- VICTOR BAATWENG GABORONE - Botswana’s president, retired Lieutenant General Ian Khama has condemned the current state of affairs in the African continent where elections are being negotiated after electoral processes. Speaking at the just ended Global Electoral Organisation (GEO) conference held in Botswana’s capital Gaborone, Khama called on the GEO, “To condemn a situation where the electoral process is subverted in order to negotiate a brokered deal or settlement to compensate for the loss of power through the ballot box”. According to Khama such situations lead to political opponents sharing power after electoral elections have been either disrupted or manipu…

- Following the delivery of the national budget by Botswana’s minister of Finance and Development planning on the 7th of February, Botswana civil servants are up in arms in demand of a hike in salaries. Minister Matambo announced during his speech in the capital Gaborone that there will be no salary hike for civil servants during the current financial year. However civil Servants here, led by trade unions have vowed to go on a nationwide strike after the government rejected their proposal of salary increase. Briefing journalist Gaborone this week, Andrew Motsamai who is the secretary general of BOFEPUSU (an umbrella of trade unions) said it was clear that the government was n…

- GABORONE – Leaders of Southern African Development Community (SADC) have since started arriving in Gaborone, Botswana this afternoon for a special SADC Summit. So far South African President, Jacob Zuma has arrived with Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe expected to follow suit tomorrow morning. The summit is expected to discuss among others the political situation in the region, with Madagascar and Zimbabwe political crisis topping the list. The leaders are also expected to talk about regional infrastructure development as well as economic integration processes. The summit is The head of states meeting follows that of the SADC Council of Ministers which ended today (Friday 29th Nove…

South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma on Tuesday won an important regional ally, Botswana's Ian Khama in his call to have sanctions on Zimbabwe by some Western countries lifted. - Speaking to journalist during his first ever state visit to South Africa, President Khama said, “we appeal to those who have placed sanctions to remove them in order to give motivation. There is goodwill expressed by both sides, even if there are concerns. We also have concerns but let's remove the sanctions to demonstrate good faith and see where we go from there.” Khama is of the view that the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the Western countries are hindrance, “as political an…

The Botswana Football Association is on a wild hunt for a new Chief Executive Officer after dismissing its former boss, Tosh Kgotlele last week on bribery grounds. - Kgotlele has been on a seven-month suspension for an alleged match fixing scandal when the Botswana national team played China back in September 2009. BFA current president David Fani told journalists that a committee which found Kgotlele guilty took into consideration bribe offers to the Botswana national team in China. He was investigated on six charges - two charges of failure to adhere to procedure, three charges of concealment/withholding vital information from the NEC and one charge of dishonesty. Meanwhile, Kgotlel…

Some top officials of Botswana's ruling party, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) have formed a new rival party to be known as Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD). The six officials include three incumbent members of parliament, a banished former secretary general and a former member of the party's central committee who were suspended from the party recently. - The new party spokesperson, Sidney Pilane who is also a former legal advisor of Botswana’s former president Festus Mogae is also among the dissidents. Some of the dissidents were suspended from the party some few weeks back by president Ian Khama after they were believed to have sided with the opposition in objectin…

- ‘Quiet corruption’ is having a disproportionate effect on the poor, with long-term consequences for development, according to a recent report from the World Bank. In its report, Africa Development Indicators 2010,the World Bank describes ‘Quiet Corruption’ as the failure of public servants to deliver goods or services paid for by governments. Unlike most studies which focus on exchange of money bribes to powerful political designees or kickbacks to public officials, this report focuses on the way “quiet corruption” leads to an increasingly negative expectation of service delivery systems, causing families to ignore the system. The report also note that Q…

- VICTOR BAATWENG IN GABORONE, BOTSWANA The football governing board in Botswana, Botswana Football Association (BFA) has announced the reappointment of Stanley Tshosane as the national team head coach until 2012. In a press briefing on Monday BFA told reporters that Tshosane has been selected to lead the national team to a possible participation in the 2012 African Cup of Nations (AFCON). Tshosane was appointed the head coach of Botswana’s national team affectionately known as ‘The Zebras’ among the locals after the sacking of Briton Colwyn Rowe for failing to take the team to the upcoming Angola 2010 AFCON. Botswana has never qualified for finals of any tournament and…

- VICTOR BAATWENG IN GABORONE, BOTSWANA Three Southern Africa countries, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa (SA) have been hit by measles with a number of cases reported in each country this week. In South Africa the Department of Health has said that there are at least 940 cases of measles reported in that country while Botswana the Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced this week that they will from next week embark on a national vaccination campaign after a number of cases were reported last week. According to a press statement from MOH, “The campaign will cover children aged between 6 months and 5 years from the 16th to 22nd November 2009 at all public health facilities in Botswan…

Botswana has been adjudged the "Most Peaceful Nation" in Africa at the Global Symposium of Peaceful Nations in Washington DC, USA. Only Botswana and Malawi made it from Sub-Saharan Africa ranking Botswana at the 34th position with 1.643 points while Malawi placed 47th making it the second in Africa. - A statement from the Botswana Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said: “Batswana should be proud and celebrate this award as it is a tribute to them as a nation.” It added: “The Ministry wishes to underline the commitment and determination of the Government of Botswana to take the country to another level of development through economic dive…