14 Feb 2021

The number of poaching incidents, tactics and boldness employed in targeting Botswana Defence Force  (BDF) members is not only disturbing, but a national security threat, says President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi.

  He was speaking at a senior command and staff course graduation ceremony in Gaborone on February 12.

  President Masisi said it was therefore imperative that training addressed peculiarities of operational environment.

He encouraged the Defence Command and Staff College to remain focused through adaptive education and training that addressed a myriad of security challenges such as terrorism, transnational organised crime, human trafficking and poaching.

He implored the institution to dedicate significant efforts in research and development in order to keep abreast with contemporary and emerging security challenges.

“The contemporary security environment remains volatile, uncertain and complex. However, I have no doubt that the one year of intense study you have undertaken has adequately prepared you for the current needs of our country and the challenges that lie ahead,” he stated.

President Masisi said he was pleased that training equipped graduates with requisite skills and competencies to cope with the full spectrum of operations.

He pointed out that the military remained an integral part of the nation’s continued existence and socio-economic development and implored the armed forces to fight poaching and other security threats in both the country and continent.

He said the high level of poaching threatened to wipe out wildlife resources, thus threatening the tourism sector which was one of the key engines of the economy. 

The President called for enhanced regional cooperation on matters pertaining to defence and security adding there was need for a robust and multilateral approach to combat poaching and related criminal activities.

Among the graduates were nine allied students from Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The presence of allied students, he said, demonstrated unwavering commitment to promote bilateral, regional and continental cooperation.

He said their participation in the programme helped in the cross-fertilisation of ideas thus enhancing the quality of the college’s programme.

President Masisi urged graduates to nurture and grow the networks they had established while in Botswana for the future of the region’s peace, security and development.

Other graduates were officers from the Office of the President, Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security, Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation, Botswana Police Service as well as civilian members of the BDF. Ends