15 Sep 2020

Leader of the Opposition  has registered a concern at frequent change of guard at the Directorate of Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC).

Mr Dumelang Saleshando stated that Permanent Secretary to the President recently issued a press release announcing that President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi had transferred DCEC’s director general, Brigadier Joseph Mathambo, to the Botswana Defence Force and appointed Mr Tymon Katholo to the position.

When delivering a statement in Parliament, Mr Saleshando said over a period of three years, the DCEC had three director generals.

Given importance of the DCEC mandate, he said, frequent changes in leadership of the organisation should raise eyebrows.

He said the DCEC was expected to independently execute its duties without political interference.

Furthermore, he stated that international best practice pointed to the need for individuals who headed such organisations to enjoy security of tenure.

This, he said, was meant to insulate them against decisions that were calculated to appease their appointing authorities out of fear of being recalled from the position they held.

He said security of tenure enhanced credibility of the organisation in the eyes of the public that was expected to assist in the fight against corruption.

The statement stated that grand corruption the world over was mainly perpetuated by leaders of big corporates that knew no bounds in their pursuit of profit.

Furthermore, Mr Saleshando said it was morally reprehensible that national leaders should partner with prominent business leaders who dominated the private sector, as he said it ran the risk of conflict of interest.

He also said as a matter of principle, national leaders should not compete with ordinary citizens for business opportunities.

Furthermore, he said the Afrobarometer released a report that showed that perceptions of graft weakened citizen trust and threatened Botswana’s democratic standing.

He said part of the findings from the survey showed that half of Batswana were of the view that corruption was on the increase.

Therefore, he stated that as a result of the latest political moves to undermine integrity of the DCEC, the Umbrella for Democratic Change would propose amendments to the DCEC Act during the next session of Parliament to ensure that there was security of tenure for DCEC’s director general.

Other amendments would includ removing the DCEC from the control of the Office of the President and ensuring that the appointment of the director general was subjected to a transparent process aimed at identifying the most competent applicant.

Furthermore, he said the opposition would propose to remove the DCEC Act clauses that empowered the President to interfere with the DCEC investigations and that the DCEC should submit its reports to Parliament and not the Office of the President.

Mr Saleshando further said the measures proposed by UDC would go a long way in empowering the DCEC to tackle the spreading cancerous wave of corruption that was taking the country to the grave. ENDS