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BOPA News on 06 June 2003

This became apparent after the visiting Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos visited the facility and expressed appreciation for future co-operation between his country and Botswana in agriculture yesterday.

Also, on Tuesday, dos Santos had intimated to President Festus Mogae during their official talks at the Office of the President that he was particularly interested in the field of agriculture.

BVI as an international reference laboratory for foot and mouth disease (FMD) produces several types of vaccines for livestock diseases such as FMD, Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) known in Botswana as cattle lung disease, Peste des petits ruminants, anthrax, blackquarter, normal rinderpest and thermostable rinderpest.

Assistant minister of agriculture Pelokgale Seloma expressed delight after the BVI tour that it gave dos Santos the opportunity to appreciate what Botswana could offer.

Seloma told BOPA in an interview that president dos Santos had also been briefed on BVI products and appeared appreciative of it.

He had underscored the need for Botswana and Angola to make joint efforts in controlling trans-boundary animal diseases, especially that Botswana was recognised for its production of FMD vaccine.

BVI general manager Matz Mosienyane also told BOPA that it was an honour for him to have played host to the Angolan president, especially that Angola was one of the emerging markets with a potential for BVI products.

Mosienyane said the visit was an eye opener for the Angolans who bought most of their vaccines from West Africa and expressed the hope that they would consider Botswana for future supplies.

He said recently he was part of a business mission to Angola during which he managed to sell the idea of making business with Angola to the Angolan minister of agriculture.

He said although the Angolan government assured him that the country was free of FMD there was need for precautionary measures given the possibility that there are still some Angolan refugees from FMD prone countries who might wish to return to their country with livestock.

Mosienyane also told BOPA that at one stage Botswana assisted Angola in the control of CBPP by selling 712 doses of vaccines in 1997 and 1.5 million doses in 1999.

He added that other opportunities that Botswana could take advantage of were to assist Angola to set up control structures for animal diseases, as well as to offer courses in FMD diagnosis, epidermiology and disease control.

Meanwhile, dos Santos also paid a courtesy call on SADC executive secretary Prega Ramsamy on Tuesday who told him about the acute shortage office accommodation at the secretariat.

He told the president however that plans were under way to build a bigger head office and thanked the Botswana government for offering land for the project.

He said most of the projects that SADC undertook to alleviate food shortages and intensify management of shared water resources were progressing well.

In the afternoon Kgosi Kgolo Sechele and Commandant-General Scholtz renewed their dialogue through the Mokwena's interpreter Selete.

While still seeking if possible to avoid bloodshed, Sechele was by all accounts eager to impress his counterpart with his own confidence in his military position. This determination provided a context for a good deal of banter between the two leaders as the day wore on.

In his diary the English trader James Chapman made the following assessment of the two rival commanders' temperaments on the day: "Sechelli was cool, Scholtz hot, Sechelli sent to ask him for a little tea and sugar.

Scholtz said men of war need no such thing but I will give you chilies enough." Additional accounts, in Dutch-Afrikaans and Setswana, as well as by English speaking missionaries and traders, are all in agreement that, in return for the tea and sugar, the Mokwena offered the Boer commandant gunpowder, in case the latter "had not brought enough with him for a long fight." Selete is also further said to have offered to show Sechele's "guests" where to graze their oxen so as to avoid mogau (thorny poisonous ground plants that are often lethal to livestock) for he said in anticipation of his impending victory his master "was now beginning to value them as his own." In the end the two leaders agreed to meet face-to-face at dawn the next day.

Sechele's bravado was certainly underpinned by a formidable arsenal, though the exact quantity and quality of his armaments is now unknown. By 1849, the Boers were already claiming that Bakwena alone had 500 guns and a cannon.

Over the years a number of people have taken Livingstone's rejoinder that his flock only had five guns and a cooking pot at face value.

Yet, from Livingstone's own private papers, as well other accounts, it is clear that the Batswana defenders at Dimawe were in possession of hundreds of guns.

Among these patriots, however, there also must have been many, especially within the non-Bakwena ranks, who were only novice marksmen. It is all but certain that Sechele did deploy his cannon.

Besides his boasting of it to Scholtz, we have Chapman's subsequent diary passage referring to his discussions with Sechele about the battle.

While talking about the Boer casualties the Mokwena is said to have "brought out some leaden cannon balls and smiled rather contemptuously." In the years that followed the missionary wife Elizabeth Price would record her annoyance when Sechele's sons firing off "the cannon", thus disturbing her morning peace.

Three decades later, in 1883, Sechele either gave or sold the same cannon to his longtime friend and ally Kgosi Montshiwa of the Barolong boo Ratshidi to assist in the latter's defence against Boer filibusters (the Second Batswana-Boer War).

The gun has remained eversince at Mafikeng. Having seen further service in the famous 1899-1900 Anglo-Boer (or Third Batswana-Boer) War siege, in more recent decades it has remained on display as a prized possession at the local museum.

Through his insatiable reading and personal contacts with a number of British officers, whom he hosted for hunting holidays while they were en route to and from India, Sechele had already become a genuine expert in the latest firearms technology by the time of the Dimawe showdown.

Prior to the battle he ordered direct from England, through the missionary Robert Moffat, a super-weapon then unknown to the southern Africa interior: A seven-barreled state of the art Knocks Volleygun.

It is, however, unclear whether this proto-machine gun was in fact successfully delivered to Dimawe. Volleyguns, which fired shots out of multiple barrels from a single charge, were originally developed during the 19th Century as a secret special weapon on British naval vessels.

In North America this otherwise all but unknown armament is associated with the sanguinary legend of the Texas hero Jim Bowie, who was part of a small force that fought to the death at the Alamo against the full might of the Mexican army of Generalissimo Santa Anna.

The Monday meeting failed to resolve anything. In response to Sechele's call that he justify his demand for Mosielele, Scholtz underscored the real issues at stake by calling on the Bakwena and their allies to immediately disarm, agree to supply free labour to the Boers, and cooperate in the apprehension of fugitives.

Sechele replied that he would remain a kgosi through the grace of God and his people, not the Boers.

It addressed a wide range of issues including economic reconstruction, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the situation in Zimbabwe and the DRC.

In addition Botswana donated P1 million to assist in the repatriation and reintegration of Angolan refugees in response to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' appeal.

The two countries and the UNHCR signed a tripartite agreement for the voluntary repatriation of Angolan refugees.

The entire regional exercise, which is scheduled to take two years from this year, is estimated to cost about P250 million.

Mogae felt it was time the Commonwealth and the international community as a whole made it clear to Zimbabwe that the only way out of the continuing deteriorating economic and political situation in the country was to compromise.

He said Botswana and other SADC members had been constructively engaged with the Zimbabwean government and the opposition in quiet diplomacy, adding that they were convinced that public criticism of both parties had drawn a blank.

"The welfare of the people of Zimbabwe is of great importance to us.

"It seems the only solution is for the government and the opposition (Movement for Democratic Change) to compromise. They have to give and take.

They have to sit together and compromise.

"It is the duty of the Commonwealth and Zimbabwe's neighbours to point this out to them," he said.

President dos Santos said efforts by the regional grouping and the Commonwealth were on-going to try to bring the Zimbabwean government and MDC together.

He raised concern about the strike called by the MDC, which left an opposition member dead and others injured.

"The on-going strike is a matter of concern to us and we will endeavour to convince MDC against it to avoid violence and work towards a solution to the country's problems." About NEPAD, Mogae reiterated the Botswana government's stance regarding the Peer Review Mechanism, saying though the country supported the partnership whole-heartedly it lacked the capacity to review others.

He said Botswana was open for review by others but it "does not have to join the Peer Review Mechanism in order to critique other countries".

The president explained that Botswana consulted with its neighbours on the optimum utilisation of shared resources such as water from the Okavango River.

He emphasised the country's commitment to environmental conservation, saying all projects had to be preceded by an environmental impact assessment study.

The Angolan president on the other hand called for patience regarding the international community's assistance in rebuilding the country after a 27-year civil war.

He said his government would continue mobilising support from the donors and indicated that some would not honour their pledges.

He explained that programmes are in place to resettle 400 000 ex- combatants and families of former UNITA rebels.

Members of UNITA and other political organisations have been integrated into the army and the government of national unity.

In addition, the government has managed to reduce the number of displaced persons from four to two million.

He emphasised the need for the DRC to move into a new era of peace and reconciliation and urged all countries to support the Congolese.

A news release from the European Union (EU) office in Gaborone says the investment facility was inaugurated byEIB president Philippe Maystadt at a ceremony in Luxembourg attended by president Abdulaye Wade of Senegal, Kenya's finance minister David Mwiraria, EU commissioner Pedro Solbes and representatives of the 78 ACP states.

The investment facility has been established within the framework of the Cotonou Agreement to support ACP private sector and commercially-run public sector projects with loans, guarantees and a series of risk sharing instruments.

It is will be managed by the EIB as a fund, in parallel with a reviewed commitment by the bank to provide an additional Euro 1.7 billion, an equivalent of P10.2 billion, in long-term loans from its own resources over the next five years.

Funds for the investment facility, which is intended to become a self-financing revolving fund, come from the resources of the EU member states.

"The Cotonou Agreement gives new impetus to grater flexibility and efficiency in deploying aid with a strategy of ACP ownership of economic and social development," the release quotes Maystadt as saying.

"The EIB has already built up considerable experience in the private sector in the ACP, as some 45 per cent of our investments are now already in private sector projects." To manage the business generated by the new facility, the EIB also announced the opening of three new regional offices in Dakar, Senegal, Nairobi, Kenya, and Pretoria, South Africa.

The offices will offer permanent presence in western, eastern and southern Africa and service the respective business communities in the surrounding group of countries.

In the light of the experience gained, the possibility of opening other offices, notably in the Caribbean and the Pacific region, will be examined.

The establishment of the investment facility coincides with EIB's 40th anniversary of activity in Africa, extended later to the Caribbean and Pacific states, under a series of agreements ­ the Yaounde and Lome conventions ­ through which the EIB has channelled some Euro 9 billion, approximately P54 billion, into investment in the ACPs.

Detective superintendent David Maruatona said they suspected the woman was raped before strangulation.

Her body was taken to Thebephatshwa Hospital mortuary for a postmortem on Wednesday.

Superintendent Maruatona said the woman was employed as public cellular pay phone operator. Her colleagues last saw her on May 29.

Her colleagues became suspicious when she did not report for work.

They then contacted her family in Letlhakeng also did not know her whereabouts.

Police were informed of her disappearance a stench coming from her rented room at Difetlhamolelo ward.

Maruatona said police found her dead on a bed after gaining entrance by breaking a window. Police have appealed to the public to help them arrest her killer-s.

Anyone with information should contact the police at: 5920019 for CID, 5907082 for Security Intelligence Office and 5920383 for Office Commanding.

Meanwhile, Molepolole police say a 38-year-old man of Thamaga was left with a broken leg after he was struck by a hit and run driver along Moshaweng-Jwaneng road on Sunday night.

The victim was taken to Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone.

Other incidents reported to the police included a burglary in which goods worth P1 799 and P300 cash were stolen from a house in Magokotswane Ward in Molepolole over the weekend.

He told a kgotla meeting at Lorolwane that some road contractors in the Southern District failed to carry out their duties as expected.

Tshipinare, who is local government minister, criticised road engineers for failing to supervise contractors to ensure they met all the requirements.

He said engineers should tell contractors when they "fail to deliver quality work". He said if a contractor failed to correct the shoddy jobs they should be removed from site.

Tshipinare also criticised Lorolwane parents for failing to take action when their children absconded from the local primary school. He was disappointed to hear reports that the school was losing some learners because of pregnancy.

"Reports of pregnancy at this school are disheartening, especially in this era of the HIV-AIDS scourge," he said. He said elderly people who impregnated schoolgirls must be reported to the police.

Tshipinare addressed other kgotla meetings at Sekhutlane, Tsoaneng and Metlobo where he briefed residents on the revised destitute policy, orphans, Delimitation Commission Report and drought relief projects, which start next month.

He urged village development committees (VDCs) and concerned public officers to prepare in advance for drought relief projects. He said early preparations would ensure that implementation of projects started on time.

Responding to requests that teachers at Sekhutlane settlement should not pay rent, Tshipinare said Sekhutlane was not a remote area and, therefore, teachers should continue to pay rent.

Among other development projects, Tshipinare told Metlobo residents that their village would be supplied with electricity in the 2005-6 financial year.

MP for Tswapong South, Pelokgale Seloma said, this week, that it is useless for people to go for the test when they are seriously ill.

Instead, he advised residents of Makwate and Machaneng in kgotla meetings to know their status while the disease is incubating.

This will enable them to be enrolled in the government sponsored anti-retroviral programme.

He said that available anti-AIDS drugs are designed to help the immune system to fight the virus at an early stage.

Seloma observed that many people are scared to go for HIV-AIDS testing or collect their results, adding that this need not be so as the disease is just like any other.

In their comments, some youth at Makwate complained that their village was lagging behind in development and requested a brigade and a veterinary office.

At Machaneng, the residents welcomed government's plans to introduce alcohol and smoking laws, stating that the two have destroyed the health of many people.

Trade and industry minister Jacob Nkate said yesterday the Bill was recommended by the 1997 private sector-led task force set up to comprehensively examine the problems SMMEs faced.

He said when addressing a meeting of stakeholders called to discuss the Bill in Gaborone that the task force was also asked to recommend an appropriate policy framework for government's consideration.

Consequently, government intended to establish a Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) during the current financial year, he said.

This will be an autonomous body aimed at providing skills training, mentoring, technical support services to SMME businesses.

"Assistance will be provided on the basis of clearly demonstrated potential to succeed, as well as project viability and sustainability," Nkate said.

SMMEs are considered crucial to the economy of every country as they form the basis for industrial development.

A 1996 study on SMMEs in the country found the sector contributed 30­45 per cent to the GDP as compared to an estimated 38-48 per cent by to larger firms.

"The SMME sector also brings services to the door steps of a large proportion of the population as most of the small businesses operate from their backyards.

"It also helps the disadvantaged, such as the people with disabilities, female-headed households and the youth, who can not be readily absorbed into the large firms and other areas of employment," Nkate said.

He further noted that through SMME projects, skills were readily transferred from one individual to another or from a group to another, which provides good environment for innovation.

However, some 80 per cent of small businesses are reported to have floundered due to problems such as lack of access to finance, entrepreneurial skills and excessive government laws and regulations.

Other problems include lack of information on government assistance programmes, lack of marketing skills and inherent biases against SMMEs.

Nkate told his audience that government aims to identify small entrepreneurs with the potential to grow and assist them to realise their goals.

This will be through skills training, capacity building and mentoring, as well as through other means such as access to finance and markets.

"Government can no longer go it alone because of the ever increasing development costs," he said.

Sebetela advised his constituents to prepare themselves to share costs with the government in the provision of education and health; soon Batswana will be asked to pay for their children's education and for health services.

Another cost-sharing initiative entails installation of toll-gates along the major roads.

The money will help in the maintenance of roads.

After the Moreomabele meeting, Minister Sebetela visited the clinic where the staff asked for connection to the national electricity grid and telephone network.

Workers at the clinic complained that they have to use the outmoded radio communication, also known as roja-roja, which is almost always out of use because it cannot be maintained.

An additional 50 design and technology teachers will graduate from the University of Botswana (UB) in October, Gotsilewame Mokoti, a principal officer for Design and Technology in the Department of Secondary Education, said in Gaborone on Monday.

Mokoti said the graduation of 110 graduates to teach design and technology in secondary schools was an indication of government's solemn approach to upgrading the status of design and technology in Botswana.

Speaking at the workshops and exhibitions at the Botswana Technology Centre (BTC) this week, Mokoti said, however, that problems abound: the upgrading of design and technology facilities has slowed; and there is little or no cooperation between the subject's teachers in junior and senior secondary schools.

Teachers in senior secondary schools blame those in junior ones if form four students seem not to have a grasp of the basics from junior secondary schools.

Nevertheless, Mokoti said, the government was making efforts to bridge the gap so as to illuminate the design and technology in the country.

The theme of the workshops and exhibitions was: "Design Partnerships in Africa 9 Opportunities and Challenges for Botswana".

The workshops identified educational response as a main factor in enhancing designs in Botswana.

Mokoti said design and technology is a catalyst to other disciplines such as medicine and the news media.

"A technician needs D&T concepts to use his tools, so is a doctor and a cameraperson," he said. He said skills in design and technology could help Batswana deliver themselves from the problem of unemployment.

Mogotsa Kewagamang, an official of the Department of Vocational Training and Education, said the government has taken a step forward to enhance design and technology in Botswana by sponsoring students to study the subject abroad.

Joy Phumaphi, the minister of health, said she appredicated the models of the Smartlock Syringe needles and the condom applicator that have been made to work.

Phumaphi said her ministry looked forward to employing these two innovations as a way of controlling the AIDS pandemic.

Presidential Affairs and Public Administration minister Daniel Kwelagobe and acting Angolan foreign affairs minister George Chikoty signed for their respective governments while UNHCR regional co-ordinator of the repatriation of Angolan refugees Kallu Kalumiya represented the UN agency.

The accord will pave the way not only for the repatriation of the Angolan refugees from Botswana but also the ones other countries neighbouring Angola under UNHCR supervision.

The repatriation exercise is expected to last two years. Its estimated to cost P250 million to which Botswana has contributed P1 000 000. Two-thirds of the money will be spent in Angola to help resettle thereturnees.

Kalumiya told journalists after the signing ceremony that majority of the refugees in Botswana and other countries such as Namibia and South Africa wanted to return home.

Priority will be given to the ones staying at Dukwi Refugee Camp.

He said a few who had not yet expressed their willingness to go home were probably held back by fear of land mines.

One hundred and thirty-seven Angolans have applied for naturalisation and the processing of their applications is at an advanced stage.

Earlier, Kwelagobe expressed delight that after several decades of war, which has claimed a lot of lives and property, Angola has returned to a state of peace and stability.

"The people of Angola deserve to join the community of nations in enjoying all the benefits that accrue to humanity," he said.

"The children of Angola have a right to look to the future filled with hope and prosperity." Kwelagobe reiterated that no one was forced to go and that concerned individuals were provided with information and options to assist them in making decisions.

He said Angolans who chose to remain in Botswana were welcome to do so, especially that some had contributed skills and knowledge to Botswana's economic and social development.

Already, there are a number of Angolans who have been granted Botswana citizenship.

Kwelagobe appealed to the international community to assist Angola by contributing generously towards its reconstruction and development programme, which will, among others, ensure the reintegration of thousands of ex-combatants as well as internally displaced persons.

"We all owe it to ourselves and to humanity to give the people of Angola a chance and hope for a bright future," he added.

Chikoty of Angola said the agreement showed his government commitment to assist people who wished to return and thanked the UNHCR for having handled the refugees for more than 40 years, especially Angolans.

He assured the ones willing to go back of a conducive environment at home, created by the signing of a peace agreement in April last year between the government and UNITA.

To Botswana he said, the country "has always been one of the closest partners to Angola in finding solutions to conflicts afflicting the region as it worked with the UN to implement sanctions (against UNITA) aimed to bring about peace.

"The signing of the agreement is a sign that the peace process in Angola is irreversible.

"As a result, Angolans can go back to their homes and start working towards the reconstruction of their country's economy.

Officiating at the annual cultural day celebrations at Gulubane in the North East district, Gaborone said for families to have strong values and norms, they should align themselves with the culture of their society "because culture is rooted in the origin of each tribe or society".

He called on Batswana to be proud and practice their culture through languages, traditional ceremonies and eating traditional dishes.

Gaborone said all Batswana tribes have their own culture, values and norms, which they should protect and pass on from generation to generation.

He commended North East District residents for being proud and showing interest in their culture. He was disappointed that young people were reluctant to attend and participate in cultural activities.

He noted that the youth people copy foreign cultures in the form of dress, speech and even forming gangs.

The theme for this year's cultural day was R
culture, gender and family values'.

Gaborone also praised the district's Tjilenje Committee for mobilising villages to participate in the cultural event, saying continuous celebrations provided them with an opportunity to promote, preserve and develop culture.

District senior community development officer Barulaganye Mosetlha explained that the objectives of the event was to bring together district cultural groups to share ideas, revive the spirit of cultural heritage, promote national identity and spirit of competition.

The day was characterised by traditional dance competition including ndazula, mokomoto, hosana, sangoma, iperu, maile, chikicha and dipina tsa Setswana.

This is the first time four Botswana athletes have qualified for the championship.

The athletes are Otukile Lekote, Glody Dube both for 800m, John Kubisa and California Molefe for the 400m race.

Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) says Dube and Lekote's qualifying times are based on the times they clocked last year while Molefe and Kubisa met the standard over the weekend at the annual Debswana National Track and field competition.

BAA says the association is using the national championships results to send a 4 x400m relay team to the championships as well.

The relay team comprises Oganeditse Moseki (46:35) of Selebi Phikwe Athletics Club, Tshepho Kelaotswe (46:38) of Lefika Club and Gaolesiela Salang (46:41) of Orapa Athletics Club.

BAA also intends to send the athletes to a few meets in Europe to prepare them for the Championships and All Africa Games.

Meanwhile, the athletes will go into camp for the All Africa Games on June 16 until to July 13.

Other athletes who are expected to join the camp are Tlhalosang Molapisi (Francistown Athletics Club, Kabelo Mmono (OAC), Amantle Montsho and Selebaleng Seomile both from Taipei club, as well as Kagiso Kilego of Lefika club.

BAA also announced that three of its athletes Tshotlego Morama, California Molefe and Kagiso Kilego will this year benefit from the Zebra Athletes Fund in their preparations for international competitions.

In other developments BAA further announced that its coaching development programme was operating effectively.

The association has fourty nine IAAF level one coaches and two second level coaches.

Plans are already underway to send one coach for level three this year and more will be sent when resources permit.

BAA says one of the limitations presently facing the sport is the lack of events such as hurdles, pole vault, steeplechase, race walking and hammer throw.

Consequently, emphasis is being placed on availing opportunities to those interested in these events.

Moeding managed, amidst tough competition, to defend its last year's title after they amused judges and traditional music lovers alike with their tsutsube song that portrayed a hunting expedition.

The Otse school's group, therefore, retained a floating trophy and got P300 prize money and T-shirts for the dancers.

Following on Moeding's heels were Molefi Senior Secondary from Mochudi. They did it with the song phathisi ya nku le motobelo.

Molepolole's Kgari Sechele followed on the third position with tsutsube dance, Molefi and Kgari Sechele both got floating trophies, P200 and P100 respectively.

On the junior schools side Motaung CJSS from Kang snatched the championship trophy from last year's champions Sir Seretse Khama with 101 points with Mogale and Motswakhumo following with 93 and 88 points respectively, throwing Sir Seretse Khama to the fourth position with 81 points.

Officiating at the festival, whose aim is to promote tourism earlier on, Kalahari Conservation Society's Environmental Education Officer Herbert Kebafetotse said environmental education and awareness had become increasingly important over the past decade as the earth continued to suffer because of human ignorance.

He emphasised the importance of engaging students in practical activities and hands on activities so they understood and convert what they learn in classrooms to reality.

Kebafetotse, who pioneered the festival while he was a teacher at Maun secondary, called on the politicians, local and churches leaders to ensure the success of the tourism industry for the betterment of the country at large.

"Let's preach in all our forums and emphasise on a culture of personal responsibility," he pleaded.

The festival, whose theme is the promotion of tourism in Botswana, will be concluded with a drama festival on June 14th at McConnell College in Tutume.

Speaking during the opening of the Fifth National Women's Exposition at Boipuso Hall Wednesday, Kgosi Seboko said she believed by so doing, Botswana would have no people living below the poverty datum line.

She said achieving the goal of equal participation of women and men in decision making would strengthen democracy and promote equality between both sexes.

The theme of this year's exposition, is "Progress for Women is Progress for All," in recognition of the fact that the advancement of women and the achievement of equality between women and men are a matter of human rights and a condition for social justice.

The exposition is intended to offer women's community-based producer groups a forum to exchange experience, ideas and skills on the management of their business and projects.

It has attracted participants from the rural communities who are involved in small-scale projects including pottery, arts and crafts food processing, metal, leather and wood works, basketry and weaving.

Others are agricultural products, detergents and household chemicals, textiles, natural products and baking and confectionery.

Seboko said these projects provide employment for people who are partly unemployed for the large part of the year.

They in addition, offer employment opportunities for women and men, thereby releasing women from their generally accepted gender roles.

Seboko emphasised the need to realise that small-scale projects are an important vehicle of social and economic development.

She however, challenged policy makers and planners to study the situations and conditions under which these projects grow.

In addition, she stressed; they should recommend measures that will foster a favourable environment for the development of these projects.

Kgosi Seboko emphasised the need to create specific socio-economic and political conditions, which will bring about an enabling environment in which women and men can realise their fundamental rights and freedoms.

She said if policies and programmes aimed at assisting both the rural and urban communities are to succeed, measures must be put in place to ensure equality in access to resources, information, opportunity and decision making positions for both women and men.

Seboko encouraged women and young girls as partners in the development process to develop plans that are crucial for the success of every business.

Multichoice's Marketing Manager Martin Mabutho said in an interview with BOPA that the company was still putting together a list of programmes to be sent to its headquarters in Randburg, South Africa for consideration of purchase.

Mabutho said the new programmes would not be for an additional cost to the subscriber because they were already in the bouquet.

In addition, Multichoice has added four channels to the P140 bouquet without increasing the subscription rate.

The programmes are Reality, BBC Prime, BBC Food and Big Brother Africa.

The discontinuation of the South African channels seems to have been a blessing in disguise for Botswana Television.

"Our local content should penetrate [the market] and it is good for Botswana Television's development like most locals now know that they have to watch Btv for Big Brother Africa," Mabutho said.

Some channels of the South African Broadcasting Corporation recently disappeared from the television screens.

The report, presented by RADP Review Team leader of the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis, Robert Greener, at the national workshop on the review of the programme in Gaborone on Tuesday also advocated for t testing to ensure that the poorest people are the main beneficiaries.

It also encourages the introduction of affirmative action on behalf of the poorest people living in the rural areas, aiming at improving level of access and increasing the amount of land available near settlements.

Preferential allocation of nearby land and reservation of positions to poorer people in settlements is also recommended.

The recommendation follows observations that the communities have lost access to sufficient land for grazing or natural resource management near settlements.

Land previously used for hunting and gathering has also been re-zoned and re-allocated for other purposes.

On graduation of settlements from RADP to the National Settlements Policy, the report recommends the introduction of criteria that would graduate settlements.

The criteria, according to the report should be based on age, size of settlement and level of development with respect to infrastructure and levels of education and skills.

The report observes that opportunities for employment or agriculture are very limited in remote areas.

It therefore recommends that development of livelihoods must be based on participatory processes to ensure that projects are relevant and communities are committed to them.

It further recommends that the impact and local relevance of livestock distribution scheme be assessed before a decision on its future is made.

The report calls for the active support of remote area projects to tender for supplying goods and services and also advocates for a system of preferential tendering for local suppliers.

Regarding education, the report quotes communities as having raised issues of lack of cultural sensitivity and flexibility, unpopularity of boarding hostels and poverty as some of the contributing factors in the high dropout rates.

The report therefore recommends establishment of a national public education component within RADP that would "promote tolerance and understanding of remote area culture through all media and support to national curriculum design.

As part of the affirmative action, government was urged to ensure that education costs for the children in remote area dweller settlements are met.

It also advocates for lower entry requirements and development of bridging courses.

Promotion of local languages is also emphasised by the report with particular reference to employment of people who can speak local languages to teach and administer hostels.

On HIV-AIDS, the report noted that conditions in the settlements such as alcohol abuse are compatible with the rapid spread of the HIV epidemic.

Regarding co-ordination of RADP, the report says the programme should continue as a special programme within the Ministry of Local Government and that it should be re-oriented to emphasise community development function.

It recommends that continuous skills audit and training needs assessment of staff should be conducted.

It further recommends that minimum training requirements of RADP officers should be set and their employment status be raised among council staff.

Among them were the speaker of the National Assembly Ray Molomo, author Mmualefe Raditladi, and Lands and Housing Minister Margaret Nasha.

The first alumni graduated from Pius XII College in Lesotho that later became the University of Bechuanaland, Basutoland and Swaziland; and then the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.

Speakers at the event took the audience back in time by sharing their experiences on the challenges and successes of the time.

In his welcome remarks, Professor Bojosi Otlhogile, UB vice-chancellor, said "the purpose of this gathering is to recognise the important role you as alumni played and continue to play in the university".

He appreciated the links that UB has with its predecessors, as they contributed to UB's successes.

"This is an excellent opportunity to meet and chat and to also maintain the historic significance of the group," said Otlhogile.

He said although the tripartite university had a small number of graduates at the beginning, UB now boasts seven faculties and aims to enrol 15 000 students in future.

"A university is as good as its alumni," said the vice-chancellor, who described the alumni as ambassadors and mentors for the younger generation.

He said it would be beneficial to identify alumni achievers as lecturers and for them to also give public lectures at certain times.

Minister Margaret Nasha, an alumna herself, saw the gathering as "an opportunity to touch base with long lost friends and to reminisce on the old good days as students".

She said the alumni have accomplished a lot to be proud of and hoped that they could build a close relationship with UB and the UB Foundation.

The guest Speaker Dr Molema, who is the first woman in the country to obtain a doctoral degree, traced the past through the lives of some of the alumnae of the time.

"A group of us from Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa have been involved in the compilation of an anthology called R
Women Writing Africa' ­ volume one of which is sub-titled R
Southern Africa'," she said.

Molema said to compile the book, public and private archives documents written by women were scoured, adding that "the oldest document that the Botswana team unearthed was a letter written by Oratile Sekgoma in Serowe in 1962.

"I'm suggesting with these preliminary remarks that the women of this time, who could read and write, and who had the equivalent of a standard 4-6 certificate, are in fact our intellectual forebears".

She said such women were taught to read, write and count by the wives of the earliest missionaries to Botswana, and they learnt to do so not in school, but in the homes of such.

Molema recalled that at the time girls were withdrawn from school to get married and few were lucky to continue schooling because "they were fortunate not to have brothers".

She celebrated among others, Dr Gaositwe Chiepe, the first Motswana to hold a Metric certificate, a Bachelors degree, a post-graduate diploma in education, and a Masters degree in Science.

"And apart from the queen regents of British Indirect Rule, she's also the first Motswana woman to be recruited to the civil service in a capacity other than R
a tea lady or a secretary'." Dr Molema said they wrote examinations that were set and marked by the University of South Africa.

"At the level of the curriculum, we managed to get rid of Latin, but when it came to Shakespeare, we lost the battle." "We insisted that there be a review of the Humanities and Social Sciences syllabuses to include African perspectives, and in particular, the study of the oral traditions of our societies," she said.

She said those who graduated from the UBLS and other universities in the 1960s were the first Batswana to take over in greater numbers the civil service posts of outgoing white colonial officers.

Mothoosele Mokgwathi made the appeal when briefing Letlhakeng MP Boometswe Mokgothu on the operation of their trust.

He said the trust was aimed at empowering the youth and other people through exploitation of natural resources in a more sustainable way.

Mokgwathi said the trust would also engage in poultry, vegetable production and pottery projects.

He noted that many young people were unemployed and the trust aimed at addressing this situation and promoting hygienic and a healthy lifestyle.

It also teaches the youth on the importance of leadership so they could be in a position to undertake projects for themselves. It has started a feed lot for cattle to improve their weight before sale.

Mokgothu commented that it was pleasing to learn that people had realised that they could do something for themselves with little government assistance.

He said he was impressed that the trust was not only focusing on physical projects, but offering courses.

"Angola to a large extent could benefit from Botswana's experience," he said at a state banquet hosted in his honour in Gaborone, on Tuesday.

dos Santos stated that the host country's record of peace, stability and good governance could be of great help to Angola.

Also, as one of the leading diamonds producers in the world, he said his country can learn something from Botswana on how it has been adept at managing its resources.

dos Satos called on the two countries to bridge the gap in their bilateral relations and deepen co-operation in fields of common interest.

He thanked Botswana for the elephants that were trans-located to his country to assist boast its tourism sector, which was destroyed by the three decades of civil war.

For his part, Mogae congratulated dos Santos and the people of Angola for achieving peace. "We are happy that the clouds of war have finally been lifted for the sun to shine in Angola.

"We strongly believe that with the peace that Angola now enjoys, it is only a matter of time before Angola is in a position to mobilise its indomitable people to correct the ills they have suffered so far." Mogae assured Angolans of Botswana's support in their efforts to reconstruct their economy.

The president observed that the two countries have long standing collaboration in the management of the Okavango River from Angola, which feeds a large ecological system in Botswana.

He explained that substantive ministers from the two countries recently met at Maun to exchange views on how to collectively continue to harness the waters of the Okavango for economic growth on an environmentally sound and sustainable basis.

Mogae emphasised the need for the two countries to strengthen co-operation in the diamond field since they are among the leading diamond producers in the world.

"You will be aware that in the recent past there were threats to legitimise diamond trade due to the sale of diamonds associated with conflicts in Africa." He said diamonds from Angola were used by the late UNITA leader, Jonas Savimbi to play a destructive rather than a constructive role in Angola.

He expressed confidence that diamonds can play a major role in the reconstruction of the country's economy and expressed the hope that Batswana and Angolans can enjoy the benefits generated across the globe by the legitimate diamond industry.

He reiterated the importance of ensuing full implementation of the international diamond certification scheme called the Kimberley Process.

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