would not be where it was today had they been otherwise.

President Masisi said residents were free to vote for a government of their choice which would afford them peace and tranquility and a better Botswana.

He said they should vote with the knowledge that the government they elected on October 23 would lead them for five years hence should put some thought into who they were going to elect.

Dr Masisi promised to respect whatever decision Batswana made in October.

He advised Khweedom Council, who had threatened to boycott elections if they were not allocated plots, that such a move would be against the democratic ideals  which Botswana subscribed to.

He said consultation was key and advised them to do the right thing.  

President Masisi said government prioritised human life over wildlife but said it was disappointing that there were some Batswana who worked against government efforts to ensure the safety of the nation.

The President apologised for the introduction of the hunting ban without consulting Batswana saying it was only proper that when the arrangement did not serve the country well, government consulted the nation.

He said hunting had been re-introduced because government did not want to hear of wildlife killing people.

Kgosi Baruntshi Kegapetswe of Letlhakane said there should be a proper arrangement of relocating people from their farms noting that some of those relocated to pave way for Orapa Game Park were not happy with the way the matter was handled.

The Village Development Committee chairperson Mr Shadrack Teseletso proposed that investors should be lured to areas such as Letlhakane, where diamonds were mined and that tribal administration should be a ministry on its own and called on Debswana to outsource some services such as transport to empower Batswana.

His other proposals was that Letlhakane clinics operate on 24-hour basis and requested an update on the police office project as well as an additional junior school for the village. 

He complained about the delay in the construction of Supang Primary School teachers’ houses, that Letlhakane Primary Hospital was too small to cater for all the surrounding villages and that allocation of plots in Letlhakane had been put on hold.ends