27 Aug 2020

Government remains committed to transparency and accountability in disclosing names of donors as well as items and quantities donated to the COVID-19 relief fund, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Ms Peggy Serame has said.

Speaking at the handing over of a P1.5 million cash and P5.7 million in kind donation to the fund, Ms Serame said disclosure of donors on government media platforms was done to maintain public confidence in proper use of public resources.

Accordingly, she said more transparency and accountability should be expected in future engagements as donor lists would continually be made public.

Ms Serame applauded donors for the response to government’s plea for contributions to the relief funding.

Government, she said, was indebted to the response from the general public and private sector alike.

“Since the inception of the fund in April 2020, the support extended to the fight against COVID-19 has been truly humbling and government is indebted and the donations will be put to good use with an equal measure of gratitude,” she said.

She highlighted that Botswana’s strong relations with international partners were proving to be fruitful as sister nations continued to donate towards the fund.

Handing over the first two shipments of personal protective equipment to Botswana provided by the United States Department of Defence, US ambassador to Botswana, Mr Craig Cloud said the P150 000 worth of equipment was the latest contribution in a partnership dating back decades.

He said the previous P56 million US government assistance from to Botswana towards the fight against COVID-19 had been put to good use as it assisted in conducting contact tracing in communities and supporting truck driver testing at borders.

The donations, Mr Cloud said, assisted in procuring equipment for specimen testing and tents to allow for social distancing at health facilities as well as ITC resources for hospitals and clinics. 

 He expressed gratitude for the decades of joint investment in Botswana laboratories, health facilities and community health care system, particularly  in response to the HIV pandemic.

The US would continue to lead in the global fight against COVID-19, he said. Ends