01 Sep 2021

The Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation is making efforts to have Batswana fielded in strategic leadership positions in international organisations.

The minister, Dr Lemogang Kwape, said such efforts included making vacancy announcements to fill top executive positions, appointment by leaders of various organisations and member states.

Dr Kwape said in relation to the United Nations (UN), the ministry actively participated in its activities by putting up candidatures for strategic leadership positions for various agency committees.

That, he said, enabled the ministry to build the country’s leadership profile, which was one of the key considerations in the selection of executive candidates.

Some of the key positions that Batswana currently held included president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) from July 2021 to July 2022, chair of the Fourth Committee of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Other positions are member and vice president of UN Development Programme, Population Fund, Office for Project Services Executive Board and Co-Facilitator together with Montenegro on the process of Alignment of Agendas of UN General Assembly and ECOSOC.

Dr Kwape said similar to executive positions elsewhere, the UN system also groomed executive leadership from its professional cadre.

In that respect, he said the ministry, in conjunction with the UN Secretariat, organised job opportunity seminars aimed at raising awareness on job opportunities in the secretariat and its 22 affiliated entities as well as peacekeeping operations by providing the needed guidance on applications and registration on the UN Platform.

“We also engage in a rigorous process of identifying individuals with relevant experience and in good standing to be included in the United Nations roster for consideration by the United Nations Secretariat when vacancies arise,” he said.

He added that the ministry also helped to mobilise support for Botswana’s candidates for strategic leadership positions. Accordingly, he said in May 2019, Dr Kekgonne Baipoledi, deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, was elected chair of the Bureau of the United Nations Commission of Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) based in Geneva.

In August 2019, he said, Dr Matshidiso Moeti was re-elected for a second term as the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. Another strategic appointment in August 2019, saw the election of Justice Sanji Monageng to the position of judge of the SADC Administrative Dispute Tribunal (SADCAT).

Parliament also learnt that candidates to executive positions were largely appointed by member states and such entailed a process through which they (member states) put forward candidatures coupled with campaigns for support amongst each other.

“In this respect, one’s foreign policy influences its success due to dependence on cultivation of good bilateral relations and as indicated above, a good leadership profile built through active participation in various agency leadership positions,” he indicated.

He further said Botswana’s interest in the international fora was, amongst others, to ensure that Botswana was at peace with other countries.

Such, he said was attained by fostering and deepening bilateral and multilateral relations in key regional and international fora.

In addition, it was attained by reinforcing Botswana’s credentials as a reputable and progressive country which placed high value on democracy, good governance, rule of law, and respect for human rights as well as regional integration and multilateralism.

Dr Kwape further said the UN remained the most representative inter-governmental organisation since its creation in 1945.

Since then, the UN had been able to follow through on its three pillars of maintenance of peace and security, ensuring human rights were enjoyed by all regardless of their creed, adding development was also enjoyed in an inclusive manner.

As such, he said, Botswana as a good standing member of the UN since 1966, had been able to tap for assistance in various fields, be it in peace and security, human rights or development.

He further said the ministry continued to facilitate Botswana’s access to technical assistance from various UN agencies and programmes. Some examples of most recent assistance derived include counter terrorism, digitalisation and environment.

Through counter terrorism, he observed, the UN Counter Terrorism office was working with the National Counter Terrorism Analysis and Fusion Agency to roll out implementation of the cooperation that would include, among others, capacity building, developing legislation and provision of necessary software to counter terrorism.

Regarding digitalisation, Dr Kwape said the past six months had underscored the importance of digitalisation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) through which Botswana had been identified to partner with the UN in establishing an innovation lab.

The lab would not only enable Botswana to realise its goal and determination of becoming a knowledge-based-economy but would also become the first innovation hub in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In turn, it would create employment opportunities for Batswana, especially the technological savvy youth, noted the minister. On the environment, Dr Kwape said the country was looking for ways to safeguard natural resources and heritage.

Therefore, he stated that UNESCO was helping Botswana to develop the Okavango Delta Management Plan given the delta was a world heritage site. Consequently, UNESCO was mobilising support for the Okavango Delta’s future conservation with Namibia and Angola.

Dr Kwape was responding to a question from Kanye North MP, Mr Thapelo Letsholo, who wanted to know about efforts to position Batswana in key and top paid executive positions in international organisations such as the UN, AU and WHO.

Mr Letsholo also wanted to know Botswana’s foreign policy implications on the possibility of such executive appointments and what the country had to do to establish itself as a foreign policy influencer. He further wanted to know the UN and AU’s significance to Botswana. ENDS