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From 6 July 2006, a graphic version of the current edition is available at the Daily News Online web site.

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BOPA News on 11 October 1999

The message was part of Mpule's AIDS Awareness drive and targeted at the youth to take the disease seriously and protect themselves.

However, the revellers were incensed by the use of English and insisted on being addressed in Setswana.

Repeated attempts by Miss Universe to explain the need to make her address in English, as the disease was an international problem and not just a Botswana one fell on deaf ears.

She eventually succumbed to the audience's request when it became clear that she would not proceed unless she used Setswana.

The crowd's reaction was not surprising as the message was delivered at around 10:30 at night when the predominately youthful audience had already taken alcoholic beverages that were sold inside the stadium.

Despite the language fuss, Mpule is still a darling of Batswana as shown by the enthusiastic welcome they accorded her when she travelled around the stadium track in an open vehicle.

In her message, which was cut short, Mpule expressed disappointment at the reaction of the audience despite having to come all the way from New York to speak to them.

Miss Universe urged the youth to cooperate with the government in the fight against the pandemic. Her main message to them was abstinence.

The well-attended show was organised by the Ministry of Health and STS Promotions Production. It fielded many regional music giants, including Hugh Masekela, Nosey Road, Arthur, Abashante, Skizo, Davet Crew and Afro Sunshine.

Proceeds from the show will be channelled to the Mpule Kwelagobe HIV/AIDS Trust Fund.

Mpule had arrived earlier on Saturday from the Czech Republic where she was on her mission to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.

Prior to her five-day visit to the Czech Republic, Mpule was in California, US, where she was involved in an HIV/AIDS fund raising walk with HIV positive people.

"Our educated young men and women should accept the responsibility to pay back the sacrifices that the nation has made for them to get excellent education," the President said at the UB's graduation ceremony at the National Stadium on Saturday.

He said this could be done through selfless, dedicated service to the people of Botswana and challenged the graduands to ask themselves what it was that as individuals could contribute towards achieving the ideal of a prosperous and caring society as envisaged in Vision 2016.

The President said UB and its associate college, the Botswana College of Agriculture had the expertise and the environment to have prepared the students well for the daunting tasks that lay ahead as they left the protective umbrella of academic life.

He cautioned them that they were not going to find ready-made jobs or easy solutions to the myriad of problems that will confront them in every day life, saying "the world we live in is forever becoming more complex and today's solutions can be tomorrow's problems." He said it was not surprising that the more graduates the university produced the fewer the jobs that wre available because of market saturation.

"Unless the private sector and other stakeholders can begin to see education, skill development and job creation as our collective responsibility, we shall soon be facing the spectre of graduate unemployment," he explained.

Mr Mogae said last year the grand total of students graduating from UB alone was 2409 against this year's modest but significant increase to 2499 graduands.

He added that government fully recognised the need for an educated citizenry hence the major goals of both Vision 2016 and the NDP 8 were focused on the provision of better education and technical skills to Batswana.

"I am the first to acknowledge that notwithstanding our socio-economic successes, we are a nation that is still faced with many challenges," he said.

He said the high cost of providing education, particularly higher education, might appear extravagant given that it was only a minority of Batswana who benefited directly.

The President explained that the university had over the years become a major recipient of government budgetary allocations through the Ministry of Education.

He said in the current financial year alone, the recurrent budget has shot up to over P317 million, while expenditure for physical projects was expected to reach P55 million.

The university has also continued to experience phenomenal growth with the student population increasing over the past academic year by 7.77 per cent to 8947 against a teaching staff of 657.

He said the university now offered masters and doctoral programmes in addition to undergraduate studies.

Mr Mogae explained that the physical expansion of UB was well on course following the acquisition of an additional 71 hectares of land of the old airport, which brings the total land available for further construction to 115 hectares.

He said there was also an urgent need to realise that government alone could not continue to shoulder the heavy load of funding a fast growing university.

He said currently about 78 per cent of the university's overall funding comes from government subventions while at the same time government sponsored 90 to 94 per cent of students.

President Mogae said the need to diversity the university's source of funding should be a matter of great importance to all stakeholders, including parents and the private sector alike.

"It is worth noting that universities in similar circumstances across our borders and elsewhere are already in serious difficulties as government resources must help meet current as well as emerging needs like poverty alleviation, job creation, health and containment of the HIV/AIDS pandemic," the President said.

A total of 2296 students who graduated from the UB were conferred degrees ranging from doctoral, master's and bachelor's degrees and postgraduate diplomas, diplomas and certificates.

A total of 566 illegal immigrants were charged while 210 people were charged for employing non-citizens. The operation also unearthed 125 people who were overstaying in Botswana.

Forty-two Batswana were also charged for aiding and abetting unlawful entry and 319 were charged for various traffic offences.

Those trading without licences also felt the long arm of the law as 133 of them were charged and another 327 people were charged for working in Botswana without permits.

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