17 Aug 2020

Four helicopters belonging to the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism (MENT) are in South Africa for maintenance.

Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recently permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr Oldman Koboto, said two out of the four helicopters were ready for collection.

He said the ministry was working in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to facilitate collection of the two choppers.

Meanwhile, Dr Koboto denied allegations that one of their eight-seater fixed-wing aircraft was specifically designated for the minister, stating that the aircraft was also used to airlift other civil-servants.

“Other ministries are also free to forward their requests to use the aircraft and as such the notion that it is exclusively for the minister is not true,” he said.

Furthermore, Dr Koboto said the eight seater fixed-wing aircraft in question facilitated movements of the ministry’s operatives.

“As we deploy personnel around the country, it helps us because we have operations around the country, particularly those of the department of wildlife,” he said.

He said his ministry, particularly the department of wildlife, operated in difficult terrains and remote areas where motorised transport might not be able to reach quickly.

The same aircraft, he told the PAC, was also ear-marked to be used during evacuation missions. The PAC learnt that one of the fixed-wings aircrafts was also used for aerial surveys or animal counts; an exercise Dr Koboto stated would be ‘almost a mission impossible’ if the services of a helicopter were to be employed.

When answering a question from PAC member, Mr Mephato Reatile, who had wanted to know reasons why the ministry refused Elephants Without Borders (EWB) to help with elephants’ count for free, Dr Koboboto said his ministry was the only custodian for the natural resources.

Furthermore, Dr Koboto said although EWB had approached the ministry, the latter deemed it not necessary to engage the former.

“We will guard that very jealously, because the international community and Batswana are putting us to account and they are not going to be saying it was Elephants without Borders, which carried a certain assignment,” he said.

However, Dr Koboto said through their policies, the ministry had undertaken to manage natural resources as inclusive as practically possible. ends