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BOPA News on 12 April 2001

Putco Mafani, Kaizer Chiefs press officer, confirmed the deaths of the spectators.

Mafani appealed to worried friends and relatives to phone the Hillbrow mortuary for enquiries.

Soccer officials have called for the prosecution of the perpetrators behind the stampede.

Kaizer Motaung, the managing director of Kaizer Chiefs, blamed soccer hooligans for the stampede.

Mike Mangena, a soccer analyst, said that the security at the stadium had not been tight enough as security personnel were unable to keep the capacity-crowd at bay.

President Thabo Mbeki has called for an urgent inquiry into the incident. Mbeki has expressed shock and conveyed his condolences to the victims' families.

The Johannesburg and Milpark hospitals had to bring in extra staff to help with the more than 80 injured spectators.   Robin Petersen, the Premier Soccer League's CEO, instructed the referee to stop the game after the first reports of fatalities, 35 minutes into the game. The game was aborted with both teams having scored once.

The incident has been billed as South Africa's biggest tragedy in sporting history.  

A news release from the Botswana Amateur Athletics Association (BAAA) says the relay team consisting of Mooketsi Magaga, Lulu Basinyi, Goitsemodimo Tsietsana and Tlhalosang Molapisi, set a national record of 40.56 seconds while Dube won a 'tactical slow' 800 metre race in 1:50.02 seconds.

Basinyi in the 100 metre at 10.75 seconds and California Molefe in the 800 metres at 46.77 seconds got bronze medals while the only woman in the team, Boitumelo Mashadi, came fourth in the 800 metres at 2:24.19 seconds.

According to the release, unconfirmed reports from Pretoria, Tiyapo Maso won a 10km race in Attridgeville in 30 minutes 18 seconds.

Reports from the United States (US) also say Otukile Lekote won the 800-metre race in 1:44.76 at Drake Invitational, a time, which is .06 off Dube's Olympic record.

In another news release, it has been announced that Botswana Table Tennis Association (BTTA) president Monthusi Dithole will leave for Osaka, Japan, on April 21 to attend the annual general meeting of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

While in Japan Dithole will attend African Table Tennis Federation and Confederation of Zone IV table tennis meetings.

He will have a series of meetings with ITTF president and other dignitaries regarding the development of ping-pong worldwide.

In preparation for the Zone IV table tennis championships and 2002 Africa youth championships to be held in Gaborone, the BTTA president will also scout for training and coaching opportunities for the Botswana national table tennis team.

The training and coaching will also be used to prepare the squad for the 2002 Commonwealth Games to be held in Manchester, United Kingdom (UK). Dithole is to return home on May 8. BOPA

 Speaking in an interview, Mbakiso Magola said that had been fruitful consultations and "BCSA is happy with the information-sharing" approach government has adopted.

He said BCSA was also happy to note that Parliament had passed the necessary legislation and the scheme would soon kick off.   Magola said the association is again impressed by government's decision to contribute 17.5 per cent in the next two years, instead of the initial 15 per cent, as a way of attracting civil servants to join the scheme.

Individuals will contribute 2.5 per cent. Magola said BCSA's monthly subscription would increase from P5 to P 8 with effect from next month and that BCSA would mount a massive education campaign to reach all members before deductions were effected.

He also mentioned that disparities in wages for grades A3 to B2 workers were being worked out and BCSA was expecting a response from the DPSM.

He said BCSA had not experienced any problem on the scheme so far, noting that the scheme was one of BCSA's major achievements, which would cushion civil servants upon retirement.

The team brought home five gold, two silver medals and one bronze  with 28 points to end the tournament as the best team of the championship.

The championship had six countries participating - Botswana, hosts South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Malawi and altogether 41 boxers battled it out in 31 bouts.

A news release from the Botswana Boxing Amateur Association (BABA) says Dintwa Sloca (63,5kg) was voted the best boxer of the tournament sharing the spoils with Namibia's Paulus Nuumbembe (67kg).

Elliot Mmila (51kg) was runner-up to the best boxer, sharing the spoils with Cobus Fourie (60kg) of South Africa.

The quarter finals saw Tefo Seetso beating Nduduzi Kunene (Swaziland) on points and Elijah Kwenaeetile losing to Khotso Motau (SA) also on points.

In the semi-finals, Elliot Mmila, Khumiso Ikgopoleng, Gilbert Khunwane, Dintwa Sloca, Tefo Seetso and Thapelo Setlalekgosi won their fights with only Leslie Sekotswe losing his bout.

The finals held on April 7 saw Elliot Mmila, Khumiso Ikgopoleng, Gilbert Khunwane, Dintwa Sloca and Thuso Otukile winning their bouts while Tefo Seetso and Thapelo Setlalekgosi lost but still qualified for the Africa championship.

The gold and silver medallists qualified for the Africa championship to be held in Port Louis, Mauritius, from May 14-20. The Africa championships are the qualifiers for the Afro-Asian Games to be held in Bombay, India, in November.

The Zone Six annual general meeting was also held and BABA chairman Baeti Molake was voted the vice president, while BABA vice chairman Shakes Kebualemang was retained as an additional member. BOPA

Standard and Poor says, in a news release from Bank of Botswana, that Botswana's positive rating results from the country's strength in public finances, its a record of economic growth and its prudent economic management.

The release says the country's rating match those of Greece, Cyprus, Kuwait, Malta and Slovenia and is higher than many of the strongest countries in Central Europe, Latin America and Asia, Poland inclusive.

Standard and Poor has accorded Botswana 'A' for long term and 'A-1' for short-term foreign currency debt. Local currency debt rating is 'A-plus'.

"This means that if Botswana chooses to borrow from the international financial markets, in foreign currency, there is a likelihood that it will be recommended and then repay the debt on time."

An 'A-1' rating for short-term currency means that Botswana has the capacity to pay on time while 'A-plus' means that if there is domestic borrowing, the country's ability to pay is stronger.

The release also says the Standard & Poor ratings, like the earlier Moody's Investors Services ratings, places Botswana in the middle of the investment grade category, meaning that its debt has low risk of default and is considered eligible for purchase by a full range of investors around the world.

Standard & Poor advised, however, that despite the strong economic record and favourable fiscals, Botswana faces several challenges in strengthening its credit rating further.

The challenges include uncertainty in the price of diamonds, conflict diamond issue and the uncertain micro-economic impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. BOPA

Presenting the motion Councillor Lesego Raditanka of Serowe North Central  said students travelled in government vehicles but were not insured.

Raditanka said some parents refused to let children travel on educational or sports-related trips because of no insurance cover for them.

The council adopted another motion, which would enable it to raise the sub-district tender ceiling from P200 000 to P600 000.

The motion was tabled by Cllr Festus Dikgale of Molalatau who said sub-districts were often unable to implement development projects because of tender ceilings.

Dikgale said sub-districts have to refer the matter to the district headquarters even if the cost of the project exceeded the ceiling by a small amount.

Jimmy Nsala, the deputy council secretary, told the councillors that it would be premature to adopt the motion because decentralisation has just started in the Central District.

However, councillors carried the motion against Nsala's advice. They said it would enhance quick delivery of services and spur the progress of development.

Baobonye Loeto, councillor for Mopipi, also had his motion adopted. It wanted the council to request the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to hand back Makgadikgadi National Park to Central District.

Loeto said the park was under the management of the North West District because the Department of Wildlife and National Parks did not have an office in Boteti.

He said now that the department has offices in Letlhakane and Rakops, the park's management should revert to the Central District. BOPA

The conflict started last year when the residents accused the company of drawing water form their pond without their consent.

Palapye MP Boyce Sebetela intervened and the company stopped drawing water from the pond. However, the residents have complained again that the company dumps waste near the pond.

In a kgotla meeting at Palapye, the residents said the dumping of the waste not only endangered their health but also closed all the streams leading to the pond.

They felt the company was revenging after it was stopped to draw water from the pond. The residents also said the company dug pits near the site and left them uncovered.

One farmer has already lost a cow that fell into one of the uncovered pits and has not been compensated, resident claimed.

At the same meeting, Palapye residents resolved to request the company to pay royalties for drawing water from the Lotsane River.

 The company should also repair a road that was damaged by its water bowser when it drew water from the river.

Furthermore, the residents complained that the bowsers were overspeeding  in the village and, therefore, endanger the lives of the people.

Hassani Ahmed, the company's accounts manager, said he received a letter of demands from the residents.

"We are still looking into it and we will communicate with the community once we are through," he said. Ahmed said he does not know that the company dumps waste near the pond.

"If it ever happened that way then it is regrettable," he said. "One never knows as to what one of the workers can do, since we are a big company here with large personnel.  But we will investigate it and take appropriate measures."

He added that water is scarce in Botswana and his company would not want to pollute it.

 He said the company has not compensated farmers who lost their cattle because they failed to produce any documents or environmental evidence such as photographs of the incident.

"We need these before we can pay," he said. BOPA

Group environmental co-ordinator Fred Jansen was addressing journalists at a news briefing in Gaborone.

He said Jwaneng Diamond mine was awarded ISO 14001 certification by the South African Bureau of Standards in December last year, while Orapa and Letlhakane mines got theirs last month.

 ISO 14000 is an environmental series, but ISO 14001 focuses on developing an Environmental Management System (EMS). Its certification will describe what impact EMS has had on the Debswana mines.

He said EMS was introduced to ensure that the environmental policy was fully implemented. Jansen explained that since ISO 14001 was driven by impacts, one of the ways of implementing it included setting objectives and targets to reduce negative impacts.

While Debswana had a choice to pump out the water and throw it away to reach the ore, the water was instead sent to the treatment plants for use in the diamond recovery process, he said.

"ISO 14001 promotes continual improvement of environmental performance, it creates specific timeliness and designates responsibilities for implementing activities related to the environment," Jansen explained.

He said regular audits were carried out and activities related to environmental impacts measured and monitored. BOPA

Finance and development planning minister Baledzi Gaolathe, who was presenting his second budget speech, together with his Cabinet colleagues did not find it easy to defend some of government's actions and policies.

Even the Speaker, Ray Molomo, had his hands full trying to bring the MPs to order and at one point found himself clashing with them.

Gaolathe said the theme of this year's budget speech, "accelerated economic diversification", was adopted because of the need to accelerate the pace of economic diversification, which has now become more critical.

He said some of the critical challenges that Batswana face were the HIV/AIDS scourge, unemployment, poverty and citizen economic empowerment.   He said it is also in line with Botswana's national goals and objectives of Vision 2016.

The highlight of his speech centred on enhancing citizen economic empowerment and some major economic policy reforms, among them the introduction of the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) and the Citizen Entrepreneur Mortgage Assistance Equity Fund (CEMAEF) were announced.

Gaolathe said CEDA would co-ordinate and manage some of the existing as well as additional programmes aimed at the development of citizen-owned business enterprises through the development of entrepreneurial skills.

 Regarding CEMAEF, he said it was introduced after government realised that some citizen investors in the property market currently face a problem of loan foreclosure from lending institutions, resulting mainly from the depression of the real estate market since the mid-nineties.

 He said such a situation undermined government's efforts to empower citizens, particularly in the property market, hence the aim of CEMAEF was to retain ownership of commercial and industrial properties and land in Botswana in the hands of Batswana.

Gaolathe's speech triggered a lot of debate with criticisms and counter-criticisms flying high from different quarters of the country and politicians alike.

 But for MPs the issues of foreigners and citizen economic empowerment kept cropping up every now and then. Government's initiatives on citizen economic empowerment were criticised by some economic observers who accused it of abandoning the free market economic policy in favour of a nationalist policy, which has failed elsewhere in Africa.

"In my opinion there is not evidence in the budget that economic diversification will be accelerated," Quill Hermans, the former governor of the Bank of Botswana, said. "May be diversification means more citizen involvement and less expatriate development."

Hermans was speaking at a budget breakfast organised by First National Bank of Botswana immediately after the presentation of the budget speech in Parliament. Rupert McCammon of Capital Securities concurred with Hermans and argued that the budget reveals a marked tilting of the playing field in favour of citizens against foreign investors.

But these comments provoked a backlash from some MPs who argued that for as long as government continued to favour expatriates over Batswana there would never be economic diversification in the country.

However, complaints that there is an influx of foreigners who are also taking jobs reserved for Batswana and that some of them ill-treat and abuse the hospitality of Batswana were misconstrued by some as xenophobia. One local newspaper wrote:

"This has set off alarm bells among the expatriate community who feel the line between citizen empowerment and xenophobia has been blurred."

 Foreign affairs minister Mompati Merafhe regretted that some arguments and complaints expressed in Parliament and the news media about foreigners working and living in Botswana were unfortunate.

 However, Merafhe admitted that a few unscrupulous foreigners have abused Batswana's hospitality and said that would not be tolerated.

 He appealed to MPs to stop making sweeping statements about foreigners because a majority of them in Botswana were committed.

Notwithstanding the argument, Mmadinare MP Ponatshego Kedikilwe tabled a motion calling for the establishment of an institutional monitoring authority to ensure effective implementation and co-ordination of citizen empowerment policies.

 Kedikilwe argued that Batswana were only spectators in their own economy and with such a situation there can not be life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

 He identified fronting as one of the constraints to citizen economic empowerment and attributed it partly to the system in which Batswana believe in foreigners.

 Kedikilwe also said there was a Mafia-style group involved in the awarding of tenders from the Central Tender Board, saying its members met at places like the Golf Club and Bull n' Bush.

He said some people deliberately confused citizen empowerment with xenophobia because they were afraid of losing the benefits they enjoy in the status quo.

One of the MPs who supported the motion, specially elected MP Satar Dada said economic empowerment should not be taken lightly and urged the government to face reality because Batswana were agitated and unhappy.

Dada said Batswana were not in control of their economy and despite the huge sums of money spent on human resource development many foreigners are still employed at their expense.

Matters came to a head when presidential affairs and public administration minister Thebe Mogami presented four bills seeking to increase the salaries and allowances of MPs, dikgosi, judges and specified officers by 10 per cent under motions of urgency.

 Bills dealing with chiefs, judges and specified officers were rejected as MPs accused the executive of treating the legislature as a rubberstamp of its decisions.

 They attacked government for reneging on its promise to increase public sector salaries to curb the high attrition rate in the sector and accused it of favouring expatriates by paying them double, the salaries received by Batswana.

MPs said the recent salary adjustment only served to widen the gap between the rich and the poor and this put the legislature and the executive at cross-purpose as both parties tried to defend their positions.

 Vice President Seretse Khama Ian Khama accused the MPs of cowardice and said they were trying to use public service salaries to mask demands for their own pay rise.

"Do not hide behind public officers," Khama said. "Be brave enough do not be cowards because you hope that as public officers salaries go up you will also benefit from such increases."

But some MPs did not take the remarks lying down and hit back at Khama. Parliamentarians Oliphant Mfa of Sebina/Gweta, Slumber Tsogwane of Boteti and Kebadire Kalake of Ngwaketse South and Chapson Butale of North East said they would not be intimidated by Khama's remarks and would rather not get a salary increase.

They said they would continue pressing the executive to heed the grievances of public officers. Other issues which brought acrimony between Cabinet and the MPs was the imposition of a ban on the killing of lions and cheetahs by farmers.

Shoshong MP Duke Lefhoko tabled a motion asking government to suspend the implementation of the law until the public had been consulted.

 He was supported by other MPs who accused government of acting on outside influence and taking them for granted. Commerce and industry minister Tebelelo Seretse had to ask Parliament to adjourn the debate on the motion to allow her to consult the public.

Meanwhile, the budget presented by Gaolathe showed a forecast budget deficit of P527 million which he attributed to the implementation of priority projects and measures to address the extensive damage to infrastructure and property caused by floods and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Apart from that, the budget showed a significant fall in unemployment which fell from 19.6 per cent in 1998 to 15.8 per cent last year, while the economy registered a further growth of around nine per cent during the 2000/2001 fiscal year.

Botswana's foreign reserves stood at P34 billion, enough to service about 36 months of imports of goods and services.

 The proposed development budget for the 2001/2002 was P4 709 billion, 37 per cent higher than the revised estimate for 2000/2001.

Gaolathe also announced a new income tax threshold by increasing it from P20 000 to P25 000, a funded pension scheme for the public service, as well as proposals to introduce cost recovery measures in some sectors such as education and health. BOPA

Parliament debates are serious by nature and whereas the just ended budget session was dominated by heated debates between the legislature, executive and the opposition, there were some lighter moments, which made people laugh.

In their debates on some national issues, some MPs resorted to jokes to drive their message home.

One of the items that elicited a number of jokes was a motion tabled by Shoshong MP Duke Lefhoko asking government to stay the implementation of a law imposing a ban on the killing of lions and cheetahs.

Okavango MP Joseph Kavindama when he accused government of promoting wildlife at the expense of Batswana said it had now turned into "the government of wildlife by wildlife for the wildlife."

In support of Kavindama, Sebina/Gweta MP, Olifant Mfa said "Tlogela bao ba e tlaareng go tsholetsa batho go bo go tsholetsa diphologolo," meaning that the BDP government would one day find itself with no electorate but wildlife.

Mfa also added that the bible said man shall live on wildlife not wildlife on man.

For his part, Maun/Chobe MP, Bahiti Temane told a story of a person who had gone hunting for a lion. He said upon coming face to face with the lion the hunter prayed to God to protect him against the lion.

On the other hand the lion also prayed to God to help it that when it opened its eyes it would find food before it.

Temane likened the story to the action taken by commerce and industry minister Tebelelo Seretse that instead of listening to the farmers prayers to protect their livestock against predators the minister had listened to those of the predators.

He said the minister seemed to have told the lions that: "Tau ke tsere merapelo ya gago lefa o ka senya go le kae ke hano ke tla go sireletsa," casually translated: Lion I have accepted your prayers and no matter how much destruction you cause I will protect you.

Complaining about the poor or misinterpretation of court proceedings by some court interpreters, Temane said one of them had once misinterpreted a question to the accused when he was supposed to ask him what role he did he play in the crime.

The court interpreter asked the accused "Gatwe wena o ne o tshameka motshameko ofe?" meaning what game were you playing.

Temane also stunned other MPs in his definition of statistics when he said: "Statistics are like a mini skirt, what they reveal may be breathtaking and what they conceal may be amazing."

Not to be outdone, Moshupa MP Maitlhoko Mooka said "figures do not lie but liars can figure" when he asked minister Seretse to justify her argument that the number of lions was diminishing in Botswana.

Debating the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Affairs budget, the MPs complained about lack of electricity in rural areas to enhance development.

To drive the point home, Mfa said in some areas whenever there was an emergency at night, a nurse on call went around waking up a group of people to accompany her to the clinic.

He said some of the duties of those people was to hold a candle or torch so that the nurse could see where to administer an injection on the buttock. He put it in Setswana:

"Motho o tsamaya a tsosa segopa sa batho gore ba ye go kenta molwetse, ba bangwe ba mo tshubela candle gore a bone lerago."

During Parliament debates, if the speaker wants a document from one of the MPs or ministers he sends one of the clerks to collect it but Tonota MP decided to tell the Speaker that: "Let me crawl down to your good self" to hand over a copy of the letter he was quoting to the speaker.

He nearly crawled but the speaker stopped him. BOPA

Speaking at 'Sister Tops' gospel album launch at the Tsholofelo Community Hall, Reverend Letty Sebutlana said artists should not concentrate on making huge profits but on composing songs that would help reform society, particularly the youth.

He said there "is power in music and so the artists should minister with their music and make a difference".

Sebutlana said music should be challenging and heal the sick and even give courage to those at a point of despair.

He stressed that artists should always be accountable for their music and should not just rush into releasing albums.

He said there would always be one Rebecca Malope, so he discouraged artists from mimicking others.

"You should be unique, be yourself and stop imitating other musicians as you will never be like them", he said.

Otlhophilwe Betang affectionately known as "Sister Tops" from Xhumo in Boteti was all smiles as her debut album was officially launched. She works as a senior administration officer at the Lobatse High Court.

Betang said she has been a Christian with the Apostolic Faith Mission since 1988 and has never looked back.

As an ardent church-goer for many years, she has seen her peers take some steps further by releasing albums but she said she had never had any intentions of going into music.

It was only after watching an American priest, Myles Munroe, preaching on television sometimes back, that changed her life.

She narrated the words echoed by Munroe at the time when he said, "the richest place on earth is the cemeteries where all the best people, with the richest of mind and potential are buried".

The words, she said, touched the deepest of her heart that she decided to share her talents with the rest of the world through music.

"I felt it was time for me to share whatever gift I have with the rest of the world rather than being buried with it having failed to use it wisely," she said.

The slim, tall and pretty 'Sister Tops' said she started composing songs in 1997 and recorded at the Fox Studios in Johannesburg in April last year.

Gospel music lovers will no doubt find the album simply entitled "Conqueror (mofenyi)" a welcome addition to their CD and cassette collections.

The 10-track album has seven of the songs composed by 'Sister Tops'. The album has tracks such as "I thank you" which is a song 'Sister Tops' dedicated to Jesus Christ for what he has done to her.

Another song "Jesus is King" is another inspirational song with good backing instruments.

"Sefano" is simply great, so is "O sing". "Fade ending" and "Wait on the Lord" are sure to take the gospel world by storm and soothe the pains of those in poor health.

The album recorded both on CD and cassettes is marketed and distributed by TP Productions and was produced by Brother Freeman Moshodi. BOPA

Phumaphi assured journalists of prompt responses to enquiries by sources such as the permanent secretaries to help advance President Festus Mogae's crusade against the epidemic. She said she would commit the relevant authorities to respond timely to questions from the media.  

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative Macharia Kamau described the media personnel as great communicators with an ability to save lives.

"It is in your hands to create space to save lives. Use such an incredible powerful tool wisely to save lives," Kamau said.

NACA co-ordinator Banu Khan said the agency needed support from the media to fight HIV/AIDS. She called for the agency's partnership with the media in the implementation of campaign strategies.

Dr Khan urged journalists to help change the attitude of Batswana, especially towards people with HIV/AIDS. BOPA

Ugo Solinas of the facilitator's office in Gaborone told BOPA that after the Kananta meeting, Masire would proceed to Lubumbashi to meet other groups.

Solinas said Masire was acting on the Lusaka Agreement which recommended that he should meet the four concerned groups - government, armed opposition, unarmed opposition and the civil society.

The Kananta and Lubumbashi talks come after the talks Masire held on Monday with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A news release from the facilitator's office in Gaborone says Masire's latest round of talks come after consultations he had with the armed opposition in eastern Congo including the Congolese Rally for Democracy in Goma, the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo and the Congolese Liberation Front in Beni.

The release says Masire described his last talks with President Joseph Kabila, in Kinshasa on March 18 as "sincere, profound and most productive".

"The consultations with the DRC government will also seek to accelerate the Inter-Congolese Dialogue that should result in a 'new political dispensation' in the DRC," it says. Masire is expected back by the end of the week.  BOPA

According to Palapye station commander Superintendent Kgotlaetsile Kgosintwa the youngsters, who were in Botswana on a musical tour, were arrested on April 4 after being spotted by the traffic police, lying on their backs on the roof of their combi, chatting with local fans who  mobbed the moving vehicle.

The youngsters, according to the officer, were sorry and willingly paid the P100 fee for the offence of "riding in a dangerous position".  

The South Africans were making a familiarisation tour of the village in preparation for their concert, dubbed "Kwaito versus Gospel," which was held later in the evening at the Palapye Community Hall. BOPA

He embarked on his "marathon" walk in late March from Gaborone through Mahalapye and back to Mochudi.

On his arrival at the Mochudi kgotla on April 6, Ndlovu said his walk was aimed at raising funds towards the construction of the P400 000 headquarters for the blind.

Bakgatla regent Mothibe Linchwe, Pudulogong School and members of the Mochudi community welcomed Ndlovu at the kgotla.

Mothibe urged the blind to make use of available government assistance schemes. He said government must always consider the plight of the disabled people when planning projects so they too could have access to modern facilities.

For his part, chairman of the Botswana Association of the Blind Boutlwetse Chabaesele urged Bakgatla to hire them a place where they can keep their equipment because they do not have an office.

Chabaesele said Mochudi had been chosen to be the headquarters for the blind because "it is the first village to have a primary and secondary school for disabled people in Botswana". BOPA

Orebotse told BOPA in an interview that the execution is determined by whether the plea for clemency from the President had been accepted or not.

"Once it has been thrown out, it is up to the state to direct that the execution should take place immediately," he said in response to complaints that the execution of Marriette Bosch, 50, was done in haste.

Government had been criticised for denying Bosch the right to say farewell to her husband, Tinnie Wolmarans and children before being executed.

"I think the President should have waited, especially that the matter was before a regional human rights body," attorney Dick Bayford was quoted in one of the midweek papers.

But there is no law that binds the government to inform the family, argued Orebotse when interviewed after Bosch's execution.

He further added that compared to other cases, Bosch's execution could not be said to have been done in haste.

In 1970, he said, two condemned prisoners, Koos Ochuisen and Wilson Banda were convicted on May 11, 1970, lost their appeal on July 14 and were executed August 8 the same year.

But as for Bosch, he said, she was convicted on December 13, 1999, lost her appeal on January 31, 2001 and was executed on March 31, 2001.

"Look at the time frame, it was faster than that of Bosch, of course they could be other cases," he said giving the examples of Motsamai Tshite, Nthole Dintsi Losolebe and Malope Mothale.

The three had lost their appeal on August 20, 1978 and were executed on April 7, 1979.

Bosch is the first white person and the third woman to hang.

On why Bosch was executed before other condemned prisoners like Lehlohonolo Kobedi who lost his appeal in May last year, Orebotse said a final decision had not been made on Kobedi.

He explained that Kobedi like other condemned prisoners was given a period in which he could apply for clemency and had exceeded it.

But instead, through his lawyer he chose to take his case to the High Court and Orebotse said that was normal especially where someone might have new evidence.

The presiding judge would look at the case and decide accordingly. He said Kobedi's case was scheduled for last month but the court did not sit, while Bosch had exhausted all channels.

Orebotse cited the example of two Basarwa men whose warrant of execution had been signed but Ditshwanelo through their lawyer Kgafela Kgafela applied to the High Court for a stay of execution and succeeded.

Since independence, 35 condemned prisoners, including Bosch have been executed.

There are two other condemned prisoners, Kobedi and a certain Koetsiwe whose appeal has not yet been heard.

Only the President and his committee decide on whether to give clemency or not to a condemned prisoner and so far none has ever received any.

It is the prerogative of the president to decide when a warrant of execution could be given and he (Orebotse in this case) only acts on the president's instruction. BOPA

The open day was also aimed at showing stakeholders that construction of the abattoir had started and urging more Batswana to go into ostrich farming.

Welcoming participants to the seminar, agriculture minister Johnnie Swartz hoped the abattoir once completed would assist the country set up a thriving ostrich industry.

But Swartz said Botswana faced the challenge of penetrating an industry already dominated by South Africa with a market share of about 63 per cent.

And in the light of increased international scrutiny by environmentalists, Swartz said "the ostrich industry from the outset must be well managed and regulated" to eliminate harmful effects on the environment. 

For one to export to the European Union (EU) market, strict veterinary requirements needed to be met.

As a result, a delegation of EU ostrich veterinarians would visit Botswana from May 2 to check on animal diseases such as Newcastle and urban influenza.

Dr Motshodi Raborokgwe from the Animal Health and Production Unit told participants that Botswana has a problem with Newcastle disease  caused by poultry reared in the backyards.

However, Raborokgwe assured ostrich farmers that the inspection was not intended to deny them the opportunity to export but to help Botswana meet EU veterinary requirements.

The other requirement was public health inspection, which would be conducted after the abattoir was established. To prevent the disease, ostrich farms must be placed one kilometre away from poultry and the fences around farms must be poultry-proof.

In case of a Newcastle outbreak farms within a 10km radius would not be allowed to export, participants were told.

Department of Lands official Sarah George admitted that new applicants "go through a tedious procedure to acquire land" because of administrative hiccups.

She however said those with fields and TGLP farms could use them for ostrich farming because "it is an agricultural activity".

Financial assistance was also available to ostrich farmers through FAP and Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency.

Gavin Richards of Botswana Ostrich Abattoir said they were still to recruit the ostrich abattoir manager who should help hire staff.

Richards said following the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease  in some European countries, "the value of the ostrich had tripled" because people were looking for a safer alternative.

Meanwhile, the Sebele abattoir, which had been delayed because of the late awarding of tenders, should be commissioned by September.   John Sono of the Botswana Development Corporation said South African suppliers of corrugated iron and steel structures partly caused the delays because they had been changing designs.

The other reasons for the delay included the problem of connecting water, the environmental impact assessment study had not been done and that the Town and Country Planning took long to approve the site for the abattoir. BOPA

  Satmos is still in the 11th position followed by BMC.   The TASC/Satmos encounter was indeed a thriller though more goals could have been registered as both teams time and again invaded each other's goal mouth, but strikers wasted their chances.

 Saidy Mosobwe was a marvel to watch.  In the 39th minute he  broke the ice when he registered TASC's winning goal.

  Unlike the Tafic/Centre Chiefs encounter the previous day, there were no red cards but just one yellow card.

The turnout was also low probably because the game was covered live on Botswana Television (Btv).

 TASC's victory has placed them in third position with 30 points while the log leaders BDF XI have 34 points followed by Mogoditshane Fighters with 31 points.

Satmos plays well but complacency and lack of direction as well as co-ordination was their undoing as many scoring chances went begging.

Satmos could have either equalised or won the game had it not been for their strikers in the likes of Aaron Mumba and Mogolodi Chepete who either shot wide or took a long time to fire on target.

The same applied to the Tango Boys, especially Langson Phiri who despite playing well missed golden opportunities.

Mokgweetsi Masisi, education project officer for UNICEF, said in an interview with BOPA that the living conditions of children who live in the hostels at the school have improved since his organisation came into contact with them.

Masisi said teachers and parents have also helped to improve the living conditions of the children. He said the swings, which UNICEF bought for the pupils, have added positive development to the children because they have an opportunity to play and would, therefore, not feel dejected.

He added that through its interaction with the school's authorities, UNICEF has managed to ensure that children of remote area dwellers at the hostels were not subjected to abuse by what he described as the so called sympathisers of Basarwa who take video pictures for their own benefit. He also said UNICEF has managed to build a strong inter-personal relationship among teachers, parents and the pupils.

Masisi further said UNICEF has successfully lobbied government to build modern hostels for the children of remote area dwellers and contributed to the design of the hostels.

The interview came after a meeting called to assess the impact of UNICEF projects concerning access, retention and performance of remote area dweller pupils who live in the hostels at Motokwe Primary School.

 Among the objectives of the project include the lowering of the number of children who abscond from school, involve parents in activities of the school and encourage them to visit their children at the hostels.

Masisi told the meeting that UNICEF was now handing the project to government.

The advice was made by the Minister of Commerce and Industry Tebelelo Seretse who was the guest speaker at the Lentsweletau constituency victory celebrations for the 1999 general election at Hatsalatladi village last Saturday.

Seretse said the government wanted to empower Batswana economically by assisting them to get into businesses, adding that was why it was coming up with various schemes, which could help them, set up businesses and reduce imports.

She encouraged Batswana to take advantage of the newly introduced CEDA, which is to replace the Financial Assistance Programme (FAP) and the Small Medium Micro Enterprises (SMME) scheme which are going to be phased out after  realising that such programmes had not been properly utilised.

The new programme will however, be in the form of affordable loans. Seretse, who is also the Member of Parliament for Serowe South, said the programme had been categorised into small and medium scales.

The loan for small scale will start from P500 to P150 000 while that of medium scale will be from P150 000 to P1 million.

On other issues, Democrats were called on to unite to build the party for the next general election and not to allow petty issues to divide them.

She urged those who lost during the race to continue being loyal to the party. She condemned some BDP members who are holding certain posts within the party to stop discouraging active party members by thinking that those who were active would take over their positions in the event of elections.

She said every party member has a right to canvass for support and oust the inefficient office bearer.

In a vote of thanks Lentsweletau MP David Magang encouraged Batswana to seriously engage in businesses to survive the tough competition arising from free trade among SADC countries.

Magang, who is also the minister of Works, Transport and Communications, advised Batswana to get into profitable businesses and also engage in food production projects on a large scale.

He also advised them to ignore opposition rhetoric that the government should be the sole job-creator for the people.

Earlier on, Lentsweletau constituency youth chairman Lesang Magang also encouraged party members to start political campaign so they would not give opposition parties a chance to infiltrate the area.

Zimbabwe's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stan Mudenge said when the US Senate passed a bill to impose economic sanctions on his country Botswana and other SADC countries made representations against it.

Mudenge was speaking at the Eighth Session of the Botswana/Zimbabwe Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation in Gaborone today.

He said the representation by SADC countries had convinced the US Congress to shelve the bill after the Senate passed it them for adoption.

He said if sanctions were imposed on Zimbabwe it would have adverse effects on the trade in the region, noting that the condemnation by Britain of the way Zimbabwe handled its land redistribution issue was totally unnecessary.

Mudenge said it was based on racist tendencies by the English-speaking minority in Britain and white South African liberal newspapers.

Mudenge also thanked Botswana for assisting his country with fuel when it was faced with a crisis and said it reflected true friendship between the two countries.

On other issues, Mudenge said Botswana and Zimbabwe were working hard to enhance the bilateral relations that existed between through agreements in the trade, transport and tourism sector.

He said Botswana was Zimbabwe's third largest trading partner after Zambia and South Africa and urged the private sector in both countries to take advantage of the relations between them to increase the volume of trade.

Mudenge expressed the hope that the SADC Trade Protocol would not disrupt the trade relations between Botswana and Zimbabwe but would use that as a model towards a free trade area.

Presidential affairs and public administration minister, Thebe Mogami said the participants to come up with decision that would strengthen bilateral cooperation for the mutual benefit of the two countries and their people.

"We must agree that to achieve the objectives of poverty eradication, economic and social progress, sustained economic growth and sustainable development depends to a large on the reactivation and strengthening of our relations," said Mogami.

He said one major challenge that the two countries faced was the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the situation underlined the necessity for them to work together to ensure AIDS drugs were made available at a reasonable cost.

Mogami said progress had been made in the tourism, transport and trade agreements and the latter agreement was now ready for signature, while the Road Transport Agreement was at an advanced stage of processing.

The Tourism Protocol is also being processed. He said it was Botswana's ardent hope that the agreements would facilitate trade flows, transport and communication links, as well as promote tourism and investment here and in Zimbabwe.

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