18 Feb 2020

Botswana and Namibia have over the years demonstrated concerted efforts in addressing defence and security matters affecting them.

Welcoming delegates to the 28th Botswana/Namibia Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security, Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security permanent secretary Ms Matshidiso Bokole said the two countries continued to be committed to cooperating and collaborating on critical areas of defence and security.

“Be it a transnational organised crime in all its manifestations, borders security, immigration and many other such issues of mutual concern. We are here again to interrogate our joint commitments as they relate to the various committees of defence, public security and state security,” she said.

Noting that there was concrete evidence that criminals were resorting to the cyberspace to advance their illegal motives, Ms Bokole said the two countries must be alive to the ways through which criminals exploited technology.

“It is therefore incumbent upon us to do all we can to mitigate their efforts, reverse their gains and remain steps ahead. We can only be successful if we continue working together,” she said.

She encouraged delegates to devise new strategies and review resolutions to ensure robustness and resilience in response to preventing and combating transnational organised crime.

For his part, Namibia’s Ministry of Defence executive director, Mr Peter Vilho said the period under review was challenging for both the people and governments of Namibia and Botswana.

“Namibia like Botswana experienced a serious drought which led to crop failure and livestock deaths and thus negatively affecting the livelihoods of a substantial number of farmers. On the political front, both countries successfully held free, peaceful and credible elections as declared by international observers. However they also experienced legal challenges on the conduct of those elections,” he said.

Mr Vilho expressed gratitude that no post-election violence ensued in either country.

He further expressed the hope that the two delegations would follow through on resolutions adopted in the last meeting and implement them to expectation.

Despite some financial challenges, a considerable number of resolutions were implemented, he said.

“The economic downturn and drought, notwithstanding, we managed to improvise and prioritise where we could. I am impressed by the progress made on the border affirmation and demarcation process.

I am equally heartened by the continuous efforts of the public security officers in ensuring the safety and security of our peoples,” he said.

 Mr Vilho said international relations volatility as well as increased belligerence among nations bode ill for small nations like Namibia and Botswana.

The session’s deliberations should therefore be guided by the understanding that the security threats were bound to grow, he said.

He urged the committees to have foresight and demonstrate commitment to ensure that peace, security and stability continued to prevail in the two countries.ENDs