The Ngami Times

05 Feb ' 13:51

Edition 588 27 3 - 10 February 2012

Permanent Secretaries from government ministries and other senior officials who attended a retreat in Maun last week raised and donated P14 000 towards the connection of 25 standpipes for identified beneficiaries. The official hand-over was held at the Maun main Kgotla last Saturday. Pictured is the PS in the Office of the President, Botshelo Mathuba, handing over one of the standpipes toKebotswang Ntirelang of Meno ward.

NEW LIFE FOR VANDALISED HOSPITAL

By Keto Segwai

After more than three years of neglect characterised by runaway vandalism, the health authorities could be finally salvaging the old Maun General Hospital.

The hospital that opened its doors in 1953 has been lying in a state of disrepair since the health services were moved to the new P445-million Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital on September 25, 2008.

Now there is talk of possibly turning it into a primary hospital with the 270-bed Letsholathebe being designated a referral facility in the future but Letsholathebe's hospital superintendent, Dr Maxwell Mungisi, was quick to add the now familiar funds permitting' rider.

The years of indecision on the part of the health authorities was only followed by the opening of a 24-hour clinic late last year at the former premises of the Infectious Disease Care Centre (IDCC) that are located within the old hospital. Mungisi disclosed to The Ngami Times this week that they will be relocating the dental and maternity services from Letsholathebe to the old hospital. We have already started the process of renovation. We are also in the process of procurement and if everything goes according to plan we should be through by June, he said. His department is in consultation with the Department of Buildings and Electrical Services (DBES) regarding the servicing of the incinerator, laundry, kitchen and generators at the old hospital. Ironically, in the recent past the Letsholathebe hospital had to outsource laundry services 280 km away in Ghanzi whenever they experienced breakdowns.

In the short-term, the health ministry intends to launch a mass male circumcision campaign on February 13 at the premises of the old hospital.

Regarding the evidently lax security at the premises, Mungisi assured that we have a 24-hour security which has been outsourced. They are there to look after the whole facility. Last weekend The Ngami Times made an unannounced visit to the facilities and encountered no visible security throughout the premises, save for the portacams accommodating the 24-hour clinic.

Further, most buildings had wide open doors and windows, characteristic of a neglected place.

Until the recent salvaging exercise, other government departments in need of office space in the district had apparently started making requests to use the old hospital facilities. In particular, the North West District Council and the police are known to have formally requested the space.

Senior assistant council secretary Lawrence Mazinyane confirmed to The Ngami Times that they have lodged such a request and are expecting to move their Environmental Health Unit to the old premises soon. Until then, the unit had been temporarily housed at the new state-of-the-art fire station, which is currently not operational due to a lack of equipment

Meanwhile, local drug storage facility that was initially supposed to have been in place by August 2010 also appears to be finally coming on stream.

Mungisi said they have found space at the main Department of Supplies depot at Boseja Industrial, and that work has started at the site.

Clinics and other health establishments in Ngamiland are expected to source their pharmaceutical requirements from the facility once it is operational.

Botshabelo residents to be paid out

By Bright Kholi and Keagisitswe Dioka

The 260 residents who were relocated from Botshabelo to Disaneng in 2007 to make way for the expansion of the Maun airport could soon be laughing all the way to the bank. This follows a Francistown High Court ruling that sanctioned their compensation late last year.

Their attorney, Tshekiso Tshekiso, of the Tshekiso, Ditiro and Jane law firm, confirmed this week to The Ngami Times that their payments are being processed by the government and they should expect payouts soon.

The residents had wanted the government to compensate them location factor at the rate of 40% of valuation which excluded the value of traditional material, trees and loss of rights in respect of modern houses. They also wanted to be compensated location factor at the rate of 5% of the valuation attached to traditional houses.

The residents had argued that the government had breached a contract by not paying for such factors and residents therefore wanted the government to pay a calculated sum of about P5 million.

Since their relocation, the residents had raised many complaints with all the relevant authorities before taking government to court.

In September 2007, the residents, who were 1 895 in total, wrote to the office of the then- vice president Ian Khama raising a number of complaints, among them the 40 % location factor, and calling for his urgent intervention. Khama's office responded that some allegations raised by the residents were without basis and furthermore, please note that the Department of Lands has confirmed that the 40% location factor has been included in the valuation assessment, stated the response.

Having exhausted all the channels of communication with government, some gave up whilst others decided to take the matter to courts. Out of the relocated 1 895 residents, only 260 decided to do so.

The 260 then briefed the late Phazha Kgalemang, of Kgalemang and Associates, to represent them in the matter in 2008. Kgalemang wrote to the Attorney Generals Chambers, showing his clients' intention to sue and the issues. In response, the AG's Chambers said: You state that an undertaking was made to pay adequate compensation. Our records do show that all concerned have been paid all their dues. We are aware that there is a chorus of complaints based on the fact that the money paid is little, we deny reneging on any agreement of undertaking. It added: According to our records, the 40% location factor has been paid on all payments that have been made. The response also dismissed all other issues raised and further noted that the Tawana Land Board had complied with all its obligations and payments due had been complied with.

That was wrong, says Stefani Kazenambo, the committee secretary of all those relocated.

It was then that the residents went ahead with their court case, and when Kgalemang died, the case was taken over by Tshekiso. Despite having dragged on for a long time, the case finally came to an end towards the end of last year when the High Court ruled in favour of the residents.

The court set aside the resident's claims of 3% and 5% for water expenses and delayed payments respectively. The government was also ordered to pay legal costs for the residents.

Sebetlela to appear before High Court

By Keagisitswe Dioka

Police constable Tshepiso Sebetlela (29), who is facing a charge of manslaughter, is to appear for trial before the Francistown High Court on May 7, 8 and 9.

He is accused of shooting Mothusinyana Sephiri on the night of January 3, 2009, at his home in Sanyedi Ward while he (Sebetlela) was on patrol with other police officers.

The inquest into the shooting was conducted in March 2010 before Maun principal magistrate Clifford Foroma who ruled that the accused be charged with culpable homicide.

The ruling was made basing on the testimonies of officers who accompanied Sebetlela during the day of the incident and a gun expert from the Botswana Defence Force.

It was revealed during the inquest hearing that as per procedure after the warning shot was made by Sebetlela, he could have put it on safe mode to avoid the gun firing more bullets. Failing to clear the gun on a safe alert, the gun was not safe as it could have killed the whole crew.

I was further revealed that Sebetlela was not competent in the use of firearms as he told the court that he had used a rifle while he was on training at Otse Police College and during the night in question, adding that he was not at ease carrying a rifle.

Meanwhile, Sephiri Sephiri (80), the dead man's father, has expressed his concern on how the case was handled. He told The Ngami Times that they have waited a long time for the case to be prosecuted. He also said they have no hope of getting compensation soon as they are not even informed about the proceedings of the case.

The deceased, 27, was a housekeeper at Tati River Lodge in Francistown. He was shot at his place and the police revealed that it was a case of mistaken identity as the police were pursuing a robbery suspect from Boyei Ward on that night.

Doubts cast over animal surveys

Most stakeholders who attended a two-day workshop aimed at reviewing the status and threats facing wildlife in Botswana say estimates as well aerial surveys on populations of elephants and other animals conducted by Mike Chase, of the Elephants Without Borders organisation, were not convincing and comprehensive enough.

The workshop, which was attended by wildlife experts from across the country, was also aimed at evaluating the existing body of evidence for declines in species as well as to develop strategies which involve all relevant stakeholders for undertaking concerted research to better understand declines in a number of animal species.

The workshop was organised by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks with the support of the United States government through the USAID-funded Southern African regional Environmental Program (SAREP). Some stakeholders were of the view that because Chase's analysis differ from time to time, they are always left on the lurch as they would not know what to make of it or what to expect next. However, Chase said at the workshop he remained resolute with his past and present findings which he said are more than just accurate and to the point. He suggested that because of a serious concern of bush fires and illegal hunting, there should be an implementation of a fire management programme so that the lives of most species could be saved. The deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and National Parks, Edmont Moabi, said Botswana is rated among the few countries that still has significant wildlife populations which occur outside of national parks and game reserves, adding also that as a consequence of the different and unreliable rainfall amounts, there is a diversity of habitats ranging from sparsely bushed savanna in the Kgalagadi to the woodlands and wetlands of the north. These habitats, he said, fully support some species that are capable of existing independently on permanent surface water as compared to those whose existence is dependent upon unhindered access to perennial rivers and swamps in northern Botswana. He gave as examples some species which are threatened globally such as the cheetah, the wild dog and a few others for which he says Botswana still remains a stronghold. It is also worth noting that throughout Africa, large herbivore and carnivore populations have been affected by habitat destruction and excessive hunting, while the demand for additional land for pastoral and arable agriculture has also resulted in domestic animals and crop fields replacing the diverse indigenous communities of wild herbivores over large areas. Concern has also been recently been expressed about the status of several large mammals, particularly the Okavango delta even though the causes for the observed declines are not well understood, but could be related to a number of factors including changing flood regime, habitat fragmentation, anthropogenic pressures as well as an expanding elephant population, he said.

Budget: Not much for Ngamiland

The development budget of P2.1 billion allocated to the Ministry of Transport and Communications appears to be the only one which holds something for Ngamiland.

The recommended development budget for the 2012/13 financial year is P10.06 billion.

In his Budget speech this week, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Kenneth Mathambo, said the P2.1 billion will cover on-going and new projects that include the Kasane Airport, Charleshill to Ncojane road, and the Tonota to Francistown road as well as at Shashe, Tholodi and Tati.

The allocation also covers the cost of construction of new Kazungula and Thamalakane bridges. The largest share of the proposed ministry development budget at P2.69 billion was allocated to the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources.

The Ministry of Local Government, at P1.18 billion, takes the third largest share. Prominent among the ministry's development initiatives are the Ipelegeng and Village Infrastructure projects.

State's flawed way of doing things

It has been slightly over three years now since hospital services were transferred from the old Maun General Hospital to the supposedly state-of-the-art Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital in Disaneng.

It goes without saying that the official opening of the Letsholathebe by Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete on September 25, 2008, has been an apex of a long, elaborate planning period.

The issues surrounding the transition from the old to the new hospital have, however, high-lighted planning flaws that have come to define the government's way of operation.

Clearly, there were initially no plans on how to use the old asset that is presently going to waste. Similarly, the new hospital in 2008 opened to a plethora of challenges that included not only lack of critical equipment but also medical personnel.

Admittedly though, here in Ngamiland we have had our disproportionate share of planning disasters. For instance, the construction of a multi-million Pula fire station but without required equipment; or the construction of an airport, complete with wide-bodied jets accommodating runway but without the appropriate air traffic control tower.

In the case of health facilities, the old Maun hospital epitomised the care-free and recklessness of the public service towards public assets in Ngamiland. The Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) abattoir in Maun was also previously subjected to that following its closure in the aftermath of the cattle-lung disease (CBPP) outbreak, and later had to be refurbished at a great cost to the tax-payer.

Since being dumped for the new Letsholathebe, the old Maun hospital has suffered all sorts of unimaginable abuse. It has borne the brunt of unbridled vandalism, in some instances complete portable cabins being towed away from the premises by brazen criminals. It has also become a haven for criminals, and a home to illegal immigrants.

However, lack of foresight and innovation of the part of local authorities (all government departments) and elected authorities (councillors and members of parliament) are to blame for this sad state of affairs.

With minimal planning, the facilities at the old hospital could have readily been put to some fruitful use immediately after being vacated. There is a perennial acute shortage of office space for many a government department, a long list of which includes the departments of Transport, police, youth office beneficiaries, council and others.

The Health ministry's initial insistence that the property would remain a permanent wing of the Letsholathebe have been unconvincing, particularly that in the past three years all it can show is a 24-hour clinic that only became operational late last year.

Government should be reined in to start using public property frugally otherwise the increasing refrain of lack of funds cannot continue to be used to mask incompetence, lack of foresight and innovation on the part of the public service. And equally that of the elected leaders (councillors and members of parliament) who are dismally failing to play their advisory, facilitative and monitoring role.

There doesn't appear to be too much energy being placed on attracting investors to Botswana judging from new labour legislation which is being implemented in Maun, for instance.

Applicants for residence and work permits have apparently been informed on application that no longer will emergency work permits be issued except for periods of 30 months (and then cannot be renewed) and temporary permits for six months (also non-renewable).

Foreigners (ie expats and others) now apparently cannot have two companies at the same time and insofar as business licences are concerned, only one company is allowed to operate from a single building.

The ban on multi-licensing has seen several companies going to the wall over the past few weeks but it would appear no one in authority really cares losing investors. It is interesting though that there is one rule for the favoured and another for the ordinary guy supermarkets are a case in point as these stores sell everything from meat to pharmaceuticals, all under one roof.

If a lowly butcher tried that, he would be out of business immediately! Even curio shops stocking materials other than curios (such as postcards, newspapers, t-shirts etc) have lost their licences even though they attract tourists keen to buy mementoes of their visit to Maun, for instance.

Shuffle wonders what will happen to the big mining operations in Ngamiland if government persists in its head in the sand attitude towards investment.

At least the Chinese labourers at the new power station at Palapye were allowed in only for as long as the contract lasted more than 1 000 of them are due to be repatriated to their home country.

The government cries out for diversification but when it faces the issue, there is backtracking which makes massive international advertising campaigns by parastatals such as BEDIA nonsensical.

BEDIA says Botswana is open for business yes, dear!

Our picture of the pink elephant in the Okavango delta published last week has given great delight to our readers, some of whom readily admit to seeing pink elephants if they over-imbibe of alcoholic drinks.

Shuffle has done some research into pink elephants not the alcoholic ones but real ones!

According to the internet's Wikipedia, seeing pink elephants is a euphemism for drunken hallucination, caused by alcoholic hallucinosis or delirium tremens.

The first recorded use of the term is by author Jack London in 1913, who describes one kind of alcoholic, in the autobiographical John Barleycorn, as the man whom we all know, stupid, unimaginative, whose brain is bitten numbly by numb maggots; who walks generously with wide-spread, tentative legs, falls frequently in the gutter, and who sees, in the extremity of his ecstasy, blue mice and pink elephants. He is the type that gives rise to the jokes in the funny papers.

The association between pink elephants and alcohol is reflected in the name of various alcoholic drinks.

One cocktail is known as the Pink Elephant and is made with vodka, grenadine, Galliano and orange juice.

It doesn't take long for jokesters to make fun of events, both humorous and sad.

The Italian cruise ship that went aground the other day is a case in point, and Shuffle offers apologies to those who may be offended by these jokes that are doing the rounds right now.

* How do they serve alcoholic drinks on Italian cruise ships? - On the rocks

* What vegetables do you get with dinner on Italian cruise ships? - Leeks

* What's the fastest way to get off an Italian cruise ship? - Follow the captain

* When the captain of the ill fated Costa Concordia was asked if he knew where he was going he replied off course.

* So the captain of the Costa Concordia will soon be in the dock. That's more than can be said for his ship.

Letters to the Editor

Murky Savuti cellphone tower saga

Sir, - There have been several articles in national papers about the ongoing saga involving the controversial cellphone towers at Savuti and in other areas of the Chobe National Park. It seems that the tower in Savuti was removed because of a complaint by top management of a nearby safari lodge on the basis that the tower was in an unsuitable position and visible to all tourists on their way to the lodge. Perhaps more controversial was the fact that the process of removal began shortly after the president himself was taken to the area by the managing director of the company in question. This has led to further complaints that prominent safari companies in Botswana use their connections to high profile officials to influence policy making without consultation with other, less prominent, tour operators specifically those in Savuti!

One has to question how a unilateral decision for the removal of the tower can be made in such a short space of time. Furthermore, this is not the first time that a decision like this, that affects many park users, has been influenced by the owners of the lodge in question.

There are several issues that arise from this situation that I feel need to be pointed out as there have been considerable errors on the part of the government, the Department of Wildlife, the Minister of Tourism, the safari company in question and those companies and individuals that claim that the position of the cellphone tower is a good development for the Savuti area.

Let us first ask the question as to why Savuti should have qualified to receive cellphone infrastructure in the first place . According to the government's (BTC) telephony project, dubbed NTELETSA 11, the aim was to provide telecoms to over 200 villages and provide access to voice and data services to rural areas.

Why should Savuti be classed as a rural area? Surely it is neither a village nor a rural area and should not need such a service. Rather, it is a wilderness area and a national park, where there should not be any villages at all?

Yes, there are people living and working in the Savuti area, but if there should be cellphone communication there, does that now mean that we should supply such communication infrastructure to every remote park or game reserve where people work does that mean a tower for every lodge in the Okavango?

If it does, surely that will compromise the wilderness integrity of our country's most valued assets?

The government has disgraced itself further by the way the project for the tower was approved.

Enquiries made at the nearby lodges and to other operators in Maun and Kasane indicate that the first that various stakeholders knew of the towers was when the construction crews arrived.

How did such a project get approved without the knowledge of the nearby safari lodge (the one with influential friends)? Such knowledge could have meant that any objections to the tower could have been forwarded before its construction. How much of tax payers' money was wasted in the cost of construction and further, by its removal?

Most safari operators were certainly not informed of its construction, let alone consulted on whether it was appropriate. Indeed, if we need such a tower in Savuti, why could it not have been built somewhere less conspicuous?

One has to also ask whether the different government departments involved in this saga had consulted each other.

Surely the Minister of Tourism should have objected to its location on behalf of the many stakeholders in the tourism industry? After all, is he not the custodian of our wilderness areas and bound by duty to prevent degradation of our tourism product?

He obviously failed in this regard or perhaps he was not even properly consulted?

There is another argument put forward (according to the Botswana Guardian ) by many safari operators in Savuti that were in favour of the tower.

These operators have, most surprisingly, blamed the death of missing (and dead) tourists on the lack of a cellphone signal in our parks. They further claim that their businesses are not profitable because of the cost of using a satellite phone for emergencies. I find this argument less than convincing.

Firstly, the coverage of one cellphone tower in Savuti is not sufficient to provide coverage to an area as vast as the Chobe National Park. Secondly, it would require a huge investment to provide cover for all the remote transit routes where people could get stuck or go missing investment which is surely not available?

Therefore, the feasibility of using cellphone communication to make our parks safer should perhaps not be considered!

I ask those proponents of this argument to consider the following, more simple and affordable ideas as an alternative that can be implemented immediately:

1. Improve the recording method of vehicle movement through the entrance gates of the park. If the system currently in place was working, and those that monitor it actually took note of it, should a tourist vehicle with elderly passengers be able to go missing for 6 days before someone noticed? There should be better accounts of tourists that enter the park (by signing in) and those that leave by doing this the DWNP could save lives .

2. The lodges in the park need to be aware that, when tourists they are expecting do not arrive, then certain measures need to be followed. Perhaps checking the books at the park gates to check when they signed in? Perhaps calling a contact number provided by the clients for such emergencies maybe a relative?

The point is that a fatal situation such as that which happened last year should not be blamed on the lack of cellphone signal but rather on the lack of use of other expensive equipment already available to the Department of Wildlife. Indeed, every park gate has a radio. Every park gate has a telephone! We should look after our self-drive tourists by monitoring their movements and providing them with better advice and perhaps better warning and direction signs on certain roads?

Indeed, I believe that the above was being proposed when suggestions were made to use our current technology to improve the safety of our national parks .

As for operators not being able to afford adequate communication technology such as satellite phones or radios this is simply a case of working these costs into your prices and only using the phone for emergencies.

Perhaps consider using the text messaging service on the phone, which is far more affordable? Further to this, satellite phone technology will become cheaper in the future and there will be no unsightly towers necessary to ruin any views.

As stakeholders in the tourism industry, we need to ask ourselves what developments (not just cellphone towers) we want for our parks.

Zimbabwe is a sleeping giant and we may suffer the consequences if we degrade the integrity of our tourism product.

We all know that the reason it is easy to convince potential clients to visit Botswana is the fact that the parks are known to be remote, full of animals and incredibly beautiful. Now, if we build huge cellphone towers that compromise these because they are ugly and lead to further unnecessary development, then what will we be left with? The answer is something less attractive to the type of tourists we want to come here.

We should be trying to make Savuti more remote, more attractive and less like a village! Sadly, it seems that the government and other members of the industry have other ideas.

If we allow cellphones in Savuti, this will lead to protests and requests for towers at Third Bridge, Xakanaxa and South Gate. This may lead to tar roads or maybe shops, fuel stations, a police station or a clinic?

The point is that an unwanted precedent may be set here: the government and other stakeholders need to consider carefully the consequences of these developments. There have been further claims by other tour operators and guides (in the national papers) that tourists absolutely and categorically want cellphone towers. I am aware that people do have differing opinions on this matter but I have no doubt that most of the tourists that visit Botswana (and those that think about coming here) are quite happy to know that where they are going (the parks) there is no network coverage.

They remain content with the knowledge that their chosen tour operator is sensible enough to carry a satellite phone for emergencies and the company is able to absorb the cost of such a device.

What will happen after all this unnecessary development is that tourists will simply choose another safari destination perhaps Zambia or Zimbabwe?

I fear that we may rue the consequences of these actions and would ask that a clear policy is identified before any future deals are entered into.

BOB FLOWERS

Savuti

Sewage overhaul long overdue

Sir, - I refer to the recent headline The big smell as drains overflow

The Maun water and sewage upgrade is long overdue and would be almost complete were it not for a protracted dispute between the Department of Water Affairs and Bergstan consulting engineers.

Please will you investigate and reveal how intransigent one of or both parties are being.

As you mention in the article, your town is the gateway to the Okavango. A very smelly gateway, with cholera and other diseases a distinct possibility. That will kill tourism.

MONTY WALES

Gaborone

Maun to pilot primary care guidelines

Maun, together with Mahalapye, has been chosen as a pilot site for the primary care of non-communicatble diseases guidelines.

This follows the awarding of a research grant to the University of Botswana's School of Medicine by the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI).

MEPI supports foreign institutions in sub-Saharan African countries that recieive PEPFAR support.

Speaking at a meeting to introduce the guidelines in Maun last week, a health ministry official said the family medicine component (AIM 4) is set to transform some primary care clinics in Maun and Mahalapye from delivering vertical programmes (HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria clinics) to becoming teaching and implementation sites for family medicine and primary care.

He further noted that assistance has been sought from the Knowledge Translation Unit of the University of Cape Town (South Africa) to develop a validated method for developing country specific primary healthcare management guidelines which will address non-communicable diseases.

The intention is to help set up primary care service in the country through a compilation of guidelines that will help educate local health workers The guidelines will not in any way change anything that has been running in the health curriculum, but will reinforce any training that is already in place in Botswana.

Dr Ruth Cornik, of the Knowledge Translation Unit, said they have worked hard as a unit to implement a South African version of health which they now want to share with the rest of Africa, starting with Botswana.

She said the clinical guidelines will help nurses and doctors to access symptoms and chronic conditions before they can show any effects on a patient.

We want them to be absolutely applicable to your setting and for them to be applied to primary care 101 guidelines and ensure they are compliant, she said.

Access to medical help remains a challenge countrywide, particularly in third world countries, which therefore calls for seriousness in the provision of health services.

Maun East MP Frank Ramsden said the whole idea is an indication from any developing country that it is moving ahead with the much needed developments. He said the Botswana government will do everything possible to see that everything is implemented as planned, even though the country continues to loose a significant number of medical personnel who prefer to work overseas.

Access to medical help remains quite a challenge to date and it needs to be taken care of. It also calls for urgent mindset change because we cannot ignore a call for duty for our own people. We hope the school will entice those overseas to come back and work locally, he said.

Ramsden added people need to understand that once in operation, there will be much assistance needed, and that people should be prepared to donate their body parts which might however be peculiar to other people in various areas who are not used to it.

He said Botswana is slowly being accustomed to change, citing the commendable use of telemedicine at the Ghanzi and Nyangabgwe (Francistown) hospitals.

Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital superintendent, Dr Maxwell Mungisi, said the project is a welcome development in Botswana in terms of rendering post-graduate training. He said Maun residents will benefit.

This is an important move in the district that will improve the bulk of work in primary healthcare. We should realise that training of all who will have to go through it is also paramount in the sense that after training they will be prevalent in our area. Training of doctors here will also empower them and make them well experienced and evidenced practitioners, he said.

Here's an unusual take on the beat of burden, our humbler donkey. This touching picture, which would warm the hearts of many animal lovers, was taken somewhere in southern Africa the other day and shows a donkey owner helping his faithful friend to rest while he pulls the cart!

It's not the birds tweeting but people!

Young people tweeting from mobile devices are driving the growth of Twitter in Africa, according to How Africa Tweets, new research launched in Nairobi.

In the first ever attempt to comprehensively map the use of Twitter in Africa, Portland Communications and Tweetminster analysed over 11.5 million Tweets originating on the continent during the last three months of 2011. This analysis was complemented by a survey of 500 of Africa's most active Tweeters.

It was found that:

· South Africa is the continent's most active country by volume of geo-located Tweets, with over twice as many Tweets (5 030 226) during the 4 th quarter of 2011) as the next most active Kenya (2 476 800). Nigeria (1 646 212), Egypt (1 214 062) and Morocco (745 620) make up the remainder of the top five most active countries.

· 57% of Tweets from Africa are sent from mobile devices.

· 60% of Africa's most active Tweeters are aged 20-29.

· Twitter in Africa is widely used for social conversation, with 81% of those polled saying that they mainly used it for communicating with friends.

· Twitter is becoming an important source of information in Africa as 68% of those polled said that they use Twitter to monitor news. 22% use it to search for employment opportunities.

· African Twitter users are active across a range of social media, including Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn. Mark Flanagan, Portland's Partner for Digital Communications, says: One of the more surprising findings of this research is that more public figures have not joined Africa's burgeoning Twittersphere. With some notable exceptions, we found that business and political leaders were largely absent from the debates playing out on Twitter across the continent. As Twitter lifts off in Africa, governments, businesses and development agencies can really no longer afford to stay out of a new space where dialogue will increasingly be taking place. How Africa Tweets found that Twitter is helping to form new links within Africa. The majority of those surveyed said that at least half of the Twitter accounts they follow are based on the continent.

Abject poverty being tackled at highest level'

GABORONE - The Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mokgweetsi Masisi, has briefed a Chinese news agency on Botswana's efforts to promote economic diversification and eradicate poverty.

The interview focused on Botswana's relative success in reducing the number of its citizens living below the Poverty Datum Line from 59% in 1986 to 20% in 2010, and the government's current campaign to eradicate abject or absolute poverty.

Masisi attributed progress on the issue to Botswana investment of the proceeds of its mineral wealth into the social sector, including health and education.

He said the current Poverty Eradication campaign was especially focused on interventions to assist the approximately 45 000 Batswana who are now living in abject poverty to get on their feet. Abject poverty was locally measured by such indicators of deprivation as malnourishment, further affirming that food poverty was a critical challenge. Masisi said that in forging ahead with its people centred development agenda, Botswana was eager to learn from the success of others, such as China, which in recent years has moved some 300 million people out of poverty.

In both countries, abject poverty is mostly found in remote rural areas.

Baboons cause problems at border post.

KASANE - Troops of bag-snatching, truck-looting baboons are causing chaos at a border post between Zimbabwe and Zambia in daily raids for food, according to a report. Baboons are an issue that must be dealt with here because they destroy travellers' goods, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority station manager at the Chirundu border post, Tichaona Phiri, told NewsDay newspaper. Sometimes they bite or hit people on their faces if they try to defend their property and they can snatch ladies' handbags and even destroy cars as they search for food.The apes also tear up sacks of maize on trucks moving through the border, lawmakers were told during a visit to the site, located in a national park - These baboons can smell maize on trucks and considering their huge numbers, it is very difficult to control them, the newspaper quoted Phiri as saying.But the problem is that they behave like human beings and are very good tricksters, said Phiri. Baboons have long been a problem for tourists to the Moremi and Chobe parks particularly in the Third Bridge area of the Moremi Game Reserve and at camping sites.

DCEC experiences a decrease in reported cases

There was a major decrease in the number of cases reported to the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime in 2011 as compared to 2010.

A statement from DCEC indicates that for the period January 1 to December 31, 2011, a total of 1 414 reports were received while in the same period in 2010, there were 1 851 reports received, leading to a difference of 437. It further states that 459 reports were classified for investigations compared to 770 in 2010. Advices were given on 190 reports compared to 148 during the same period in 2010. Last year 38 reports were retained for intelligence whereas in 2010, only 25 reports were retained.

In 2011 there were 42 recurring reports while in 2010 there were 51. The remaining 685 reports were referred to relevant organisations and institutions as they did not fall within the remit of the Corruption and Economic Crime Act as compared to 857 reports were referred in 2010.

Supplies Assistant sentenced for forgery

MAHALAPYE - Goitsemodimo Pony Modiakgotla (32), a senior supplies assistant officer, appeared before the Mahalapye magistrates court facing three counts of forgery. She was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment on each count wholly suspended for three years on condition that she does not commit a similar offence.

The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC)'s investigations revealed that the accused, on three different occasions at Sefhare in the Mahalapye administrative district, forged the signatures and printed the names of TK Meshack, C Palayiwa and O Mudongo.

The signatures were forged on three separate Government Purchase Orders (GPO), and then presented as lawfully authorised to Section World (Pty) Ltd at Mahalapye.

Form Two student beats all at JC

Fourteen year old Luyando Mungisi is the country's pride.

This is the young girl who despite having only spent three months in a Form Three class managed to beat the rest, obtaining a merit and becoming the best performer in the Junior Certificate (JC) examinations country wide.

Luyando started in Standard One in 2003 at Phakalane English Medium School until she passed Standard Five, and later she went to Raserura English Medium School in Mochudi and then Leapotswe School in Maun where she also got straight A's in her Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE).

She began Form One at the same school until the Form Two second term, when her parents realised that their child was not only determined but also a promising bookworm and decided to enroll her at Premier Unified Secondary School in a Form Three class.

Three months later she sat for the examinations and obtained A in Mathematics, A in Private Agriculture, A in Commerce, A in General Science, B in Social Studies, A in Religious Education, B in English, A in Office Procedures, A in General Science and another A in Moral Education. In an interview with this week, she said it has not always been smooth sailing.I must admit my decision was a bit of a challenge. I was challenged in the sense that I had to prove myself and not disappoint my family and everyone around me. I therefore vowed that I had to work hard, and through hard work I have managed to do just as planned.

I remember how I used to go about knocking at my friends' doors and borrowing their Form Three material so as to revise, and how I used to pester my teachers at Premier for assistance, she said. Luyando added that besides her cooperative and encouraging teachers since Standard One, her parents and brother have also been a pillar of strength. Her advice to fellow students is that they must always strive to work hard and only aim for the best. She said they must also learn to respect teachers and fellow students.

Cop in court for causing death

By Keagisitswe Dioka

A case in which a police constable, Tshepang Taukobong, is facing three counts of causing death, driving while unfit to drive and failing to stop at the scene of crime commenced this week before Maun chief magistrate Mompati Taolo. It was said that on February 20 last year near Maun Senior Secondary School, he drove a Toyota Corolla motor vehicle and knocked down two pedestrians. The accused then allegedly sped off from the scene of the accident. A survivor, Charlton Sefophe, said he had accompanied his deceased workmate, Johnson Ntwaetsile, to a Boseja home where the latter had to collect some items from a cousin.

He said on their way back to Maun Lodge, where they were staying, they saw the lights of on-coming car but discovered belatedly that it was driving not on the tarred road but was headed straight for them. Before they could react the car had knocked them down.

Sefhophe said that he attempted to stand up only to realise his left leg was fractured. He also saw the car speeding away towards the Francistown road.

A traffic police officer, Constable Gothatamang Makoba (28), said he was on duty with Constable Mokani on patrol when he recieved a telephone report at around 8 pm that there was accident near the school gate. He went to the scene where he saw two men lying on the ground. He said they took the victims to the hospital where one was certified dead.

According to Makoba, there were allegations that the victims were knocked down by a white Corolla. He testified that there was a mirror and pieces of glass at the scene, and later received a tip-off about a white unregistered Toyota Corolla with no left mirror and damage on its front.

He said when they confronted Taukobong about the accident, he claimed to have no idea and they took him to the police station. He was told that they suspected him to be under the influence of alcohol and was tested. Constable Nonofo Joseph (28) also told the court that after a bar closed on February 20 last year and while on his way home along Tawana Road, he heard a car crash about 50 metres behind him.

He turned back and at the scene he found two men lying on the ground.

Joseph told the court that prior to the incident, the accused person was at a bar and holding a bottle of beer but adding that he was not sure whether the accused person was drinking. In cross-examination, Taukobong asked Joseph to clarify the distance where the victims were found lying and Joseph responded that they were about half a metre from the tarred road.

Taukobong also asked Joseph whether he had ever seen his car after the incident and whether it was dirty. Joseph responded that he saw the car after the accident but it was not muddy. He said the car had no left mirror. The hearing continues on March 16.

Botswana coal helps lessen demand on diamonds'

GABORONE - President Ian Khama told the first Coal Roadmap Pitso here this week that a number of emerging economies have led the growth in demand for the country's coal and that the country's immediate objective is to lessen dependence on diamonds. Khama noted that there are some factors which hinder the country from exporting coal to such markets including the necessary infrastructure to transport coal. There is also technology to reduce emissions from burning coal, as countries are expected to keep greenhouse gas emissions low - Botswana subscribes to best practices in the preservation of the environment, and we expect those standards to be maintained if not exceeded in future developments of coal, he said. Khama said the immediate objective is to lessen the country's dependence on diamonds. To address this, our fiscal regime for non-diamond minerals is predictable, has low rates for royalties and a competitive variable rate income tax formula. In totality, our fiscal regime is attractive and it imposes a low fiscal burden on the investor, he said. The government has commissioned a coal roadmap team to develop a national strategy on coal development, and to develop a blueprint for the orderly, timely and beneficial exploitation of coal resources. He said in preparation for a more meaningful and productive coal road map, a moratorium was placed on licensing of coal and associated minerals. He added that the aim was to curb speculation because many licence holders neither had the funds nor the technical capability to execute the approved programme of prospecting. Speculation was clearly unproductive and not in the interest of the optimal development of the coal resource, he said. The prospecting licensing regime for coal will have to be overhauled to ensure that the licences are issued to individuals with adequate resources to prospect and develop the mine and associated infrastructure. He added that the government will now issue coal prospecting licences over areas with detailed resource information on a tender basis. He said areas with limited or no geological information will be issued on a competitive basis, adding that areas earmarked for tendering but with limited geological information will be reserved for evaluation and development by government before being issued on a tender basis. (BOPA)

Austerity programme to continue in Botswana

GABORONE - The government says that with the current international economic volatility, as reflected in this month's downgrade of projected global economic growth by the World Bank, along with the continued need for balanced public spending, it means the country will have to continue to do more with less in the coming year.

This was a key message put forward by vice president Mompati Merafhe when he recently addressed Mahalapye residents. He said that while prevailing circumstance was a challenge as stakeholders finalise their spending plans the budget proposals for the 2012-13 financial year will cater to the needs of all Batswana. In this respect, the government will continue to target such areas as economic diversification and poverty eradication in line with its long term commitments.

Solar power station will help power needs

GABORONE - The Japanese ambassador to Botswana, Hiroyashu Kobayashi, says he is optimistic that Botswana's first photo voltaic (solar) power station due for completion in August will ease the current power shortage.

The project, funded by Japanese Environmental Grant Aid at a cost of P80-million, is part of Japan's response to mitigate effects of climate change in African countries

Speaking during a site visit in Phakalane, Gaborone, Hiroyashi said the Japanese government has been making efforts to tackle world climate change issues through economic and technical cooperation.

The Phakalane project is one of the most noticeable projects that will materialise to introduce clean and renewable energy by solar electricity generation system, he said. The 1.3 MW power station, which will be connected to the national grid, will be able to serve some parts of Gaborone to augment energy capacity.

The Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) manager for planning and projects, Dhafana Philimon, said the project's success might lead to the proliferation of similar stations and a shift away from non-renewable energy sources. The project is being implemented by BPC and several Japanese companies including Japan International Corporation System, Itochu Corporation (main contractor), Huji Furukawa Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd.

Disaster grips the nation

The cheering and chanting, the anticipation and the good hope, the selling out of Zebras replica jerseys, the demand of a day off work, the suspension of all Saturday activities, the flying of the national flag by people of different tribes, race, colours, heights and ages across the whole country came crashing down on Saturday and Wednesday.

It left many weeping for the national football squad, the Zebras who were walloped by Guinea 6-1 and then fell 2-1 to Mali.

The national squad was handed its heaviest defeat at the AFCON finals by Guinea who handed them half a dozen goals to a penalty reply by the veteran Diphetogo Selolwane.

Zebras supporters who had blamed the coach Stanley Tshosane for his defensive approach to the Ghana game which saw Ghana win 2-1 - and throughout the week through the media and radio and TV hoped to see an attack minded approach applied is what the retired army colonel succumbed to in order to please the nation.

He left behind him the system he had used for all the years since he took over the reigns of coach and it is history now that pleasing the supporters proved a lesson to many as supporters should have left the coach to do his job and we do ours of supporting the team.

Zebras put everything into attack and Guinea, playing a different strategic game from the one applied by Ghana, became hotter than green chillies, scoring the opener in the first 20 minutes. Zebras replied from the penalty spot after Jerome Ramatlhakwane was brought down in the box in what looked like a dangerous tackle from the Guinea goalkeeper.

The referee pointed to the spot with Selolwane missing the first kick after the goalkeeper had moved from the goal line before the ball was kicked.

On the second take, Dipsy hammered in a scorcher that sent the country crazy with excitement.

But, disaster was looming and indeed it happened when Guinea got their second goal to open the floodgates with our boys chasing shadows each time Guinea crossed the centre line.

Zebras finally crashed out of AFCON on Wednesday night, losing their final game to Mali 2-1.

The result saw Mali book themselves a berth in the quarter finals against Group C winners and co-hosts Gabon on February 5 while Ghana played to a 1-1l draw with Guinea to finish top of Group D and also book a last 16 berth with Tunisia on the same date. The Mali game was a far better showing by Zebras who went into this game trying to redeem themselves from the earlier 6-1 drubbing.

Soccer lovers always fickle - showed not much enthusiasm about the game, unlike in the past were motorcades were the order of the day when the tournament kicked off. Singing and chanting Zebras slogans was not heard, the flag and its colours was seen in limited places and even the big screen televisions had less or no people to watch.

There was a lot was at stake and Zebras left the Libreville stadium with their heads high after putting on a splendid performance, and were very unlucky to lose the encounter.

The team held the North African giants to a goalless first half, but in the 51 st minute, Tsotso Ngele who was adjudged Man of the Match took a pass from Mafoko, pushed a neat pass to Jomo Moathlaping on his right and continued a brave run towards the Mali box. Jerome Ramatlhakwane dashed out of the box pulling one defender along with him to create space for the young Ngele and without wasting time, Jomo crossed an inch perfect pass that was met by the running Ngele, who hammered a first time shot to beat the Mali keeper hands down to give the Zebras a deserved lead.

Four minutes later a square ball from the right was driven into the box by the Malian striker. Five Zebras defenders could not clear the cross and as a result one of the strikers packed a powerful shot at goals at the mercy of Talk Talk Motlhabankwe and the ball was saved brilliantly by the Zebras goalie, Modiri Marumo, who got it back into play but Se Keita - who plies his trade with Spanish club Barcelona - beat Mogogi Gabonamong to the rebound to send a stinger to the top of the roof and level the scores at 1-1.

A substitution was made by Mali in the 73 rd minute and the player introduced created the ball that separated the two sides when he beat a stretched Motlhabankwe with a simple touch that Se Keita curled out of Marumo's reach to the top left corner and after this goal, Mali - sensing qualification - kept more ball possession a time killing move.

The tournament has proved to be a learning curve for Botswana.

We should all believe the players learnt a lot but fresh legs and young blood will be a good move in building the future of the team for the next AFCON tournament.

Maun Heroes overcome Zungu

Maun Heroes overcame the struggling Zungu edging them by 2-1 in a Nhabe regional league game on Saturday.

Zungu has struggled since the league resumed last year and been prone to whippings from the other teams in the region.

Delta Winds playing a double fixture to catch up on first round fixtures, and collected 4 points from their two outings on Saturday and Sunday. They routed a rejuvenated Moeti side on Saturday and held to a 1-all draw at home to another struggling side Maun BMC at a more of a ploughing field at Wildlife Anti-Poaching ground.

Saturday was not a good day for football teams as not even a single referee went to the grounds for reasons known only to them.

League committee chairman Kebonyethebe DK Dimakatso was seen on his cellphone trying to track down the whereabouts of the officials and those he managed to get hold of gave excuses of being committed. The referees' chairman, Jack Cassalis, was said to have gone to church and as a result the game between Brothers of Peace and Cubs could not take place while that between Delta Winds and Moeti United was handled by a volunteer who was picked from the crowd that had gone to watch the two sides play.

On Sunday however there were referees galore - even the ones not due to officiate on the day.

Unfortunate though were Makgabisanaga and Fuji Rollers as Cassalis called off their game because the two sides are allegedly both in arrears in as far as payment for referees is concerned.

North West United was beaten 2-1 by CTO e in a thriller at MTC ground. United missed the services of they hard tackling captain Naswi and midfield maestro Omphile who were red carded the previous week.

Maun Terrors combining youth and experience proved again that experience counts in winning games, and demolished a spirited Moeti 2-1. Wrapping up the weekend games was a match between current log pacesetters Gunners of Khwai, led by the much travelled coach TV 4, and the youthful Maun United under the guidance of two Sedie CJSS coaches, Trevor Segaetsho and player-coach MGP Magapotona. United suffered a setback when they lost the encounter 3-1.

This weekend sees Maun Terrors entertain Horizon Stars at WAP on Saturday (3.30pm) and Makgabisanaga welcome Moeti at MTC at the same time, while on Sunday Cubs take on Gunners of Khwai at WAP and Delta Winds have a date with Zungu at MTC (2pm) with Fuji and CTO battling it out at 4pm. Maun BMC will play hosts to BOP at Maun Stadium at 2pm and Maun Heroes clash with North West at 4pm.

League teams refused to play

Lack of teamwork and cohesion among 1st Division North teams and the executive committee continues to impede the smooth running of football in the region.

This became evident during the AFCON break when the committee suggested that teams should continue with fixtures in order to take advantage of the availability of grounds that are usually difficult to secure when be Mobile premier league games are in progress.

The secretary general of the league, Bikie Sikwane, said the suggestion was rebuffed by clubs.

He added that although teams appreciated the challenge of ground shortages when the premier league is in session, they still insisted on taking a break during the AFCON tournament.

Sikwane said the lack of cooperation from clubs will have a bearing on when the league will be completed and as a clubs will be forced to forego the Easter break in order to deal with outstanding fixtures. (BOPA)

Fani appointed to FIFA committee

Botswana Football Association (BFA) president David Fani has been appointed onto the FIFA Marketing and Television Committee after the re-composition and restructuring of FIFA Standing Committees.

Fani is the second Motswana to serve in a FIFA committee after Ismail Bhamjee who served in the FIFA Executive Committee, FIFA Finance Committee and FIFA National Associations Committee.
He is also the third Motswana to serve in a FIFA structure after Ashford Mamelodi who is employed as FIFA development officer at the FIFA office in Gaborone with responsibility for FIFA

Permalink | View Entire Page

29 Jan ' 12:08

Edition 587 27 January - 3 February 2012

CELEBRATION TIME FOR ZEBRAS FANS

It was like a thousand New Year celebrations rolled into one in Maun and across Botswana this week as the country held its breath when the Zebras clashed with Ghana in Africa's football showpiece, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON). Ghana may have won 1-0 on Tuesday, but that did not stop thousands of fans at venues across Ngamiland and beyond celebrating the arrival of their team in the top ranks of African football.

The AFCON match was for many a time to weep as the local side lost but all is not over the dream of success is still alive as there are still pool games tomorrow (Saturday) against Guinea and on February 1 against Mali.

Maun fans began celebrating the first game hours before the kick-off. Many businesses gave their employees time off from as early as 11.30am while most allowed staff to go to work dressed in the Zebras colours.

Shops did a roaring trade in jerseys and bandanas. The police led a noisy motorcade of Zebras fans round the streets, drawing attention to the big game in such a way that there were literally no vehicles on the streets when the referee blew his whistle for the start of the historic encounter.

Bars and other places of entertainment did a roaring trade, and this promises to repeat itself this weekend and next week. Every patriot had a lump in their throat when Fatshe Leno La Rona, the country's melodic national anthem, was sung before a global television audience at the Stade de Franceville in Gabon before the Zebras took on Ghana.

Batswana have over decades supported their national sport, but results were so poor most of the continent's big forces did not take the Zebras seriously and it took President Ian Khama to fly to Franceville last Sunday to instill a sense of pride in the national team and to put their grievances over payment to one side. The Zebras fought gallantly against Ghana, but could not kick as was expected by supporters and on numerous occasions pressed their opponents trying to find an equaliser after a corner kick was conceded by the Zebras in the 25 th minute and as a result poor marking in the box, this saw Mensah push his way in front of Ndiyapo Letsholathebe to drive home the only goal.

After that Zebras made their presence felt, giving the other group D teams Guinea and Mali food for thought with a free-flowing style of play.

The captain, Mompati Thuma, showed his class, standing tall in defence and taking no threats from one of the continent's deadliest strikers, Asamoa Gyani, breathing down his neck each time they went for the ball. Zebras left wing player Phenyo Mongala, who lacked the usual support on the right wing after Joel Mogorosi's blow of a wrist injury, worked tirelessly to keep the team functioning on the left and saw his long clearance from the Zebras half in the 65 th minute fall in front of the African Player Prospect, Jerome Ramatlhakwane, who in turn outpaced Mensah, and with Matlhakwane facing the goalkeeper and sure of an equaliser, Mensah committed a professional foul just centimeters from the penalty box bringing Ramatlhakwane down to deny the Zebras an equaliser

The referee did not hesitate in showing Mensah red. The Zebras fired on all cylinders with a strategy that coach Stanley Tshosane applied - that is If not broken, don't mend it. He gambled by introducing the tricky Pontsho Moloi for an over-worked Jomo Moatlhaping and the chances were that Zebras were likely to get free kicks as the Ghanaians were showing signs of heavy legs.

Another noticeable event was the constant calling of the Lord's name by white clothed Ghanaians in the crowd who saw that divine intervention was the most they sought of to overcome the stubborn Zebras.

The Zebras missed the services of veteran midfield cum striker Diphethogo Dipsy Selolwane who was serving a two yellow cards suspension but will be available for selection for the Saturday game against Guinea at the same venue in Franceville (5pm). Guinea are also expected to come wounded into the match after losing their opening game to Mali by a solitary goal while Ghana and Mali clash at 8pm at the same venue. Group A saw the other Southern Africa side Zambia firing out much-fancied Senegal 2-1 with goals from their captain, Christopher Katongo, and Mulambo in the first 20 minutes to top the group. Then Equatorial Guinea, knocked out Senegal with a 1-0 win after earlier beating Libya 1-0.

A pink elephant in the Okavango bush

A pink elephant! Yes, there's one in the Okavango delta and here's the picture to prove it. The BBC Online News featured on Monday in its Most Popular Read story an article on the albino African elephant, an extremely rare phenomenon. The calf was originally sighted and photographed by cameraman Mike Holding of Afriscreen films, while he was filming for a BBC wildlife programme in March 2009 and again by cameraman Richard Uren in 2011. Both sightings took place in NG 31, the Chitabe concession, bordering Moremi Game Reserve and the timing corresponded with the arrival of the floods in the delta. We only saw it for a couple of minutes as the herd crossed the river. This was a really exciting moment for everyone in camp. We knew it was a rare sighting - no-one could believe their eyes, Holding recalled this week. Ecologist Dr Mike Chase, who runs the conservation charity, Elephants Without Borders, said: This is probably the first documented sighting of an albino elephant in northern Botswana. Albinism is caused by a very rare mutation or gene. Usually genes like albinism are recessive, so even if an animal or a person carries one of those genes it will not be expressed unless determined by a genetic analysis. In the rare instance an animal receives two recessive albino genes - one from each parent - it will be an albino. Chase added: What happens to albino elephant calves remains a mystery. Surviving this very rare phenomenon is extremely difficult in the harsh African bush, because the glaring sun may cause blindness and severe skin problems. He told BBC News that there might be a ray of hope for the pink calf as it already seemed to be learning to adapt to its condition - because this elephant calf was sighted in the Okavango Delta, he may have a greater chance of survival. He can seek refuge under the large trees and cake himself in a thick mud, which will protect him from the sun. If anyone is lucky enough to sight this rare elephant, they can contact Elephants Without Borders in Kasane. (Picture: Mike Holding, Afriscreen Films).

It's an invasion of worms!

By Lets Open

Maun is being invaded by a worm which has caused discomfort to school children, pedestrians and businesses. The small worms have been found in various parts of the town, and hundreds last week caused screaming children at one primary school to drop their lunch boxes as the worms managed to find access to sandwiches and fruit.

Stanbic Bank manager Jane Hrusa said this week that the worms had been found in her bank causing discomfort to staff and clients. However, an official at the Agriculture department she did not want her name mentioned because officials in Gaborone had placed a blanket of silence on the situation said the worm did not appear to be harmful to animals or humans but they are causing concern in many homes and on farms, she added. Trees were a favourite place for the worms, dropping down from branches and leaves on unsuspecting people resting in the shade.

It is thought that the worm is in fact butterfly larvae. It does not appear to be related to mopane worms but has however so far defied identification. A medical doctor who agreed the worm was related to the butterfly said it did not appear dangerous or poisonous to humans and animals it could cause temporary infections if not brushed off the body, he warned. There are thousands of different kinds of worms. The largest species measure many meters long, while the smallest cannot be seen .

Those on the streets of Maun this week are brownish in colour and about a centimeter long

Cattle farmers want to know slaughter dates

Staff Reporter

Farmers in Ngamiland's main livestock production Zone 2D are still in the dark as to when the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) will start buying cattle from their area.

Earlier this week the Maun BMC abattoir general manager, Goabaone Ranko, attributed the delay in communicating such information to the area's farming community to the Department of Veterinary Services.

Ranko maintained that we have not yet considered the slaughter from Zone 2D as we are still awaiting advice from the Department of Veterinary Services. We have to get an instruction from the Veterinary department.

The principal veterinary officer in Ngamiland, Dr Obakeng Kemolatlhe, however told The Ngami Times his department has issued the veterinary movement protocol late last year - that movement protocol does not say anything about not selling livestock from Zone 2D. It (protocol) allows it.

Zone 2D, which covers the areas between the Kuke and Makalamabedi veterinary cordon fences, accounts for 80% of Ngamiland's more than 400 000-strong herd. The slaughter of the Zone 2D livestock was initially scheduled for December 14, 2011 but had to be suspended after reported foot-mouth-disease (FMD) cases in the Bodibeng area during that month. The farming community had learnt that that outbreak had stabilised and the disease was no longer spreading, hence their expectations that the slaughter would commence earlier. However, it would appear the information on the possible new slaughter dates is being poorly communicated to the farming communities by the BMC.

As the chairman of the Hainaveld Farming Association, Phillip Wright, said: We had expected to sell either at the end of March or beginning of April. Obviously there is poor communication between the relevant agency and the farmers.

Traffics cops vow more visibility on roads

By Basadi Morokotso

The police have promised to stage more sporadic road blocks in Maun as an awareness measure, and in a bid to sensitise road users to be extra vigilant on the roads considering the many road accidents which have taken place as a result of negligence.

Their visibility on Maun streets was the talk of town on Monday, leaving some members of the public wondering if they were targeting something or if they were acting on a tip off.

Station Traffic Officer Superintendent Alfred Magudu said the road blocks are a routine operation which they stage whenever they feel there is need to do so, adding that in most cases they have apprehended and charged road users.

We have realised also that some people are ignorant and therefore usually think they know when and where we stage our road blocks. We have also learnt that there are some irresponsible motorists who, seeing our road blocks or speed traps, go about alerting all those they would meet along the way of our presence on the roads.

So we want to prove them wrong and make them realise we are in fact doing this to save their lives, not to cause havoc, hence our mission to stage road blocks randomly when they least expect it, he said.

He said taxi drivers have also been strongly warned and shown the need to try to improve their ways of driving which he said has for a long time been more freestyle, also causing confusion on Maun busy roads.

I personally had a brief meeting with them at the bus rank recently and told them of the need to cooperate with other road users because it is paramount.

Next week's edition of The Ngami Times will include a special supplement on Mining in Ngamiland.

Editorial

Zebras sterling performance

The Zebras debut on Tuesday at the Orange Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2012 in Franceville, Gabon, was indeed a moment to relish not only for our players but also the nation at large. The majority of our citizens could have not been physically in Gabon but their undying spirit was definitely there.

Though they went down one goal to nil against the highly-rated Black Stars of Ghana, the Zebras sterling performance demonstrated its maturity in competing at the highest level, as the president of the Botswana Football Association (BFA), David Fani, was to later aptly note.

Even our opponents, the Black Stars, appeared to have been alive to the Zebras' capabilities as they treated the encounter with the requisite respect. The Ghanaians wisely ignored our detractors' ridicule that sought to portray the Zebras as a walk-over, for the Zebras meteoric rise, that saw the Botswana side clinching the coveted pedestal of being the first to qualify for the games and being nominated the Africa Team of 2011 must have been enough to strike fear in the heart of the Stars. And it showed in their approach to the game.

We shudder to think what could have befallen the Black Stars had the Zebras not experienced mishaps days leading up to the tournament.

The Zebras had to go into their opening match without their trusted and mature captain, Dipsy Selolwane, who was suspended for one match by CAF for the yellow cards he collected during the run-up to AFCON 2012 games. As if that was not enough, the team suffered another blow when their striker, Joel Mogorosi, had to return home after sustaining a fractured arm during a preparatory exercise in Cameroon.

The two mishaps, however, appears to have done little to dampen the national team's spirits. Similarly, Zebras' supporters throughout the country were in high spirits. The electrifying atmosphere that engulfed the country on Tuesday is something that will be cherished for years by those who were caught up in it.

It is amazing how sport can unify the people for the good of humanity. For once, we had forgotten our differences and focussed on something that is for the common good of all Batswana, the African people and indeed the entire human race.

Let us continue to enjoy the unifying factor that the Orange Africa Cup of Nations 2012 is to provide in the coming two weeks. What a way to start a year!

A new airline is scheduled to take to the skies soon. The all-jet Blue Sky Aviation will hopefully be operating within the next few weeks or depending on whether it will be given a licence to operate scheduled flights from Gaborone.

It will be operated by Flying Mission Services, which has been in Botswana for the past 30 or so years.

The people behind Blue Sky have not been identified as yet but it is thought that big business and family trust funds are heavily involved in an airline which should prove a very viable carrier in competition with Air Botswana.

Blue Sky has acquired one Boeing 737 so far and hopes to get a few more.

Reports say the airline plans routes to Maun, Francistown, Kasane and other Botswana airports. It's about time the routes were flown by jets.

One hopes that by the time the Boeing arrives in Maun, the airport will be capable of handling the passengers and more importantly their luggage without the bun fight to reclaim bags that usually ensues when passenger planes land here.

Night flights to and from the airport could also prove a problem as the airport's generator is out of action during this time of load shedding and there does not seem to be an electrical engineer worth his salt to repair it! This particularly affects medical evacuations (medivacs).

We note nothing has been done about the unbelievable mess outside a local Maun nightclub first thing in the morning, despite legislation banning drinking on the street. The police and district council officials, it would appear, continually turn a blind eye to the situation, and this makes one wonder whether there is not collusion at work here. Shuffle is aware that adjoining property owners and their tenants are more than fed up with the antics of so-called nightclubbers, but these don't want to be identified for fear of being targeted.

A fool's guide to pipes as published last week in a SADC government's official gazette!

1. All pipes are to be made of a long hole, surrounded by metal copper or plastic, centred around the hole.

2. All pipes are to be hollow throughout the entire length. Do not use holes of different length than the pipe.

3. The ID (Inside Diameter) of all pipe must not exceed their OD (Outside Diameter) otherwise the hole will be on the outside.

4. The pipe is supplied with nothing in the hole, so that water, steam or other stuff can be put inside at a later date.

5. All pipe is to be supplied without rust; this can be more readily applied at the job site. NOTE: Some vendors are now able to supply pre rusted pipes. If available in your area, this product is recommended, as it will save a great deal of time at the job site.

6. All pipe over 150m in length should have the words LONG PIPE clearly painted on each side and end, so the contractor will know it's a long pipe.

7. Pipe over 3 000m in length must also have the words LONG PIPE painted in the middle so the contractor will not have to walk the entire length of the pipe to determine whether it is a long or short pipe.

8. All pipe over 1.8m in diameter must have the words LARGE PIPE painted on it, so the contractor won't mistake it for a small pipe.

9. Flanges can be used on pipes. Flanges must have holes for bolts, quite separate from the big holes in the middle.

10. When ordering 90 or 30 degree elbows, be sure to specify left hand or right hand, otherwise you will end up going the wrong way.

11. Be sure to specify to your vendor whether you want level, uphill or downhill pipe. If you use downhill pipe for going uphill, the water will flow the wrong way.

12. All couplings should have either right hand or left hand threads, but do not mix the threads, otherwise, as the coupling is being screwed on to one pipe, it is being unscrewed from the other.

13. All pipes shorter than 3mm are very uneconomical in use, requiring many joints. They are generally known as washers.

14. Joints in pipes for water must be watertight. Those pipes for compressed air, however, need only be airtight.

15. Lengths of pipes may be welded or soldered together. This method is not recommended for concrete or earthenware pipes.

16. Other commodities are often confused with pipes. These include; Conduit, Tube, Tunnel, and Drain. Use only genuine pipes

So there you have it. You cannot go wrong, go wrong, go wrong. Or can you>

HEALTH MESSAGE As I was lying in bed pondering the problems of the world, I rapidly realised that I don't really care. It's the tortoise life for me!

* If walking/cycling is good for your health, the postman would be immortal.

* A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water, and is fat.

* A rabbit runs and hops, and only lives 15 years.

* A tortoise doesn't run and does nothing, yet it lives for 450 years.

And you tell me to exercise?? I don't think so. I'm a senior. Go around me! .*

Last word:

Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM . Please use the back door.

Partner with government to help the poor' says Khama

By Basadi Morokotso

XAIXAI - President Ian Khama has called on Batswana to partner with government in a bid to help the masses of less privileged people countrywide who still live under harsh conditions.

He said here the government alone cannot afford to fend for all, hence the need for active collaboration from all spheres and in all aspects.

Khama said the fact that many still live under abject poverty cannot be ignored, adding that this also bears testimony that there is still a long way to go before this country can rid itself of poverty - which therefore calls for any amount of possible assistance so as to allow the less fortunate to lead normal lives.

Khama was speaking at a ceremony during which 25 houses were handed over to deserving remote area dwellers who have never experienced or known the comfort of having a roof over their heads. The ministies of Local Government and Agriculture also jointly donated 30 goats to each of some 20 households.

The project is said to have been chosen through consultations with the community since they know and understand their needs better.

The North West District Council, in partnership with the Department of Animal Health Production, is to supply 4,560 goats to Xaixai and 52 beneficiaries in eight gazetted remote Area Dwellers (RADS) settlements in the district.

The senior private secretary to the President, Duke Masilo, said it was not an easy task sourcing financial assistance from companies and individuals, adding however that Batswana have been kind enough and have heeded to the president's call.

He said it is up to the beneficiaries to ensure that the donations are taken care of and are used in the most appropriate way.

We have heard of incidents whereby some people rent out these houses and continue living in poverty. That practice is not only discouraging, but very wrong and uncalled for. Be warned also that stern measures will be taken to ensure that all falls into place because we do not want a situation whereby our donors lose hope as this will paint us all black and see us as people who have no direction and have poor coordination, he said.

The Acting NWDC Secretary, Motlogelwa Thuso, said as council they have been humbled by the fact that despite the bad roads and distance, nothing has ever halted developments to reach areas such as Xaixai and other settlements.

He said they have also managed to attend some of the challenges they faced because the Office of the President was always reachable and making things easier for them.

Thuso called on beneficiaries to take the responsibility of managing their livestock and allow them to breed because if they continue selling the animals, as this has come to their attention, they will be left with nothing and will never graduate from poverty.

The donors included among others, Mahommed Dada, of Broadhurst Motors, Willy Kathurima of Kathurima Associates, Farouk Chopdat of Choppies, Rafik Sartar of World Group and Salim Shaik of Builder's World.

* See also Weekender

Health workers trained in fighting malaria

By Lesley Van Neel

The Ministry of Health, through the Department of Preventative Services, has been holding malaria case management training to empower health workers on knowledge of malaria in Ngamiland.

The training focused on prevention, detection of malaria cases and effective treatment and was attended by government health workers from Ngamiland and the private and tourism sectors.

In an interview with The Ngami Times, Kim Mashimango, head of Preventative Services of Ngami District Health Management Team, who was also the facilitator of the training workshop, said that they wanted to train as many people as possible to be able to fight malaria.

Mashimango said that the workshop is not the first of its kind, but is the first after the adoption of the concept of malaria elimination by 2015 in Botswana - we want to give health workers knowledge to change their mindset and see malaria as a disease that can be eliminated, he said.

Mashimango also named some of the major interventions that come with the malaria elimination concept. He mentioned the need of health education of the community, the distribution of long lasting insecticide-sprayed nets (LLIN), indoor residue spraying using DDT which started in October 2011 and the effective treatment of malaria using Artemethen Lumefantrine (LA).

He also said that they are going to strengthen surveillance of malaria cases and do contact tracing of cases.

The malaria case management training is annual event and they endeavour to run it in October before the transmission period. The transmission period in the Ngamiland area usually starts from November 1.

Botswana turns down Namibia help with power'

The Botswana Power Corporation would have been saved the grave power outages of the last two weeks had Botswana accepted an offer of emergency supply from Namibia, says the website iBotswana. Quoting the Gaborone newspaper, Sunday Standard , it says the government chose to spurn the Namibian offer for fear of annoying and antagonising the South African power authority, Eskom, who are by far the region's most powerful supplier and energy mainstay. Botswana has for the last two weeks been experiencing intermittent power supplies. This has caused major disruptions in both businesses and households. Botswana currently imports 90% of its energy from South Africa, but the supply has been badly disrupted over the last two weeks due to factors happening in Botswana and South Africa, reports iBotswana. In South Africa, Eskom had to reduce their supplies to Botswana as a result of planned maintenance work ahead of winter. In Botswana a fuel powered generator connected to the national grid in Orapa also operated below par as a result of maintenance. The website also says recent heat waves have also meant that all the generator power currently available had to be reduced to allow sufficient cooling of the plants. It says with South Africa unable to meet its contractual obligations, Namibia had offered Botswana supplies but a fear of long-term ramifications arising from a possible diplomatic fallout led to Botswana turning down the offer.

South African power generation is by far the single largest component of the Southern African Power Pool, a basket arrangement through which SADC countries pull together to meet their energy needs, the website adds. BPC spokesperson Spencer Moreri said South Africa was living up to its obligations. Orapa and Morupule A' are running below capacity. South African imports are constrained because of ongoing repairs in South Africa, he said. We acknowledge that this is a national problem. The good thing is that Botswana government has been making interventions to assist BPC, he said. Moreri says the corporation is working around the clock to address the 130 megawatts nationwide power deficit. BPC is negotiating to obtain about 22 megawatts within the region in addition to the 70 megawatts expected from the Matshelagabedi diesel power plant and 45 megawatts from the Orapa plant.The situation should have normalised by next week, but if the demand is surpassed load shedding will be inevitable, he added. Moreri said electricity from Matshelagabedi will come in two phases starting with 35 megawatts. He noted that the country needs 540 megawatts at peak hours, but that it can only supply 410 megawatts, adding that South Africa's Eskom cannot manage to offer electricity on emergency in addition to the 350 megawatts it supplies to the country.

Reporter Basadi Morokotso pictured with two happy members of the community at remote Xaixai recently.

Journey to Xaixai is an adventure!

By Basadi Morokotso

GWIHABA CAVES - I have always been filled with excitement whenever there is a trip to undertake, particularly in instances where I was to go to an area for the first time. At times I would even dream and imagine myself there already.

However, that was not the case when I was assigned to cover President Ian Khama's recent event in Xaixai settlement - although the trip started off well from Maun until we went past gravel roads in Kaure settlement, a few kilometres from Tsau.

We were told the Nokaneng-Qangwa road was even worse. We were in a North West District Council (NWDC) 4x4 vehicle which was in an excellent condition, and the driver was up to the task but I must admit throughout the journey, all was not well with me.

The dirt and bumpy road made me feel a little dizzy, tired and so unwell, and all of a sudden there was an element that kept telling me I might pass out!

The whole feeling frightened me, and all the excitement went off abruptly. I kept asking the other occupants if we were anywhere near our destination, and all they could do was laugh their lungs out because they knew we were miles away - and that scared me even more.

I felt so sick even though I kept pretending I was getting better. They even suggested we stop for a brief rest, but I refused because really I did not have a clear idea of what lay ahead or what to expect. We went on until we reached the renowned Gcwihaba Caves- a World Heritage Site formerly known as the Drotsky caves - and I immediately saw it as a blessing in disguise because I was going to view the caves for the first time.

For me that was a great bonus because I am the kind of person who likes exploring and learning about new things. I also like to surround myself with people who have gone places because it also gives me an opportune time to learn.

As we went up the hill, our driver lost track of the road and he immediately communicated by cellphone with someone who manages the area, and in no time we were on the right road . . .

We found a contingent of Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and government vehicles and were told President Khama had been camping for a few days, and I guessed that was because he was on transit to Xaixai where he was to officiate at the handing over ceremony of houses to needy families, another bonus!

I mean, it's a very rare opportunity to get into contact with the First Citizen.

Without wasting any time, we were ushered into the dark Gcwihaba Caves with a lot of small openings from the main entrance. Although beautiful, the caves seemed not a good place to be, particularly for the faint hearted.

They are so dark that we had to use a torch. Along the way our guide told us there was a leopard which was resident in the caves but assured us it was harmless. A harmless leopard - that was enough for me and my colleagues!

We decided there and then to make a u-turn because the predator is dangerous.

Our stay was brief though as we still had a long way to go. We reached Xaixai in the evening and by the time we got there, I had endured a lot of pains to my body. I felt so sick and it was so bad that I had to be attended to at the local clinic. All I was thinking of the following day was the journey back to Maun. I couldn't help imagining the same circumstances as the previous day, and the thought sickened me even more. I tried to ignore how I felt but it was all visible as my colleagues kept teasing me about it. I have observed also that I always feel sick whenever I travel on the poorly constructed gravel roads and this impacts negatively on me these days because now I am afraid I might not be able to explore the many places I want to see and certainly not after what I had to go through . . .

Pilot dies outside his tent

A Belgian pilot believed to have been looking at prospects for working in Botswana was this week found dead outside his tent at a local camping ground. He has been identified by friends as Bart Hellemans. He is thought to have died from a heart attack. The alarm was raised after a security watchman found Hellemans lying outside a tent and tried to wake him, then realising that the man had died. He contacted his superiors who in turn activated the 911 Neighbourhood Watch radio network for assistance. The Belgian consul-general in South Africa has been connected as well. Police are investigating but no foul play is suspected.

Wayei seek recognition by government

The Wayei tribe is seeking a meeting with President Ian Khama over their recognition as a tribe by the government.

The Wayei case came before the High Court in 2001, which annulled the Chieftainship Act and called for its amendment to accord the applicants equal protection under the law.

The Act has since been amended and provides for the recognition of tribes and chiefs. The Wayei formally requested recognition in 2008 and consultations took place in Maun and Gumare the following year.

Imports of pork products suspended

The importation of live pigs, fresh products derived from pigs and feed intended for pigs from South Africa has been suspended with immediate effect due to an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF). The Department of Veterinary Services says the disease is one of the most dreaded because of its highly infectious nature. ASF has a variety of means of spreading, a high mortality rate and a lack of specific treatment with the only remedy being to isolate the animals and kill them. A press release says clinical signs of ASF include the animal's unwillingness to stand, increased respiration, coughing and poor appetite. The department is expecting additional epidemiological and laboratory investigation information from the South African Veterinary authorities and the public would be informed of further developments. (BOPA)

The drain with no owner

By Lesley Van Neel

The offending sewage drain that has been spilling its contents directly into the Thamalakane River since last year has not found an owner.

After an initial story in this newspaper about overflowing drains in Maun, the Water and Wastewater Management Unit in the North West District Council was very quick in addressing the issue of sewerage blockages in and around the town centre.

They attended to almost all the sewerage drains that were problematic but however there is a particular drain that seems to be unknown to almost every government department dealing with waste in Maun. The Department of Environmental Affairs said the Wastewater Management Unit is responsible for the whole sewerage system in the Maun Administrative Authority (MAA) area, and therefore has to be aware of any blockages at all times.

This, however, was not the case as the Unit seemed not to know of the drain behind the Livestock Advisory Centre (LAC), close to the council water pump. They knew neither of its location or that it has been blocked for more than a month, all the while spilling its toxic contents directly into the Thamalakane River at high pressure. The Unit had on Thursday, after being given directions by The Ngami Times through the NWDC's public relations office, gone to check out the area in the vicinity of the drain, but claimed that there is no spillage form any drain on their line.

This prompted The Ngami Times to confront the Department of Building and Engineering Services (DBES) who also denied ownership of the drain, claiming that all round-shaped drains belonged to the NWDC.

There is also the stench caused by the drain that would lead any curious nose straight to where the drain is, especially in the afternoons.

There's a great goal in football-mad Africa!

By Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (UNAIDS)

Winning the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2012 is something millions of people across Africa are dreaming of right now.

As nations join together in solidarity, spurring on their teams, they should not forget that they are already winners against AIDS.

Africa has been at the epicentre of the epidemic since it was first discovered on the continent over 30 years ago, and Africans have been at the heart of the response. In recent years, the scale up of efforts across the whole of Africa have produced astonishing results.

In every corner of Africa today babies are being born without HIV, even though their mothers are living with the virus. In Botswana, in Kenya, in Gabon and in Equatorial Guinea, families are now able to protect their children from HIV. This is an incredible achievement and one which was unthinkable just 15 years ago.

The total number of new HIV infections dropped by more than 26% in Africa since the peak in 1997, and AIDS-related deaths are steadily decreasing as access to lifesaving medicines expands across the continent, but can Africa continue its winning streak and ensure that fewer and fewer people become infected and that no more people die from AIDS?

For the first time in the history of AIDS, Africa has the best chance now to protect women, men and children everywhere from new HIV infections and to keep people living with HIV alivethis must now be the ultimate goal for Africa.

It's an exciting moment to seize. New discoveries and new approaches are offering the opportunity to dramatically change the course of the epidemic. We know we can use antiretroviral medicines to prevent as well as treat AIDSthese are the same medicines that have been keeping people living with AIDS alive for more than a decadein poor countries as well as rich ones.

For the continent most affected by the epidemic, I believe Africa and its leaders can take charge of the response and find ways to secure the resources needed to make zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero-AIDS related deaths a reality in every country. Africa has to look for and seize every opportunity to do so.

Take the Africa Cup of Nations 2012 as an example. It provides an exceptional opportunity to mobilise and re-energise Africans against AIDS as millions tune in and turn up to support their teams.

As the 16 nations participating in the tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon prepare to make their supporters proud, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is supporting an innovative AIDS awareness campaign by the Foundation of the First Lady of Gabon, Madame Sylvia Bongo Ondimba which is a true example of her leadership and commitment to the AIDS response.

The campaign, CAN sans SIDA (CAN without AIDS), will use the enormous popularity and outreach that football has across Africa to spread the word that zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths is possible in Africa, and that by protecting a new generation from HIV infection,

Africa can and will change the course of the global epidemic.

I believe in Africa, and I believe that Africa can win against AIDS

CTO almost surrender lead to Maun United

In the Nhabe regional football league last weekend, CTO led Maun United by 2 goals to nil before allowing the youthful side came from behind and forced a final score line of 3-2.

Horizon Stars repeated their first trashing of BOP in a Boseja derby, beating them by 3 goals to 2. Moeti United got the better of Cubs at Maun Sports Complex winning 3-1 while Gnners of Khwai continued their winning ways by North West United 3-1 as well. Maun BMC got the last laugh in edging Zungu 2-1 and Maun Terrors handed Delta Winds their first defeat since 2010, narrowly winning 4-3. This weekend will see BOP against Cubs, Maun Heroes against Zungu, Delta Winds against BMC, Makgabisanaga versus Fuji Rollers, and North West United and CTO will clash at the MTC grounds on Saturday at 4pm while Terrors welcome Moeti on Sunday at Maun Sports complex (2pm) followed at 4pm by Gunners of Khwai against Maun United .

Permalink | View Entire Page

23 Jan ' 00:10

Edition 586 20 - 27 January 2012

Friday the 13 th proved a very unlucky day for the motorist who drove his car on to the raised traffic circle in the centre of Maun. As these pictures show, the car was extensively damaged as well as the memorial in the centre of the circle. It remains a mystery how the car was steered over a relatively high ledge and onto the circle. Pictures by Bright Kholi

DREAM COMES TRUE FOR ZEBRAS

The Zebras make their dream debut at this year's African Nations Cup (AFCON), getting underway in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon tomorrow (Saturday), but any team that takes the Zebras lightly will be doing so at their peril. The Zebras will open their account in Group D against Ghana at the Stade de Franceville Stadium on Tuesday (January 24) in Franceville, Gabon (kick-off 5pm Botswana time). At the time of going to press, it was still not clear whether national broadcaster BTV will be showing the games as the Botswana Football Association (BFA) is battling to find about US$6-million needed to secure the broadcast rights. In addition, the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) is under pressure to ensure that the power load shedding schedule does not interfere with the finals in particular the Zebras games. Zebras posted a very impressive run to qualify for the finals with a round of matches from a five-team group that included top sides like Tunisia, Togo, Malawi and Chad. It was a feat that earned Botswana the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Team of 2011 Award ahead of the star-studded Côte d'Ivoire, Tunisia and Niger squads. I am very happy, coach Stanley Tshosane said yesterday. For the first time qualifying for the final tournament and at the same time being the first team to qualify and win this award. It is a very great achievement, which will encourage us to work harder because now people are expecting more than this from us. This was a team effort as we stuck together and we have been rewarded as a team. Tshosane has transformed the team within three years but will have to wait until after the finals for a new contract. They will be one of the best-prepared teams as they have held lengthy training camps in South Africa and Cameroon and also played several warm-up games, including a goalless draw in Nigeria, a 1-1 draw with Namibia and a goalless draw against Zimbabwe at home. Meanwhile, the Zebras continue to reel with shock following confirmation that their captain Dipsy Selolwane will miss the country's first ever Africa Cup of Nations match. It is a fact that Dipsy will miss the match because of suspension, BFA's Tlhagiso Sethibe said and CAF says the SuperSport United midfielder picked up two yellow cards in the last two matches of the 2012 AFCON qualifiers against Malawi and Togo.

Sethibe also confirmed that Mompathi Thuma will captain the team in Selolwane's absence. Another shock awaited the Zebras on Wednesday when winger Joel Mogorosi broke his arm during practice. Off the playing field, the players have been warned to stay away from sexual and drug activities during AFCON. Tshosane issued the warning, saying: I don't expect any of my players to engage in sex during the tournament, and added that sex drains energy from a sportsperson and, therefore, expects the players to abstain until the end of the tournament. Zebras' manager Patrick Zibochwa said the no-sex and drug abuse issues were among issues discussed early last week. He said he felt the area was well covered when they engaged in dialogue with the players before leaving Botswana for their 10-day training camp in Cameroon. A lot of players indulge in sex during international events such as the AFCON, but we guard against it through individual and group talks, we also invited experts to talk about such issues with the players, he said. Zibochwa also warned the Zebras to look out for drug-peddlers at their base in Gabon, saying they must stay away from them.

BHC gets its way with Boseja houses

By Bright Kholi

The North West District Council (NWDC) has eaten humble pie as the Town and Country Planning Board overruled its decision not to allow the Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) to install a potable sewage treatment plant at its new estate at Maun's Boseja/Kubung.

The decision meant the council was forced to issue BHC with both an occupancy certificate for 111 houses and a building permit for the construction of the sewerage treatment plant which the council had repeatedly refused to issue.

The controversial issue surrounding the houses started when the NWDC rejected the application for the occupancy certificate, saying the sewage treatment plant envisaged for the houses would compromise health of communities living in the area.

The houses have been unoccupied for more than 20 months while it was discussed in boardrooms and council meetings, reaching even the highest offices. A council meeting last year adopted a resolution advising the BHC to connect the houses to the town's main sewage line.

In a dramatic turn of events, however, late last year the NWDC was shocked to learn that the Town and Country Planning Board had decided to give the BHC the go-ahead.

BHC communications manager Mookodi Seisa, in response to a questionnaire from The Ngami Times, said the NWDC forwarded the application to the Town and Country Planning Board which approved the application in September 2011.

Seisa said consequently the NWDC issued the BHC with the building permit to erect the plant, adding that the treated effluent from the plant will be re-used.

The erection of the treatment plant started in October last year and its being built in the middle of the Boseja-Kubung's residential area.

One of the major initial fears was that the BHC had intended to channel the treated water from the plant by a storm water drainage trench to the Thamalakane River. This led to a lot of resistance from residents who feared a health hazard and an environmental threat if the system were to malfunction.

Seisa conceded that a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) study was undertaken to guide the proposed installation of the plant.

The EIA report was endorsed by Department of Environmental Affairs in April 2011. Therefore, the BHC can confirm that all environmental issues including public health have been taken into consideration and the plant poses no hazard, he said.

Meanwhile, the NWDC public relations officer, Wada Motsamai said the Town and Country Planning Board overruled their decision and the main reason was that the system which the BHC was going to use will be down most of the time. She added that such a scenario would compel the authorities to discharge raw sewage into the Thamalakane River.

It is important to note that the council and the physical planning committee which enforces the Town and Country Planning Act are operating under delegated responsibilities from the Town and Country Planning Board. Therefore, the council makes recommendations on issues and forwards them to the board for approval. However there is a possibility for the board to overrule the council's stand at times as in this case, Motsamai said.

Seisa had anticipated that the houses would be occupied by this month.

He said for the period that the houses have been unoccupied; the BHC lost about P2.4 million in rentals at an average of P2 000.00 each.

The houses currently remain unoccupied and the installation of the sewage treatment plant is not yet complete.

However, Boseja/Kubung councillor Vepaune Moreti said the matter is far from settled until the BHC connects the houses to the main sewage line, which he says is the most environmental friendly and sustainable thing to do.

Moreti said council still stands its ground that the system used by the BHC was a health hazard and a threat to the environment. He said the judgment to overrule the council's decision was biased and self-serving.

The board falls under the same ministry with BHC, so they would not judge otherwise. Everything about this is all unfair, but it will just be a matter of time before bad things start happening, he said.

Moreti has vowed to continue making efforts to address the issue for the benefit of the residents. He has called upon non governmental organisations, especially those dealing with environmental issues to come to the rescue of the residents.

No water restrictions yet

The Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) says it will only advice on water restrictions by the end of the rainy season when the true status of the water supply in the country would have been determined.

The corporation said in a statement this week that the rainy season, which started in October last year, is expected to end in March.

It also states that the there have been some notable inflows into some dams as the Shashe and Ntimbale dams have both recorded the highest inflows with 99 % and overflowed during the past month.

Other dams have remained stagnant while some registered a decrease, especially Letsibogo, Bokaa, Nnywane and Molatedi in South Africa.

Fisheries

The coming of each New Year is looked upon as a possible bearer of good tidings for many residents of Botswana. But for the fishing communities of the country's largest aquatic systems of the Okavango and Chobe, the date has come to signify economic disempowerment.

In 2008, the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism under which fisheries falls introduced the annual closing season which runs from January 1 to end of February (28 or 29) to allow the fish to breed. This was a necessary conservation control measure, which we fully support.

What we, however, find appalling if not outright criminal is the authorities' failure to urgently engage their Namibian counterparts in order to achieve uniformity on the use of the shared aquatic resources of the Chobe River. After all there are many regional and bilateral statutes and forums which provides for such engagement. Both Botswana and Namibia are signatories to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Fisheries which aims at conservation and sustainable use of living aquatic resources and aquatic ecosystems. Specifically, Article 7 of that Protocol concerns management of shared resources including bilateral initiatives while Article 12 addresses concerns of artisanal and small-scale commercial fishing. There had also been many meetings of the Botswana-Namibia Joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation (JPCC) at which this issue could have long been addressed.

We honestly believe the concerned ministry is not doing enough, on account that the affected communities are composed primarily of the poor. Yet for such local fishing communities, fishery plays a critical role as a source of food and revenue. The currernt arrangement that unfairly allows the Namibians to continue fishing during the closed season, and sell their catch to Chobe residents, surely disadvantages the local fishing communities, and should not be allowed to continue.

In fact, Botswana should drastically review its fisheries policy to ensure these vast resources contribute meanifully to the national economy. As it is, the country's annual fish import bill for that resources stands at more than P19 million, which translates into 2,800 tons of imported fish. The country's total fish output is estimated at a paltry 139 tons. Yet the Okavango region alone has a potential annual fish yield estimated between 5,000 and 8,000 tons.

Obviously, this is a resource that can be easily exploited not only to the benefit of the local communities but also towards the diversification of our minerals-led economy.

The motorist who tried to take a short cut across the prominently placed and raised traffic circle in the centre of Maun the other night deserves a place in the history books.

The circle, with its plaque, marked the commissioning of the Nata - Maun, Maun - Shorobe, Maun - Sehithwa road projects and to the best of our knowledge has never before played host to a motor vehicle!

The car must have been going at a terrific speed to have sailed over the side of the circle and smash into the plaque.

The projects were funded by African Development Bank, ARAB Bank for economic development in Africa and Kuwait fund for Arab economic development.

Rain? Where's the rain?

That's been the cry since the festive season.

We thought this was your set season, tourists are asking. Quite right it is supposed to be the wet season, but there hasn't been much rain to write home about.

The clouds scud across the skies, there's thunder and lightning but nothing worthwhile takes place.

Maybe there is something in this climate change hysteria.

We thought we had heard of just about everything! Now, here's the latest.

News agencies in South America are putting out a really weird story - a report citing local media said in the Belgrano neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentine, was about a man who threw the family cat at his wife.

The woman dodged and the cat sailed through an open window and plunged to the ground, hitting an 85-year-old woman, a neighbour. The victim suffered a fractured skull and was rushed to hospital, where she had to be connected to a ventilator.

The cat's condition is unknown.

**

Makes you think! The new name for the Botswana Power Corporation in these days of load shedding BPC = Buy Plenty Candles!!

**

It's useless to hold a person to anything he says while he's in love, drunk, or running for office.

- Shirley MacLaine (American actress)

Slaughter of rhino must be stopped

Special Correspondent and Sowetanlive

In the first 16 days of 2012 South Africa has lost 25 rhino.

The total number of rhino poached last year stands at 443 although not all the poached rhino were reported on orders of an extremely highly ranked South African government employee, currently on suspension.

The SA government needs to demand that the Chinese implement their obligations to CITES as a signatory to the agreement. If the Chinese continue to do nothing, sanctions should be imposed on them.

Under no circumstances should anyone involved in any way be given bail. Rhino really and urgently need to be declared a National Treasure so as to enable the government to implement prison terms that fit this crime.

The demand from incensed wildlife enthusiasts is that poachers should be shot on sight and they add that if the government is not prepared to carry this out, a private company should be permitted to undertake it with powers wide-ranging enough to effectively get the job done.

Large cash incentives should be offered to anyone that comes forward with information that leads to arrests and seizures.

There are many other measures that can be undertaken.

The Chinese influence in Africa is growing so do governments, particularly in southern Africa including Botswana - have the courage to say, Stop now enough is enough.

Declaring rhino a National Treasure' is an obvious way to ensure the penalties match the crime. This idea has been out there for a long time, so what or why has it not been implemented?

There are now a number of people suggesting legalising the trade in horn.

They state that no one would poach rhino if we mutilated all our rhino by dehorning them.

Perhaps it is that Hell hath no fury like a vested interest masquerading as a moral principal.

Governments should accept the rhino poaching free for all is a declaration of war and utilize the army as such. The problem needs to be challenged as a military operation against which the poachers will meet the full force of the military establishment. Above all else the training benefits for defence forces would be immense.

Meanwhile, the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, has announced her government would work with law enforcement agencies to curb rhino poaching in South Africa.

The government views the illegal killing of this national treasure in a very serious light and will continue to fight against this crime jointly with our law enforcement agencies, Molewa said and added that a national wildlife reaction unit had also been established. According to the minister, the return of the SANDF to monitoring the 350km border between the Kruger National Park and Mozambique had resulted in a decrease in poaching last year.

It has been found necessary that our borders be patrolled by the South African National Defence force (SANDF). Just their presence is a deterrent, Molewa said.

About 150 new rangers will be deployed to the Kruger National Park this year. They will add to the 500 who are already employed - The department will implement a decision to deploy conservation specialists at the country's key designated ports of entry, she said.

Molewa said that her department had been in talks with China and Vietnam and memoranda would be signed in the first half of this year to ensure proper wildlife tracking and enforcement.

Liquor levy increase in the pipeline

The government is said to be preparing to increase the alcohol levy by at least 10% - to at least 50% - as efforts to control liquor consumption appear to have hit a brick wall.

There has been no formal confirmation of the proposal but according to liquor traders, they have been privately warned of an impending increase.

This comes days after the government implemented regulations that bar the sale of traditional liquor from homes. According to the Telegraph newspaper in Gaborone, the future of Botswana Breweries Limited (BBL) hangs in the balance. BBL is the arm of Kgalagadi Breweries Limited trading in traditional beer and denying BBL the market that trades from homes would cut off 65% of the company's volumes, result in lower income and dismissal of staff.

According to the BBL Corporate Affairs Manager, Larona Makgoeng, only 11% of the company's volumes are in licensed outlets while 26% is in depots which at this stage are unlicensed, says the newspaper. Makgoeng says when put into context and if fully implemented the regulations as they pertain to traditional beer may end up being more harmful than the alcohol levy, which almost brought KBL on its knees a few years ago.

BBL contributes about half of the Group's earnings. The effects could be worse than those we experienced during the levy. The situation would be compounded by the fact that with Chibuku we are dealing with a delicate product that has a very short shelf life, said Makgoeng. The levy was introduced by President Ian Khama as a means to make it more difficult for people to enjoy liquor and at the same time regulations were gazetted to change bar hours and serving hours in restaurants. However, according to surveys conducted after the implementation of the levy, there had been little or no effect on consumption. Meanwhile, shebeen owners are up in arms, saying that the regulations will put them out of business and also that families that rely on shebeen sales will be impoverished. Shebeen owners continue to sell Chibuku in their homes despite the new law regulating traditional beer that came into effect on January 1. The government expects us to rent or build depots, one owner said. Where will we get the money for rental or to build such structures? The P50 Chibuku licence fee was just too steep for them. The new regulations come with new trading hours: From 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. between Mondays and Thursdays, 12 noon to 11 pm, on Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 pm to 10 pm on Sundays and public holidays.

Pace-setters Gunners mesmerise Zungu

Nhabe region early league pace-setters , Gunners of Khwai, ran riot on Sunday afternoon demolishing the Mababe side Zungu 8-0 in a derby match.

The match turned into a one-sided affair as Gunners dominated both halves to make sure they maintained their lead in the Nhabe league with 29 points, one above second-placed Delta Winds who have an advantage of two extra games out of three from the first round to play.

Khwai, who have played their two extra games, did not want to lose focus lest they lose the leadership to the latter, who showed no mercy in their Saturday afternoon 4-0 thrashing of Fuji Rollers at the WAP grounds despite a downpour in the early minutes of the second half.

The absence of referees to officiate at the game - the referees' chairman, Jack Cassalis, had telephoned Delta Winds officials the previous day informing them that he had not appointed any referee for the encounter as Fuji was one of the teams they would not officiate for when they host other teams because of monies they owed to the referees.

Upon seeking clarification on the matter from the region chairman, Kgatho Motai, Delta Winds officials were referred to league committee members who in turn told Winds that they should honour the fixture as the referees would maybe change their minds and attend the match but it was not to be the case as no referee or even the match official from the league committee showed up. Despite this, a referee was nominated from the crowd to officiate and he did his job splendidly with a free flowing game that never had any of the two sides complaining.

Delta Winds welcomed back from injury their deadly striker, Kesaobaka Basimane, who has a lot of catching up in top goal scoring charts, He put himself on the score sheet late in the second half with a classic back heel finish in the absence of his co-striking force of free scoring Letso Mokhawa, who had his leg broken in a match against BOP in his team's last match in 2011.

Terrors in good comeback

Maun Terrors had the last laugh when the referee blew the final whistle signaling the end of the game, winning a tightly contested Nhabe foo9tball league encounter against the third placed Brothers of Peace team at Maun Sports Complex on Sunday afternoon.

The game was played at a fast pace with both teams attacking from the onset but went to the break deadlocked at 0-0. The second half saw BOP adding more numbers in attack with their captain fantastic Loeto winning every tackle that came his way and taking everything that came their way from goal-kick, corner kick, and even went on to miss a penalty in the first half.

Punk styled BOP striker, Boitumelo B2 broke the deadlock when he beat what looked like an offside, slashing a hard grounder past Terrors' goalkeeper Khune after being put through by Collen who gave the Terrors defence a torrid time each time he had the ball on his feet.

Terrors did not lose hope despite the pressure applied by the opponents and time wasting tactics when the ball had gone out for a goal kick or throw in.

It was after the introduction of Coaster Rica that the boys in yellow found footage in the middle where the Zimbabwean international Tendai Nyandoro Katiyo showed his class after Loeto committed a foul 20 yards from his goal and Nyandoro cracked a long range short from the resultant free kick which beat the BOP goalkeeper hands down to level the score (1-1).

Then came the nasty part of the game when Terrors team manager DK Dikgathatso and team official Tshepi were sent off by Jack Cassalis for refusing to give him a ball that Cassalis had said should not be used when Terrors were pressing for an equaliser. After the equaliser, the match ball was kicked out of the playing field and Cassalis ordered the Terrors bench to provide the ball and the bench questioned why this time

Terrors then applied more pressure and as a result the BOP goalkeeper made a schoolboy error coming off his line when the defenders had the situation under control. As a result he missed the ball allowing Terrors to take the lead.

Koko snubs Tshosane

Township Rollers' last season player of the year, Sikhana Koko, snubbed the Zebras team coach Stanley Tshosane for dropping him from the final 23-stroing squad to do duty in the AFCON finals from tomorrow (Saturday).

He felt hard done by the coach, whom he said was hiding something from him as he did not agree to the reason given to him as to why he was axed from the final squad.

Tshosane said he dropped the speedy winger because of an injury which Koko claims was not much of an injury but agreed that he missed some training sessions although he had trained well with the rest of the team in Rustenburg and was fully fit to take on the African giants, unlike team mate Mompati Thuma who made the final squad despite having stayed away from training for a good part of the preparations.

He also talked about Nico United's Sunday Kelebale being called to join the squad at a latter stage and therefore the question of match fitness was not a reason enough for his axing.

Koko says he does not see himself honouring a call up to the national team as long as Tshosane is coach and does not even see his club releasing him to do duty for the Zebras.

Permalink | View Entire Page

16 Jan ' 03:45

Edition 585 13 - 20 January 2012

The big smell as drains overflow

Maun, regarded as the gateway to the pristine Okavango Delta, has been experiencing problems with sewerage drains which are overflowing and causing a terrible stench in the town centre.

Other drains are flowing into the Thamalakane River, creating a health hazards and possibly carrying water-borne diseases.

The Department of Environmental Affairs was not aware of the situation when contacted for comment on Tuesday. The situation had by Tuesday worsened as the waste water was flowing along the main street, Tsheko Tsheko Road.

The Senior Assistant Council Secretary at the Maun Administrative Authority, Lawrence Mazinyane, said on Wednesday that the North West District Council (NWDC) was aware of the blockage in the town centre next to the National Development Bank and that they have since attended to the matter and unblocked the drain.

He, however, said that the NWDC is not aware of the blockage behind the Livestock Advisory Center (LAC), but promised that the NWDC would check and attend to it urgently. Mazinyane also said that council officials are currently surveying the area to detect any other spillages.

When asked if the NWDC was aware that the sewerage drain behind LAC has been spilling its contents directly into the river since late last year, Mazinyane said that the location of the drain is not clear, noting that some of the drains belong to the Department of Building and Engineering Services. Mazinyane also said the NWDC had realised that most of blockages are a result of cooking oil, especially from restaurants. The council had met with clients to sensitise them on how best to discard oil and encouraged them to use grease traps.

He said the council is working around the clock to rectify the situation and that the blockage in the town centre has been fully attended to. The council was also working on a blockage behind Moremi Primary School.

He hoped that the situation would have been fully addressed by today (Friday).

BUS PASSENGERS FURY AT POLICE SEARCH

By Keto Segwai

The police's crime prevention initiative of stop-question and search is bound to set the travelling public on a collision course with the law enforcement agency. The initiative that started three years ago and was targeted at individual pedestrians has since been extended to vehicles, as Botswana Police spokesman Christopher Mbulawa confirmed this week.

But it is the poorly-communicated extension of the initiative that is increasingly becoming a source of concern, frustration and anger to the travelling public, and in particular, tourists.

This scenario played itself out on a Gaborone-Maun bus at the Makalamabedi Veterinary Cordon gate 54km from Maun on Tuesday afternoon.

The ensuing altercation between passengers and the police resulted in one of the passengers, Dennis Seboni, being denied the right to re-board the Maun-bound bus by the police on account of carrying a laptop he could not produce a proof of purchase for. Seboni, a well-known aviation personality in Maun who retired from the public service last August, disappointedly told The Ngami Times a day after the incident: I had to hike to Maun. I had to plead with a 16-seater mini-bus that was coming from Nata to give me a ride to Maun.

What are we supposed to carry? When we were required to alight from the bus at Makalamabedi with our luggage, I declared to the police that I had no luggage except the laptop computer. The officer excitedly queried: Where is the receipt?

Am I expected to move around with receipts of everything I carry with me on a journey?

Seboni was not the only victim. Another unidentified man travelling on the same bus was in no mood to cooperate with the police over his set of photographic equipment. His refusal to co-operate had the full support of the passengers in the bus, the majority of whom expressed ignorance and outrage at the new requirements.

The passengers advised the police to get the man's particulars, as they had already checked everybody's identity documents (Omang), so that he could present the proof of purchase to the police in Maun or his place of destination. Obviously after reading the tense mood in the bus, the two police officers wisely conceded to the advice.

Seboni was, however, not that lucky as the bus, which had some passengers meant to connect with a Shakawe-bound bus, had to leave without him.

He was later to make frantic calls to friends in Maun to collect a prized leather jacket from the bus.

The last leg of the journey to Maun was characterised by questions on what exactly the new requirements targeted. Is it cameras and laptop computers only? Is the receipt or invoice the only proof of ownership? According to Mbulawa: It's not about the invoice per se. The most important thing is to prove that the property belongs to you. We have always encouraged people to mark their property so that if it is stolen it will be easily traceable.

He said the search is not confined to electronic gadgets only but also to other items, and not only to the Makalamabedi gate as the exercise is carried out throughout the country.

We recently intercepted illegal pharmaceutical contraband at the Dibete gate. We have realised that most people use public transport, especially buses, to transport suspected stolen goods, he said.

More often we hear information that suspects could be using a particular bus to transport their ill-gotten loot. Sometimes the searches are done randomly. Each and every operation is unique. A localised operation can target specific suspected stolen goods.

Accused walks out on magistrate

A remand prisoner at Maun State Prison, Orefile Kantsi (26,) who is facing offences of robbery and rape, this week walked out on Maun principal magistrate Clifford Foroma as his trial was underway.

Kantsi walked out of the court, leaving Foroma trying to explaining court procedures to him after Kantsi had requested for a postponement so that he could brief his witnesses on the case.

Kantsi was to call five witnesses from Francistown State Prison to testify.

Before the proceedings, his first witness told the court that he was not ready to testify adding that he never met the accused person to discuss the matter before court.

He also told the court that he (the witness) has got his own case to think about, adding that he knew a lot about the accused and needed time to be reminded of what to say.

The particulars of the offences faced by Kantsi are that on March 25, 2010, in Maun, he raped the complainant and robbed her of two cellphones and a laptop.

Kantsi had earlier asked for a postponement saying that he was not given enough time to discuss with his witnesses. He also said before the trial commenced the prosecutor had time to discuss with state witnesses, adding that the same principle should be followed for the defence.

He said his witnesses should be reminded of the events of that day and that the court should not rely on the prosecutions decision only and not consider the defence's plea as they have rights too.

When responding to the accused person and his witness's plea, the prosecutor, Pascal Mhandu, said it is on the accused to lead his witness as to what to say. He objected to the plea for a postponement.

Mhandu also said state witnesses had time to discuss with the prosecutor before trial only to remind themselves on what was written (in their statements) adding that the accused's witness statement was oral and not written down.

In his ruling, Foroma said all along since October last year witnesses knew that they were to testify on behalf of the accused. He said there was nothing wrong in giving evidence because the witness testifies what he knows and denies what he does not know.

Foroma finally ruled that the case should continue.

By then, the accused person and his witness were leaving the courtroom.

Kantsi told Foroma that he was going to the High Court on February 2, adding that Foroma should remain behind in his court and also the prosecutor.

Even though Foroma tried to explain the procedure of cases and advised the accused person that he would appeal his case at the end, the accused ignored him.

The case then continued without the accused and during submissions, Mhandu asked the court to convict the accused person as it was clear that he was the culprit who raped and robbed the victim of her property.

He said it was clear from the forensic tests that the accused's DNA was found on the victim.

He further said the identification was also clear as the victim recognised Kantsi's face during the attack. He also said the two cellphones have been given to someone called Robert and the laptop was given to another person called Tiro in order to find a buyer.

He said the evidence led in court had established without reasonable doubt that Kantsi was guilty of the offence. He also said the accused lied when he said he was in Mahalapye on the night of March 25, but came to Maun on March 26, dismissing it as an afterthought meant to mislead the court.

Judgement of the case will be delivered on January 27.

Poachers skill up to slip ivory, rhino horns out

Syndicates involved in the illegal wildlife trade are becoming more sophisticated, say conservationists, making it more difficult for law enforcement officials to regulate trade in ivory and rhino horn.

There is increasing evidence overall that in the rhino horn and ivory trade, there is greater involvement of criminal syndicates, and greater organisation, said David Newton, the East/Southern Africa regional director for wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic.

Cape Town has emerged as the port from which at least two large shipments of ivory and rhino horn were shipped in recent months. This week authorities in Malaysia seized a 500kg consignment of elephant tusks shipped from Cape Town, leading the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) this week to call for a complete ban on the ivory trade.

In November, Hong Kong customs officials intercepted a shipment of 33 rhino horns and more than 800 pieces of carved ivory that had been shipped in a container from Cape Town. Experts believe the shipment was destined for China.

Illegal ivory seized by South African officials has tended to consist of small shipments of carved and semi-processed ivory, in the form of jewellery or figurines. This latest shipment to Malaysia, which consisted of tusks, would appear to be a major departure from that practice.

Paul Gildenhuys, programme manager of the biodiversity crime unit at the conservancy organisation Cape Nature, confirmed the trend. Lately we're finding more tusks, he said, adding that an increasing number of arrests for the possession of illegal ivory had been made in the Western Cape over the past three years.

However, he said that although the port of Cape Town had been implicated in recent caches of illegal animal products, this did not necessarily mean that it was becoming a hub for syndicates, who are likely to use whatever infrastructure they can to transport illegal products.

Cape Town might be one of the ports that they're using but they're using others as well, he said, pointing out that authorities have also intercepted wildlife products at Johannesburg's OR Tambo airport.

Traffic said smugglers appear to have shifted away from air transport to using sea freight instead. In early 2011, three of the large scale ivory seizures were at airports, but later in the year most were found in sea freight, the organisation said. Traffic also called on the South African Port Authorities to invest in scanning equipment and to up their game in monitoring export cargo.

Gildenhuys, who works closely with police to apprehend ivory traders, said officials are doing what they can to stop the trade but conceded that obviously, the more equipment you've got the better chance you've got of detection.

IFAW's Southern Africa director Jason Bell-Leask said conservation groups have for years expressed concerns about the ability of governments to regulate the ivory trade. He said that given the large quantities being traded, it is obvious that this ivory is coming from elephants that have been poached.

Bell-Leask believes stricter monitoring of the wildlife trade is needed. There needs to be a heightened focus for enforcement authorities, customs in particular, he said.

According to Traffic, there were 13 large scale seizures, each containing more than 800kg of ivory, last year, with an estimated total weight of 23 tonnes a figure that represents about 2 500 elephants. In 2010, there were only six large scale seizures with a total weight of just under 10 tonnes.

There has been an international ban on trade in ivory since 1990 but Cites the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora has made two exceptions to this rule, allowing a handful of countries to enact once-off trades of stockpiled ivory in 1999 and 2008. Botswana and South Africa were among the countries that were allowed to sell off their stockpiled ivory in the last round of trades.

Ivory that has been legally traded under the Cites convention in the past comes from elephants that have died of natural causes or been killed as part of wildlife management practices: culling, in other words.

Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique are known elephant poaching hotspots and the key markets for export are in the Far East, specifically China and, to a lesser extent, Thailand.

But some dispute the idea that an outright ban would help drive down the trade in illegal ivory. A trade ban is not always effective at stopping things, said Newton. In effect there is [already] an ivory ban and yet there's been an increase in elephant poaching and a rise in the confiscation of ivory.

Newton said he believes that the principle of supply and demand is driving both the ivory and rhino horn trade. I think the increase in the ivory and rhino horn being traded is far more related to the strengthening Asian economies. More people are able to afford these luxury items, he said.

He said that there were many alternative solutions that could be effective at cutting the demand for ivory and rhino products, including greater consumer awareness about the effect uncontrolled trade has on wildlife populations, improved policing and better regulation in the consumer countries. (Mail & Guardian)

Load shedding' causes chaos

Power cuts in Maun and other parts of the country this week have caused chaos.

Believed to be load shedding, a system with the South African power utility, Eskom, has introduced in a bid to store electricity in the face of massive usage, the cuts began at the weekend in Maun and continued every day of the week.

In Botswana, generators that were expected to kick in did not do so, including a new one at Orapa.

The cuts caused major problems at Maun airport where the stand-by generator failed to work on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Aircraft were guided into the airport using low lights along runways. Industry in Maun ground to a halt on Monday as a result of a six-hour cut while various cuts were experienced in most areas on Tuesday and Wednesday. No schedule of possible load shedding times was available from the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) in Maun this week.

Meanwhile, Morupule B Power Station at Palapye is expected to undergo performance tests towards the end of the month. The commissioning of the first unit of the 600 MW power station is ongoing.

Project manager Glenn Black said in an interview with BOPA that they are on schedule to meet the 41.5 months contract schedule and pointed out that the project stood at 90% completion at the end of last year, adding that the No 1 broiler is undergoing the commissioning programme while turbine and the generator are ready for service.

However, he said they encountered various challenges during the execution of the project and the fact that they bought some of the equipments used from China affected their project one way or the other.

Power outages

The South African power utility giant, Eskom, has in the past few months warned our southern neighbours to brace for power outages throughout 2012. As substantial importers of electricity from South Africa, we should be worried.

Last Friday, the spectre of power outages became a reality in most parts of Botswana and has continued unabated since then. Such outages impact negatively and sometimes fatally on all aspects of the country's socio-economic sectors. Take for instance, an incident last Tuesday night when a delayed Air Botswana flight from Gaborone had to land at the Maun airport in the dark.

Given the gravity of the situation, shouldn't the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) be putting up a spirited public awareness campaign, like they did at the height of the electricity crisis. We feel we are erroneously being given the impression that this is just some temporary set-back brought about by an engine failure at the Morupule Power Station, the failure of the Orapa Power Station's two back-up generators to kick-in, coupled with some limited power imports from South Africa. The latter supplies 80% of Botswana's energy imports.

The P710 million, 90MW turbine power plant at Orapa was officially commissioned on 13 October 2011 by the Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Ponatshego Kedikilwe. The dual fuel turbines, which currently operate on diesel, are expected to also use coal bed methane at a later stage.

Despite the impending crisis, the BPC appears unfazed ostensibly in the belief that this is a temporary set-back. Four days into the outages, they had not yet unleashed a loadshedding campaign blitz. The last news entry into their website is dated October 13, 2011, when the Orapa power station was launched, while the website's Planned Interruptions subtitle proudly announces: There are currently no electricity interruptions encountered.

The BPC seems to be banking too much on the 600MW Morupule B, which the power utility's spokesperson insists will be operational come April 2012. But given the track record of the Chinese construction companies that are involved literally in all our multi-million Pula mega-projects, we would advise the BPC to keep other options wide open. Structurally defective stadiums, airports, police stations, media stations, schools, hospitals and other have been the staple of our beloved Chinese construction firms. Not to mention the outrageous cost overruns.

Botswana probably needs the local airline, Air Botswana, like a hole in the head judging from the shambles of the past few days.

There have been many complaints in recent years from the tourism industry and individuals about how the airline plays around with schedules, all to the detriment of the passenger.

Shuffle and Mrs Shuffle this week had the misfortune to travel from Johannesburg to Maun via Gaborone along with other passengers on the 12 noon flight out of OR Tambo international airport. No one at the Air Botswana check-in desk there informed passengers of the expected delay.

The plane landed on time at 1pm in Gaborone and upon wishing to check baggage through for the 2.00pm departure to Maun, we were all brusquely informed the plane is grounded. Now that could mean anything grounded in so many words, crashed, not mechanically sound (a regular occurrence in any event) and the pilot had to rush to the toilet (that's happened, too, in Shuffle's experience).

In this case it was said to be for maintenance.

What one cannot understand is why, as people are travelling long distances to get to their homes, airline schedulers could not sort out the timetable to everyone's satisfaction, instead leaving it to a luckless Passenger Services fellow who really had little idea of what was going on beyond having been told the plane is grounded.

As a result, irate passengers spent the next five or so hours on the ground (well and truly grounded in that case) while Air Botswana eventually produced an ATR42 for a night journey to the gateway to the Okavango.

We left at 6.55pm, landing in Maun 1 hour 10 minutes later incidentally, it was into a very dark Maun (load shedding again) that the pilot steered us in safely.

Surely Air Botswana is interested in filling as many seats as possible with paying customers. Or does the airline have the proverbial death-wish when it comes to assisting travellers?

For the record, the air hostesses on the Maun leg of the flight were fantastic in their handling of the disgruntled people aboard the plane!

For the record as well, we all liked the disembodied voice of the pilot congratulating us all for choosing Air Botswana. Someone should tell him there's no other airline flying the route . . . !

When it comes to load shedding, heed the warning issued in South Africa earlier this week that load shedding is the name of the game when it comes to power supplies this year.

We are no where near safe as the South African power utility, Eskom, supplies most of our power stock up with lamps and candles. It promises to be a long year.

Answers of a brilliant student who obtained precisely 0% in the recent examinations!

Q1. In which battle did Lord Nelson die?

* His last battle

Q2. Where was the United States Declaration of Independence signed?

* At the bottom of the page

Q3. What is the main reason for divorce?

* Marriage

Q45. What is the main reason for failure?

* Exams

Q5. What can you never eat for breakfast?

* Lunch and dinner

Q6. What looks like half an apple?

* The other half

Ngamiland NGOs meet American ambassador

By Lesley Van Neel

The Ngamiland Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (NCONGO) on Monday hosted a round table discussion to tell the United States ambassador to Botswana, Michelle Gavin, of challenges faced by non-governmental organisations in the district. Gavin, who was appointed to Botswana in June last year, said Botswana is most probably been America's biggest partner in Sub Saharan Africa and for that bond to strengthen, the US needed to understand how democracy in Botswana works for the two countries to become stronger partners in economic diversification.

She also said there was a need to become better partners for the youth, hence the need to understand the challenges facing young people in Botswana.

Highlighting some of the challenges, Tiego Mpho, of the Tlhare Segolo Foundation, pointed out that the district has been the most remote for the longest period and that it has had the highest illiteracy rate due to all tertiary institutions being in the south of the country.

Mpho also said it appears most employees, private or public, would rather be working in the more developed southern parts of the country.

Blair Henry, of NCONGO, stated that this district has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence, but only 7% of all the money invested towards combating the pandemic reaches the district.

He also said that Maun has a fire station without equipment and never has running water - all because of mass investment in fighting HIV/AIDS.

Victor Lukato, of Kubung Community Trust, pointed out the need to invest more in education as a means of empowering the youth. He said that one of their major challenges as non-governmental organisations is that they do not retain staff as they do not offer competitive salaries due to lack of funding.

Love Botswana Outreach Mission has never since its establishment received any government aid apart from the milk we used to get for our children's programme, which was also stopped, said Tracey Pelotshweu, of the Mission.

She said civil servants see the organisation as a bunch of foreigners raising funds for their own needs and said government officials should take a closer look at the work these non-governmental organisations do.

Gavin thanked the NGOs for meeting her and discussing the challenges.

Hold thumbs we will see the games!

Football fans are holding thumbs that Botswana Television (Btv) will be successful in buying the rights to broadcast the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) which gets under way in 10 days. The state-owned broadcaster is under pressure to secure rights for the competition and broadcast live all the Zebras games in their tournament debut. Btv general manager Molefhe Sejoe says it is talking to companies, saying they have received pledges from three local companies. Orange Botswana, the national team's main sponsor, has pledged P1.5 million while Samsung and Botswana Life Insurance have also made pledges. Late last year, CAF competitions rights holder, SportFive, priced rights for broadcasting the tournament at P15 million. That amount was deemed unreasonable by the government and Presidential Affairs and Public Administration minister, Mokgweetsi Masisi, earlier informed Parliament that Btv would not be able to buy the rights.

SportFive, a French company, recently reduced the asking price to P6 million for the next two tournaments or P3.3 million for the 2012 edition. This revived Btv's interest on the rights. Sejoe said they remained hopeful that they will raise the P6-million required to beam the showpiece through their latest initiative. He said their priority now is the 2012 AFCON, adding that they are willing to negotiate further for next year's edition.

Big honour for Mombo

Okavango camp Mombo and Little Mombo has achieved one of the highest rankings in Travel & Leisure magazine's Top 500 - The World's Best Hotels 2012 (Africa and Middle East), coming first in Botswana.

With its high score of 94.82 the camp is also one of the world's Top 45 Hotels, one of nine African properties in this category. The 500 top-rated hotels are selected by readers of Travel & Leisure Magazine.

US Ambassador visits the Okavango Delta

The Southern Africa Regional Environmental Program (SAREP) is a USAID Funded and SADC co-sponsored three to five year program of support for the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) spanning the three riparian states of Angola, Namibia and Botswana. SAREP supports initiatives of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) that integrate improved water and sanitation services with strategies that address threats to ecosystem services and biodiversity within priority shared river basins.

Since her arrival in Botswana in 2011 Ambassador Michelle Gavin has taken a keen interest in the issues of youth, poverty alleviation and economic diversification. On January 10, Gavin accompanied by Kalaote Kalaote (Principle Water Resources Engineer, Department of Water Affairs) and other senior OKACOM officials, visited SAREP project sites in Ngamiland to gain a deeper understanding of these key issues as they affect the communities of the western Okavango Delta.

The Tubu community with its approximately 220 households and a population of over 1,000 people lies adjacent to the tourism concessions of NG25 and NG26 to its east relies heavily on subsistence agriculture based on livestock production and flood-recession' molapo cropping. Given its remoteness and the fact that it experiences wide-spread annual flooding, the area has no formal mainstream commercial activity. Approximately 10 people in the community have formal, full time employment and consequently many households experience intense poverty.

Through consultative meetings carried out during the development of the Okavango Delta Management Plan the Tubu community was identified as one of the key communities to be assisted in terms of poverty alleviation.

In 2007 the University of Botswana's Okavango Research Institute in Maun, engaged with the Tubu community through its Biokavango Project - assisting the community to develop a Participatory Land-use Management Plan that was aimed at empowering the community to identify alternative and complimentary livelihood and economic opportunities that would alleviate poverty in the area. During that process the youth of Tubu identified that they as a cohort would like to engage in formal community-based tourism enterprises that would provide employment and create a wider range of diverse economic opportunities to community members.

Biokavango's support ended in 2010 at which point the Biokavango Project requested SAREP to continue supporting the actualization of the land use plan and its intended economic enterprise diversification and development strategy.

During the Ambassador's visit to the Okavango Delta yesterday, she will flew over the core wildlife areas that are the heart of tourism operations and activities in the country while en-route to the panhandle communities - effectively gaining an aerial perspective of the tourism potential of the Delta and at the same time gaining a better understanding of the community landscapes across the district.

Accompanied by SAREP staff she landed in the Tubu area and meeting with the Kgosi and later with a group of youth from the village to discuss their constraints and opportunities that marginalized groups face in addressing poverty. These discussions enhanced her and the US Embassy's ability to engage with key issues relating to youth and livelihood opportunities in Botswana over the coming years.

CTO manager case postponed

By Keagisitswe Dioka

A continuation of a trial in a case of office abuse in which a Maun Central Transport Organisation works superintendent, Taolo Selabeka (47) is facing will be on February 6, before Maun Principal Magistrate Clifford Foroma. The dates were set in a mention in which the purpose was for the accused to update the court about his witnesses. Selabeka told the court that he would call only one witness whom he has managed to locate.

The particulars of the offence stated that the accused person on or about the 16th day of September 2010, at Maun in the North West Administrative District of the Republic of Botswana, whilst employed in the Public Service as Works Superintendent at the Central Transport Organisation, did, in abuse of the authority of his office, authorise and direct the release of two boarded Government motor vehicles to Maun Motors Garage for the stripping of some parts which were needed in the repair and overhauling of two other Government vehicles which Maun Motors had been subcontracted to repair, which act was both arbitrary and prejudicial to the rights of the government. The prosecutor is Pascal Mhandu of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

Woman tourist bungee jumper plunges into Zambezi

VICTORIA FALLS - An Australian tourist survived after getting more thrills than she had bargained during a bungee jump in Zambia when the cord attached to her feet snapped, sending her plunging into fast flowing rapids below.

Footage of the incident shows Erin Langworthy, 22, leaping from the world-famous Victoria Falls railway bridge which crosses a gorge 111 metres above the Zambezi River.

It shows the cord snapping as she reached the bottom of her descent, when she was still around 20 metres above the water, the Zambia Post newspaper reported. With her feet still tied, Langworthy plunged head first into the Zambezi before swimming to the side of the river.

It was quite scary because a couple of times the rope actually got caught on some rocks or debris, she said. I actually had to swim down and yank the bungee cord out of whatever it was caught on to make it to the surface.

Langworthy, a backpacker from Perth, Western Australia, spent a week in hospital following the New Year's Eve incident.

Officials in Zambia have launched an investigation and say they believe the bungee jump remains safe. The country's tourism minister, Given Lubinda, told the Lusaka Times around 50 000 people made the leap each year at the world-famous tourist spot.

He said: The bungee has proven to be a very viable operation.It has been in operation for 10 years. The probability of an incident is one in 500,000 jumps.

Hundreds of tourists a week each pay about P800 to make a bungee jump at Victoria Falls.

The Zambian tourism board's website describes the experience as the highest commercial bridge jump in the world in the most spectacular setting.

Village headman granted bail

MBALAMBI - The Masunga magistrate's court has granted bail to headman Bernard Mbalambi, of Mbalambi, who is facing a single count of stealing stock. The particulars are that in September 2011, Mbalambi allegedly stole an ox. When asked to plea, he refused, saying he was going to seek the services of an attorney. Mbalambi, 53, was granted bail of P500 and was ordered to provide two sureties each binding themselves for the same amount.The magistrate further ordered the accused not to interfere with any prosecution witnesses and also to attend all mentions and subsequent proceedings, failure of which could result in the revocation of his bail. The case was heard by Masunga magistrate Willy Morweng while sub-inspector Sydney Mogajane, of the Botswana Police prosecuted. The accused was ordered to appear before court for the next mention on February 14. (BOPA)

About 100 farm-reared young crocodiles out of 300 were released before Christmas into the Okavango River. They were freed from the Krokovango Crocodile Farm in Samochima in the Okavango panhandle. The farm was established in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife in 2004. Krokovango does its best to inform and educate people on how to live alongside wildlife for a healthier environment through the Leseding Centre and the University of the Free State research done in this area. Research is also done by the Crocodile Research Monitoring team, and the Department of Animal Health and Wildlife departments are involved in the process from beginning to end. The release was accompanied by Dr T Aron from Veterinary Services, and Israel Modisa from the Wildlife Department.

Royal showdown looms over mineral rights

Another royal showdown with goverment is in the offing. Member of Parliament for Maun West, Tawana Moremi, demands back all the title and mineral rights in Batawana territory. Ponatshego Kedikilwe the minister responsible for natural resources has cautioned Kgosi Tawana Moremi to stop courting trouble on the issue of sharing of mineral benefits in the country. The minister told the Batawana Kgosi, who is also a member of Parliament, in parliament just before Christmas that he had no personal title and/or interest attached to mineral deposits in the Batawana territory. This fact was acknowledged by Kgosi Letsholathebe Moremi III of the Batawana in terms of the Agreement, known as the Fourth Schedule to the Minerals Rights in Tribal Territories he signed on the 17th July 1967, said Kedikilwe in a parliament answer on monday. In terms of the said Fourth Schedule all the rights, title and interest attached to all such mineral was, prior to the 17th July 1967, owned by the Batawana tribe, explained the minister. Tawana had asked the minister whether the Mineral Rights in tribal Territories Act appropriated the right, title and interest of the Batawana Kgosi to mineral rights. He also probed the minister to state where the same Act provides for prompt payment of adequate compensation, as is the requirement of the Constitution of Botswana; and, which provision in the Mineral Rights in Tribal Territories Act makes provision for payment at reasonable intervals of adequate royalties as is required by the Constitution of Botswana. However, Kedikilwe hit back that all Batswana citizens (whatever their regional affilation), have a collective stake and enjoy common benefits in the country's minerals, rather than those few who by chance find themselves sitting on nature's gifts. It beares repeating a million times that to poke the issue which is the subject of this question sails rather too close to courting trouble concerning the sharing of national resources, said the minister. The nation enjoys the benefits of diamonds from Jwaneng, and the people of Tlokweng, Mochudi and Gabane do enjoy water from Letsibogo dam, argued the minister. Kedikilwe explained to parliament that compesation as contemplated by the Constitution of Botswanabecomes an issue only when the state compulsorily deprives a person of his or her property, adding that it has no application in the Mineral Rights in Tribal Territories Act. Owning mineral rights has made some traditional leaders in neighbouring South Africa rich. South Africa has a dual ownership model for mineral rights, where part of the mineral wealth was held in private hands and another part held by the state. Currently some major mining projects are taking place in Ngamiland, with Discovery Metals Boseto copper project near Toteng promising to contribute significantly to the country's economy. Explorations are also ongoing between Qangwa and XaiXai.

Man arraigned for possessing dagga

By Keagisitswe Dioka

A 30 year old Kgosing Ward, Sehithwa, man has been arraigned before Maun principal magistrate Clifford Foroma for illegal possession of dagga.

According to the charge sheet, Benny Maikutlo Bikitshane was on March 1 last year found in possession of dagga weighing 131 grams. He pleaded not guilty to the offence he is facing and said he would represent himself during trial. The prosecutor, Pascal Mhandu, of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, said investigations into this matter are complete and the state would call two witnesses. He asked for a trial date to be set. The accused was advised to appear for mention on February 7 when trial date will be set.

Council staff donates standpipes

Three registered destitute families from Shashe and Thito wards are this year's beneficiaries of water standpipes donated by the Supplies Division of the North West District Council (NWDC), under an initiative started in 2007.

Speaking at the ceremony to mark the official handing over, NWDC chief supplies officer, Vincent Kalaloka, said they decided to contribute 50 thebe daily as part of their fundraising drive for the needy. The funds were later donated towards the erection of the standpipes, in conformity with Vision 2016's pillar of a Compassionate and Caring Nation.

Working in collaboration with the Social and Community Development, which is tasked with identifying destitutes and orphaned children, Kalaloka said they had managed to assist a significant number of orphaned children, three of them in Boseja in 2009, an exercise they intend conducting annually.

He said when they started in 2007 they used to donate clothing and other commodities, but were advised to focus on something different as the S&CD was already supplying such materials.

Committee chairperson Gaotwesepe Barwatlhapi said they have encountered challenges along the way and had came across cases whereby beneficiaries were still under age or their parents were deceased. They had had to go through the process of consulting immediate families to justify change of plot ownership through the Land Board so as to enable the Department of Water Affairs to commence work.

NWDC chairman Tebogo Bethia, urged the beneficiaries - Ketsile Ketlogetswe, Motswana Nakara, both of Shashe ward and, Pontsho Malela, of Thito - to use their standpipes wisely and always make sure their water bills are paid in time to avoid disconnection.

Knife-wielding robber jailed for 10 years

By Keagisitswe Dioka

A 32-year-old Botshabelo Ward man, Amogelang Shimwe, was recently sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for robbing Hardmore Nyama of P1 000 and stabbing him with a knife.

The jail term came into effect from May 2011, when the accused was remanded in custody.

When passing sentence, Maun principal magistrate Clifford Foroma noted that armed robbery is a prevalent serious offence. He also said Shimwe has previous convictions of assaults, robbery and resisting arrest.

Foroma also said he considered that the accused started his habit of theft when he was 6 years old.

What he considered also was that the victim sustained serious injuries and was admitted to Francistown's Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital for 17 days.

It was said in court that on February 4, 2011 at Newtown, Maun, Shimwe approached and stabbed Nyama in the chest. Nyama, who operates a shebeen, was waiting for a taxi by the roadside.

Shimwe then searched the victim and got away with P1 000. It was also said Nyama managed to identify the accused as he had been previously harassed at the shebeen before Shimwe apparently ordered a saleswoman to close the shebeen.

The accused's identification was also clear as the lights were on.

Shimwe pleaded for a lenient sentence, saying he is taking care of his two children.

Many motorists nabbed over festive period

By Basadi Morokotso

Maun motorists did not take much notice of police warnings about increased surveillance on roads of the Christmas and New Year periods - and as a result the police nabbed 207 motorists for various traffic offences during a time when Maun was a beehive of entertainment activities.

The visibility of law enforcers on Maun streets was also a common sight, meaning those who went above the law could not have any chance to escape.

The Booze Bus was also a regular on the roads, while a police helicopter could also be seen to help reinforce order.

In an interview with The Ngami Times this week, district traffic officer Superintendent Alfred Magudu said quite a number of motorists were apprehended and charged for various traffic offences.

A total of 106 motorists were charged for over-speeding, three for failure to obey road signs, 19 for drunken driving, 46 for driving without driver's licences, four for using cellphones while driving, 12 for not putting on safety belts, while two were charged for careless driving.

He said in Sehitwa a woman and her young child were killed when the car they were travelling in lost control and overturned. The driver is said to have sustained serious injuries and is now recuperating at the Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone.

Magudu said police had noticed a major decline in road accidents compared to the previous year and urged motorists and other road users to keep up the good work and co-operation on the roads. Acting Station Commander Superintendent Thusoemang Letibirwa said they recorded minor crime activity over the period.

This week however, there were at least four break-ins or attempted burglaries at houses in various parts of Maun, according to householders who contacted The Ngami Times.

Body in the bath' case under investigation

The body of a German tourist, aged 42, was found in an empty bath at a local lodge on New Year's Day.

It is believed he had died of natural causes after a party with friends.

His Swiss girlfriend found his body.

Police are investigating and no further details have been divulged.

Kenaope does very well indeed!

By Basadi Morokotso

A Tsau study group former student, Kenaape Motshwarakgole, who last year approached The Ngami Times for assistance in paying her examination fees, has passed the 2011 Junior Certificate examinations with a second class pass.

Motshwarakgole was assisted by the Yarona FM radio station which paid for the examination fees. She was smiling from ear to ear this week when she told of how she made it to the top despite the many setbacks she underwent while trying to source money from Good Samaritans as her parents could not afford the required examination fee.

In an interview before the exam, Motshwarakgole said she believed in herself and was therefore confident of a very good pass, something which she finally achieved.

Her plight was published in The Ngami Times and the radio station immediately paid for her examination fees. She was in class for revisions the next morning just a week before the examinations started.

Maun looks like staying as a livestock market!

Maun: despite almost 96 years of changes and development, Maun, world's next New York, is refusing to shed its wild west frontier' image due to livestock in the streets.

There was a time in its history when Maun was known as a rough wild west frontier town' of cattle farmers and safari operators. Since its establishment in 1915, life in the village was synonymous with Khaki clad tourists, hunters, cattle and boys riding donkeys though the streets hence the name wild west town. Wild West town lost touch as airport hotels and other buildings took root to that of Botswana's tourism capital which is preferred by tourism marketers.

The construction of the tarred road from Nata via Maun to Shakawe in the 1990s has transformed this place into a fast-growing town.

There is commitment under the Maun revised development plan by government to transform Maun in to city that never sleeps in the model of New York. Yet, as visitors drive though the newly street lighted and refurbished internal roads, they are still bound to have to stop to allow livestock cross the street on their way to the Thamalakane River.

Farmers are free to keep their cattle in the village there is no bye law against that said Simon Bojosi chairperson of the North West Farmers association, in an interview.

During the Maun Administrative Authority (MAA) council meeting recently, councilor Hapaune Moreti also supported that the cattle must be allowed in Maun - The grazing pastures in the neighbouring cattle post have been depleted we must allow cattle to graze along the river in Maun he said

The issue of cattle or no cattle in Maun was a hotly debated issue during MAA council session.

In his speech, MAA chairman Galaletsang Mhapha decried large heads of idle cattle which are rooming the streets. He said the cattle cause accidents and damage property. Commenting on the issue, Ngamiland district commissioner Bernadette Malala opined that cattle in Maun are not good for the image and legibility of the town and the quest to develop the place as a tourism powerhouse.

In an interview with Batawana deputy paramount chief, Pitsoyabosigo Moremi said cattle problems might be aggravated by the flooding of the Thamalakane River which has turned the west part of Maun into virtually an island.

As grazing lands are under water and cattle movement for grazing has been affected in areas such as Shashe and Boro.

Clearly Maun has regained its pioneer charm; the Wild West look so despised by those who call for the it to be turned in to a suburban sprawl empty of cattle and donkeys.

In an earlier interview, NWDC chairman Tebogo Bethia revealed that there are plans to turn Maun into a larger place town to facilitate development of the village as a tourism Hub. He said the idea could not go through because it was realised that this cannot happen as it is a Batawana village ruled by chieftainship.

According to Bethia once formally declared a Town it means the Township Act will become operational which means the Bogosi will not have a saying in the running of the place.

The Maun revised development plan, jointly implemented by Tawana Land Board and NWDC strives to develop it as a tourism hub. Arrays of tourism developments donning the Thamalakane river front are proposed. The plan comes after a realisation that Maun is an unutilised asset to Botswana tourism.

Maun serves as a getaway to the Chobe, the Moremi game reserve and the Okavango delta for tourists flocking in to see our wildlife but this tourism does not adequately benefit from thousands of tourists who come though the Maun airport annually..

There is therefore a call to develop the place to offer a tourism product different to wildlife tourism in Botswana's core tourism areas.

The BTO is already undertaking feasibility studies on the Maun game park with the view to see how it can be utilised apart from being a recreational wildlife park. An ecotourism park is also proposed for the Boro.

However it would seem tourism developments will have to compete for space with livestock farming.

Often referred to as the heat beat of Ngamiland, Maun is not safe from problems affecting the whole district, the resource curse.

Ngamiland boasts of a large cattle head and a booming tourism and, recently, copper mining. It appears that the development of either cattle production or tourism will have to come at the expense of another.

The majority of people in the district are historically cattle farmers. A lot of them have been reduced in to poverty by the marauding Foot and Mouth disease which come from buffaloes in the area. This has created a lot of enemies among people to the government dream of tourism development in the district.

Festive in the north

Bright Kholi gives the highlights of the festive season in Changate, which was mainly characterised by football.

I left for Changate earlier than many people and on arrival on December 19, the festive mood was already high. The two village football teams were already advanced in their training in preparation for the tournament that they take part in. The village was generally vibrant, with parents looking up to their arrival of the children for this important time of the year. There has never been a better meeting time for families like the Christmas holidays. It's always good to be close to your bigger family, mother, brothers, kids, nephews, grandmother, cousins and so forth. I was content, and it also proved that no place is better than home.

However, Christmas Day itself is no longer a big day here - it's just like any other day - but it's different for New Year's Eve! A large crowd gathered until the early hours of New Year's Day. Like in past years, this year's festive season was largely characterised by the Nkange Top 10 football tournament, which covers villages of Senete, Nkange and Changate.

The tournament has been running for over 10 years, and it's been going through transformations over the years as different sponsors took over. The past festive saw the tournament changing sponsorships and adding two more teams to become Top 10 from the original Top 8.

The model of the tournament is such that the teams are divided into two groups and play a point system after which the top two teams from each group proceed to the semi finals.

Besides football the festive was also characterised by weddings, family gatherings, feasts, picnics and parties. To my surprise, crime was non existent, and during the entire holiday, I never saw any police officer or police vehicle except for those working at the Kgotla, who a relaxed holiday.

This is despite the fact that there are quite a number of our friends from the east here. Having spent 19 days here, I still did not feel like coming back to work, got a well deserved break though.

I take my hat off to Changate and Changateans!

KBL puts smiles on bar owners

Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL) awarded prizes to the best performing bars in selling its products in Ngamiland. KBL's marketing channel manager Tshepho Modise awarded the prizes over the weekend. Pictured is the owner of The Pub, Leeme Ditsiane (far left), receiving her prize of 3 pallets of 660 ml beer of her choice from KBL district manager Gakenosi Mpho for scooping position one in the second quarter competition. Second position, 2 pallets of 660ml beer went to Greenland Bar, third prize of one pallet went to Star Bar, Ox Pak Liquor Rest got 30 cases for position four while Eat and Enjoy got 20 cases in position 5.

MANY PROBLEMS IN ZEBRAS CAMP

Special Correspondent

A disappointing last weekend for 2012 Africa Cup of Nations challengers saw Botswana Zebras players go on strike before being held 0-0 at home by under strength Zimbabwe in a warm-up game.

The team left Gaborone this week with praises from President Ian Khama ringing in their ears. The Cup of Nations kicks off on January 21 with Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia and Zambia joining co-hosts Equatorial Guinea and Gabon on the title trail. The Botswana team refused to train for two days after national football association officials said they could not meet a series of financial demands from the surprise first-time qualifiers. The Zebras want each of the 23 players chosen for the three-week tournament to receive a US$13 000 (about P90 000) bonus plus US$2 000 (about P14 000) for a win, US$1 000 (about P7 000) for a draw and US$4 500 (about P31 000) for reaching the quarterfinals. Officials have needed government support to fund two camps in South Africa and say extra money is not available. Financial rewards is one of several issues that have marred preparations with a request from coach Stanley Tshosane to train in Kenya and Brazil rejected and South Africa and Cameroon chosen. Tshosane, widely praised for the three-year transformation of Botswana from football lightweights to Cup of Nations challengers, was also upset when talks on a possible new contract were postponed until the African football showpiece ends.

Botswana at the weekend dominated the Gaborone friendly against opponents lacking their foreign-based stars and acting captain Joel Mogorosi led a late assault that produced several fine saves from Washington Arubi. The Zebras flew to the Cameroon port city Douala on Wednesday for a 10 day-camp that may involve matches against club sides.

They face co-favourites Ghana on January 24 in the opening Group D fixture.

Zebras in group of death

The groups for the Africa Cup of Nations 2012 have been drawn in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea with the main talking point being Group D, which has been described as the Group of Death and which pits Botswana against Ghana. Botswana is with other debutants Mali and Guinea in this group.

In Group C, co-hosts Gabon will fight it out with Niger, Morocco and Tunisia for a quarter final place. The other co-host Equatorial Guinea were also handed a challenging draw in Group A where they face Libya, Senegal and Zambia.

Cot d'Ivoire should pull through from Group B where it has the company of Sudan, Burkina Faso and Angola.

Group A teams will based in Bata; Group B - Malabo, Group C Libreville and Group D Franceville.

Group A: Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Senegal, Zambia

Group B: Cote d'Ivoire, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Angola

Group C: Gabon, Niger, Morocco. Tunisia

Group D: Ghana, Botswana, Mali, Guinea

(Source: cafonline)

Huge demand for Zebras shirts as Cup bid nears

GABORONE - The impressive performance by the national football team, the Zebras has come as a huge blessing for the local supplier, All Kasi as the demand for the national team jerseys continues to soar. Every Friday, Batswana are spotted clad in national colours in support of the national team as the football euphoria continues to escalate following the team's historic qualification for the AFCON finals.

The marketing director of All Kasi, Barnes Maplanka confirmed that ever since the Zebras' historic feat the replica jersey sales have gone up. He noted that even before the Friday initiative, many Batswana wanted to be seen wearing the local brand, adding that the demand has forced All Kasi to increase production. A fortnight ago, All Kasi launched two new jerseys to be used by the Zebras at the 2012 AFCON finals in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea which kicks off in nine days. He said the P1 000 away jersey which is intended to raise funds for the team is also selling well. The new jerseys have been distributed to sports shops and boutiques countrywide and are also available at the All Kasi shop in Lobatse while the home jersey can be found at Orange shops around the country.Maplanka said they are happy with the support they have received from Batswana over the years. (BOPA)

Local soccer kicks off again

The Nhabe region football league is expected to set the ball rolling this week with games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the MTC ground and the Wildlife Anti-poaching ground. At the time of going to press, the league committee was still trying to sort out the issue of which teams were to play, where and when as most of the teams did not play their fixtures games during the period before the Christmas holidays. A fixture list for the second round had been drawn and is apparently awaiting the approval of the region's chairman, Kgato Motai. The regional league is expected to run until the end of April as this years' relegation play-offs are to be held in Kasane in May.

Officials head for AFCON

The head coach of the Zebras, Stanley Tshosane, has released the names of the officials comprising the Botswana delegation.

The 30-person delegation will be joined at a later stage by the following persons:

They are: Tshepo Mphoeng (Head of Delegation), Rrenyane Dikole (Technical Team), Odirile Matlhaku (Technical Team), Oaitse Mathiba (Technical Team Motivational Speaker), Billy Mabophiwa (Security Manager), Sakaeyo Janie (Media Officer) and Merapelo Mogojwe (Translator).

Permalink | View Entire Page

17 Dec ' 21:02

Edition 584 16 December 2011 - 13 January 2012

The spirit of Christmas was celebrated in the bush when the Nata Village Trust for women, children and orphans hosted a children's Christmas Party for the children of the Malelejwa and Tshuane settlements at the Malelejwa health post situated in the Mosetse River flood plain. The settlements are about 100km south of Nata on the eastern side of Sua Pan and are definitely classified as in the bush with no facilities, stores, or schools. The people of these settlements provided meat, papa, vegetables, rice and samp which was prepared on site, but prior to eating over 250 excited children were treated to a gift and a cold drink provided by Santa Claus. The kids came from near and far by foot, donkey and, for the more remote and fortunate, by vehicle provided by local councillor Richard Sikwane. Deputy chairperson, Dinko Thuthuma thanked the trust's generous donors.. The Trust's activities can be followed on www.natavillagetrust.com

The Editor and Management of The Ngami Times wishes all readers and advertisers a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year

POLICE TO CRACK THE WHIP

The feared booze bus is waiting for those who over-indulgence this festive season!

The festive season has already started and so have the police in crime and road traffic offences during the Christmas and New Year period.

This was revealed by Police District No 5 traffic officer, Superintendent Alfred Magudu, who said the police will crack the whip on those who go above the law.

According to Magudu, motorists and other road users alike should be extra vigilant on the roads and elsewhere as the police will be working round the clock to combat any form of crime, whether big or small.

In previous years, Magudu said they had come across over-excited people whose excitement drove them to police cells for crimes committed. Usually they weren't were not aware they had consumed too much alcohol.

He said in most cases drivers ended up losing their licences and were fined for exceeding alcohol levels.

From as early as yesterday, the police has been be mounting road blocks and speed traps on all main roads and he said our booze bus will also be a regular on the roads, patrolling as far as Sehitwa, Gumare and Shakawe.

He added: We have come to realise that people have resorted to taking the police lightly and not heeding whatever advice we give them. Instead, they do the opposite and end up calling us names even when they know they are on the wrong side of the law.

We are not going to tolerate misconduct because if we did we will be failing in our duty to achieve our intended goal. It is a very sad thing to spend the festive season in custody while everyone else is enjoying themselves. So, I just hope members of the public will cooperate and do the right thing.

The alcohol limit is 0.35mmg per 1000ml breath.

The One For The Road campaign will be operating during the festive season as well, said organiser Gavin van Niekerk. Anyone wishing to take advantage of the chauffeur service can telephone 76550128.

On crime in general, Magudu said neighbourhood watch is paramount at this time of the year and sent a strong warning that people should inform their neighbours before travelling so that they may keep an eye on their houses as thieves could target those that looked deserted.

He said people should also make it a point that they always check on serial numbers of various property so that they may be able to identify them if stolen and recovered by police, adding that usually it is not an easy undertaking to locate property which does not bear serial numbers.

On Wednesday night, four intruders cut through a fence and entered a property in Disaneng. They stole clothing and other property, but dropped some of the stolen goods when the 911 Neighbourhood Watch radio network was alerted by the property owners.

Members converged on exits 4 and 5 in a bid to apprehend the four, for whom a search is continuing.

Next year's flood could be more serious'

There is a strong possibility that next year's river floods in northern Botswana could be more serious than experienced in the past two years. Already warnings are being issued in neighbouring countries about the situation.

Water levels have been rising steadily since November as a result of heavy rains in the eastern highlands of Angola, parts of the Caprivi Strip in Namibia and western Zambia.

The rains have augmented the already flowing rivers resulting from the 2011 floods. At Sexaxa near Maun this week, rainfall figures indicated about 150mm had fallen in the first 10 days of December while at Island Safari Lodge the water level in the Thamalakane River has risen to over 3.2metres. According to the Hydrological Services in Namibia, the Kavango River which feeds the Okavango River is rising further due to good rainfall in northern Namibia and Angola over the past few days. The Zambezi River remains stable although heavy rains are predicted from the Congo River Basin to the Zambezi, which feeds the Chobe and also affected rivers in the far north of the country.

Earlier this year massive flooding inundated many parts of Ngamiland, the Okavango Panhandle, the Moremi Game Reserve, Maun, and the Rakops and Toteng areas.

Raging floodwaters also caused damage to bridges and other installations in Maun, Toteng and Rakops while other bridges were covered by water as well.

Vicious rape of girl at nightclub

A young woman was dragged screaming and fighting out of a popular Maun nightclub at the weekend and raped in a parked car.

She received serious injuries and is in hospital.

The alleged rapist has not yet been apprehended.

According to eyewitnesses, the rapist dragged the screaming girl outside with anyone taking notice of it and no one stepped forward to help her.

Her family prominent business people in Maun and whose name is known to The Ngami Times but cannot be published are taking legal action to ensure its doors are shut.

They have also approached the North West District Council and the Licensing Board to have the licence revoked. The family wants to know how liquor can be sold there, and in the street alongside, after 11pm the official closing time for bars and restaurants - as well as why the police refuse to take action about anyone drinking liquor on the streets, an illegal act.

The place is a disgrace to Maun, the girl's mother told The Ngami Times. Every morning, inside and outside the fence, the place looks worse than the council dump with bottles, cans and used condoms lying around, and smelling not unlike an unflushed toilet.

I will celebrate the day the nightclub is closed and until then I can only urge the management to implement stricter security and prohibition of drinking in public be vigorously enforced by the police.

Businesses in the area have also lodged complaints about the nightclub.

Acting police station commander, Assistant Superintendent Thusoemang Letibirwa, has told The Ngami Times in a telephone interview that no one has been arrested in regard to the rape. Letibirwa said that this was because the victim had not described or identified anyone but said investigations are ongoing. In a telephone interview, a counsellor at Women Against Rape, Chawa Mahlaya, said that the victim has been assisted to obtain the sexual assault kit from the police. Mahlaya said the victim is better and has been discharged from hospital.

She also said that the incident took place in the dark and in a short period of time, making it difficult for the victim to do identification.

Two convicted of assault, damage to property

By Lesley Van Neel

Mogomotsi Tangane (27) and Leo Wellio (26), both of Maun, were this week convicted in the Maun magistrate's court of assault and malacious damage to property.

Chief magistrate, Mompati Taolo found Tangane guilty for assaulting Reneilwe Wright and sentenced him to three months imprisonment wholly suspended for three years.

Taolo also convicted both Tangane and Wellio for damaging Wright's vehicle and sentenced them to three years imprisonment wholly suspended for three years.

He ordered them to compensate the complainant within 60 days for the money spent on repairing the vehicle. While agreeing with the mitigation from the accused's attorney Charles Tlagae that the two have a chance to turn over a new leaf and become useful to the community, Taolo desparaged the contention that they were young, insisting they are mature.

Tlagae had also pleaded with the court to be lenient with the accused as they were first offenders and requested a wholly suspended sentence as both accused persons are gainfully employed. Each have a child and are breadwinners for their families.

He pleaded that the court be compassionate because it is December, which is a month of forgiveness, cherishing and giving.

When passing sentence, Taolo said that he agrees that the accused can turn over a new leaf but he noted that from the evidence the accused were malicious and that the offence carries a five-year maximum jail term.

Taolo also said that assault carries a maximum of 12 months in prison.

The evidence presented before the court was that on August 13, 2010, Tangane had assaulted Wright after the latter had an argument with one Kabelo Selabe at Akron Tangier Bar in Boseja (Maun). Tangane reportedly hit Wright with a fist and Wellio joined in the fight, siding with Tangane.

Fearing for his life, Wright ran off to where his vehicle was parked.

The complainant testified that he reversed his car trying to speed away from the accused who then started throwing stones and bottles at his car, damaging it.

The complainant's evidence was corroborated by other state witnesses.

Heed the warnings this festive season

Once again as we sign-off this last edition of the year, it is proper and fitting to remind our readers that there is a tomorrow after Christmas. We will never tire of emphasising responsibility while enjoying the festivities, safe driving, HIV/AIDS and responsible buying.

While this is a period while the multitudes take their well-deserved break from work, it has also unfortunately come to be associated with heartbreaks. The Christmas season traditionally records the highest numbers of fatal road accidents than any other public holiday.

We commend specifically the Department of Road Safety, the Botswana Police Traffic Division, and the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund for their proactive efforts in sensitising the public on the dangers of over-speeding, driving unroadworthy vehicles and, of course, drunken driving. The past few months have witnessed a concerted effort from these departments to drum into road users measures that can be applied to reduce road accidents.

Road safety is not the only cause of concern during this merry-making season.

The festive season also provides the scourge of HIV and AIDS that has for decades ravaged Batswana with an opportunity to claim more victims. It is therefore important that we stand together to deny it that opportunity, through abstinence and use of protection all the time as HIV and AIDS is the main killer in Botswana.

The season has also become associated with unbridled violence, particularly directed against women and children.

Before the perpetrators can embark on another orgy of violence against these disadvantaged groups they should be reminded to reflect on the just-ended 16 Days of Activism on Violence against Women and Children.

These festivities have also proved to be major predators of our hard-earned income. Whilst seized by the spirit of the season, most of us tend to forget that the 10-day craze of buying is just what it is. Careless spending, with naked urging from all kind of traders, has left many in financial ruin.

We should be able to set our spending priorities right, despite abundant temptations that we are confronted with. Perhaps, it would be wiser to take the late artist Coex'ae Qgam (Dada)'s advice that You must not buy beer first. You can buy it later with spare change.

Shuffle is this week disgusted with the thugs in this town.

It is not hard to see why when I recount the following story, which you can read more fully elsewhere in this newspaper.

Last weekend a lovely young girl, whom Shuffle has known for almost 12 years, was dragged kicking and screaming out of a nightclub, thrown into a car and raped.

From all accounts the rapist hasn't yet been caught but if he brags about it to his friends, there is sure to be one with a conscience and report it to the police or Women Against Rape.

It is a truly sickening thing to happen to her.

She was out with friends for festive season fun when the dirty thug pounced. She was dragged across the parking lot into the car. Not one single person raised a hand to stop him!

That nightclub has always been a thorn in the side of many business people in the same street, what with layers of broken glass on the roadside verge left there by idiots who buy their liquor from the owners of cars in direct defiance of the law which forbids drinking on the streets.

The police don't seem to be taking any notice of this trade. Why not?

The Nata Village Trust under the chairmanship of prominent businessman Seloma Tiro is back on the internet after through no fault of its own the link closed down, but that didn't mean the trust wasn't operating.

It has been doing so on a more low key basis than previously.

Readers may remember stories of the homeless grandmother of seven whom through the efforts of the Nata Village Trust and the Peace Corps representative (Pedro Martinez) had a home built and donated to the family, and then there was the arrival of Father Christmas on a donkey cart giving Christmas gifts to orphans in Nata Village. This year they have reached out even further afield by visiting the children of the Malelejwa and Tshuane settlements, about 100 km south of Nata past the Mosetse river flood plain and delta

We are sure all our readers will join us in wishing them good luck in their efforts to support the women and orphans of the Nata region and wish them all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

****

Judging from the number of wrecked vehicles one sees at Maun police station these days, is it no wonder that taxi drivers and maybe other motorists do not know or even understand the rules of the road?

With Christmas looming, there will be many more accidents unless people take to heart road safety.

Shuffle hopes that holidaymakers will try hard to keep death of the road. The Grim Reaper will be everywhere this festive season unless motorists take heed of the many warnings issued by police and road transport officials every year.

Maun has had a brief look at what a real-live fire engine (sorry, fire tender is the correct terminology) looks like!

As most readers will know, Maun's spanking new fire station has been without equipment or people for two years and it was with great excitement that Shuffle spied two gleaming white tenders parked outside Nando's restaurant the other day.

Alas! They were not destined for Maun but for Harare having been off-loaded at Walvis Bay, Namibia, and driven through this country to the destination.

Oh well, at least we have had the chance to see what such a vehicle looks like.

The Maun Shuffle wishes all readers a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Drive safely and don't catch the Booze Bus!

Book review

Title: I don't know why I was created

Authors: Ann Gollifer and Jenny Egner

Publisher: Eggson Books (2011)

ISBN: 978-9-9912-9381-3

Definitely the nine-year wait for the book on one of Botswana's great artists, Coex'ae Qgam, or simply Dada, as popularly known, has been worthy it. It took the authors that long to put together the biography and portrait; and the results are captivating.

The design of book that was done by Lance Cherry effectively delivers the reverberating story of Dada the story teller, dancer, beadworker, painter, printmaker, daughter, sister, mother, lover and wife. Putting together the life story of an amazing character like Dada must have been a Herculean task, but the Gollifer-Egner team was undoubtedly up to it.

The end product is unique in all respects. The black-and-white hard cover belies the explosion of colour that confronts the reader from the first turn of a page.

It is not your normal Page 1 to 186 affair, instead what could be page numbering is depicted by topics in alphabetical order from A-Z. This being the work of artists (both authors and their subject), the text is not intrusive of the visuals - paintings and prints - that are the main carriers of Dada's life story. It has rather been used complementarily.

Dada's strory is uniquely told through her art work and conversations with those who were closer to her. As her fellow co-workers who started the Kuru Art Project, the resilient Willemien le Roux notes in the foreword: This book is a tribute to Dada, that spirited, gifted, life-changing and loving woman, but most of all, it is a tribute to her voice. It is a work of love by one of her most trusted friends and could only be done by a fellow artist, who spoke the same language as Dada, beyond linguistic patterns and grammatical structures.

Le Roux is referring to one of the authors, Ann Gollifer, whose intimate friendship with Dada that began in 1991 at an art workshop in Kanye not only takes us deeper into those spirals of joy but also the deep despair, the poignancy, the humour and beauty of a remarkable life.

Those conversations also included Cg'ose Ntcox'o (Cgoise), Tamar Mason, Thamae Setshogo, Ndondonyane Ditsheko, Maude Brown, Ennie Coex'ae Bob, Tsebe, Catharina Meyer Scheeper, Kapokie, shopkeepers, teachers and nurses living and working in D'Kar.

These conversations help the reader understand the complex human being that was Dada. They help explain the world that shaped her life and work; her world view on a wide range of topics. For instance, on relationships we learn that she could not brook infidelity which resulted in her two-year stinct in prison after burning down her house with her husband in it, and whom she accused of such vice. He escaped unharmed though.

On the other hand she valued her children, whom she missed greatly while in prison.

There are many humourous scenes in the book such as the girl pranks when she was with Gollifer and another well-known artist, Neo Matome, who together hosted the Three Women, Three Perspectives show which toured the whole of southern Africa.

We also learn that though she seemed to be constantly in need of money, it was not out of greed but to share it with her community.

Her generosity must have been unparallelled. In fact, her empathy was noticed by those she encountered in her travels worldwide.

For instance, she reportedly started collecting blankets from her hotel's rooms after noticing homeless people sleeping in freezing cold outside in Holland. Or the instance, where she together with her fellow Kuru artist gave a London tramp some money. She was also saddened by an incident at a Cape farm (South Africa) where a farmer was rearing people like animals.

She also had strong views on disenfranchisement.

The beadworker that she was, she noted that it was difficult to get ostrich eggshells.

It needs a permit. If you have seen a place where the ostrich lays its eggs then when it hatches the empty eggshells are left but you cannot gather them or you will be jailed. Now you have to buy them from the craft shop. This is bad. It is the government. They took this land; they control whatever is in the bush. Everything! When I sit down and think the land in the past was ours. Now it does not belong to us. I am very angry because the government has taken our land because they say we are Bushmen. There is nothing we can do.

Dada was not all about complaining, though. She was highly appreciative of what life had given her. I'm very proud of the work. I couldn't believe that I could see all these places that my dad and mum could not go to. So I'm really proud of it.

Dada was born in the Ghanzi district in 1934 and passed away in her beloved village of D'Kar on 24 October 2008. She had lived and worked on Ghanzi farms and in Gobabis (Namibia) as nanny before she finally joined the Kuru Art Project in 1990.

She spoke all eight languanges that made up her locality: Naro, Ju/'hoan, Setswana, Sekgalagadi, Afrikaans, Herero, Nama and English.

As a fitting tribute to a great artist, this is one of those books that will stay with the reader for a very long time after having finished it. Its textbook feel and character makes it an obvious classroom set book.

Reviewed by Keto Segwai

Passenger praises Air Botswana service

Sir, - I felt compelled to write in and tell you about a recent positive experience I have had with Air Botswana.

I am a UK resident living in London, currently on holiday visiting friends here in Maun. Upon early arrival in Botswana on December 3, approximately two hours after I arrived I realised I had left my itouch (ipod) on my recent flight from Johannesburg to Maun. Having heard Air Botswana do not have the best of reputations, I was warned that I probably wouldn't get it back.

However, with an air of optimism we drove back to the airport to check and I was so pleasantly surprised when the friendly representative at the airport came back with my itouch in hand.

No qualms or squabbles just great service. Safe to say they have contributed to a great stay here in Botswana and maybe they deserved a bit of good publicity. Perhaps this is something you can publish as a thank you for their great service.

STEPHANIE CUNNINGHAM

England

Street lights not switched on

Sir, - I understand that millions of Pula has been spent on installing street lights in Maun.

However, can anyone explain why the lights, which were switched on along some main arteries such as the road to Shorobe circle have more often than not been working?

Is it because someone has been stealing copper wire or perhaps been asleep on the job?

INTERESTED MOTORIST

Casino bid challenged at court

LOBATSE - High Court judge Isaac Lesetedi has reserved judgment in a case in which a group of existing casino operators has approached the courts to block a new entrant into market, Workmans Holdings, which will operate as Masa Casino at the new Gaborone CBD, reports the Gaborone newspaper Sunday Standard.

Casinos challenging Masa Casino are Sun International Botswana, trading as Gaborone Sun, Peermont Global, trading as Grand Palm, and Moonlite Casino, trading as Gaborone Hotel Casino. Among submissions made by applicants' lawyers are that the Licensing Board, on giving out the new license, did not consider a report they had placed before the Board which intended to demonstrate that the market in Gaborone was saturated for another casino to be established.

Gumare police women donate to orphans

As part of upholding one of the Vision 2016 pillars, the Gumare Police Women Network organised a Christmas party at which they donated clothes to 15 orphans and five children with disabilities. The event was held at Gumare police station, with the main speaker being Headman of Records at Gumare, Mr Molelwa. Other dignitaries included social and community development officer Refilwe Tebelelo while Inspector Ramatatome gave the welcome remarks. One behalf of the Network, Sergeant Ramatatome said it had not been easy organising the event as there were challenges and applauded the social and development office for assisting. The Gumare business community was also praised for their support. The donations for clothing and money amounted to P5 000.00.

New uniform for Anti-Poaching Unit

Members of the Anti-Poaching Unit (APU) under the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) are now wearing a new uniform which was launched in Maun on Friday at the end of the unit's 2011 refresher course. Speaking at the event to mark the passing out parade and launch of the new uniform at the Botswana Wildlife Training Institute (BWTI), the deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Edmont Moabi, said the new uniform was a token of appreciation of the important role played by APU officers. He said the uniform will go a long way in boosting the morale of the officers.

Moabi also noted that recently the ministry purchased a total of 36 vehicles for the APU operations in the elephant range hotspots.

He commended the refresher course, which he said was important to maintain a motivated work force with high morale, integrity and professionalism as well as building confidence.

Law enforcement is a very trying career. In most cases the working times are not as clear cut as those for the rest of the service.

These officers before us made it possible for tourism to flourish as they proved their capability equaling, if not surpassing the threats posed by sophisticated poaching syndicates, he said.

APU commander, Colonel Petrus Manyemba, said that having achieved the objectives of the refresher course, the officers were better equipped to face their adversaries whose tactics are of a military nature and change from time to time.

Manyemba said officers were expected after the course to apply field craft tactics and map reading in executing anti-poaching activities, and demonstrate correct drill movements with and without firearms to enhance discipline. The officers are also expected to display a skilled level in the use and maintenance of individual firearms in accordance with the established technical instructions, APU safety precautions and standard operating procedures.

OIS students honoured at prize-giving

The senior class at the OIS event and (right) principal David Tregilges

The Okavango International School 2011 senior and junior prize-giving ceremonies and end-year concerts were recently held at the All Nations Village Church.

Awards were given for achievement, commitment and improvement in academics and sport. The junior children performed the concert Children Around The World and guests were invited to purchase food from around the world that was prepared by the parents, teachers and students.

The senior prize giving ceremony also took place at the village Church where the Guest of Honour was Linda Madeksho, the retiring Chief Operations Officer of Love Botswana Outreach Mission. She encouraged students to keep learning once they leave school.

Other distinguished guests were the founders of Okavango International School, Jerry and Jana Lackey, as well as a large number of parents of the student body from Maun and beyond.

There was a variety of presentations by the students and awards were given for achievement, commitment and improvement.

The principal, David Tregilges, in his year-end report mentioned a no-nonsense approach to school discipline, as well as the improving IGCSE results over the years, a trend which should continue.

Jacques Pieterse and Ludo Seame were presented to the gathering as the 2012 Head Boy and Head Girl, together with Lerako Khumoetsile and Anne-Mart Visser as their deputies.

Student sentenced, canned for stabbing

A teenager of Shashe ward in Maun, who is awaiting his Junior Certificate results, was this week sentenced to three years imprisonment wholly suspended for three years on the condition that he does not commit a similar offence. The former student of Tshwaragano Junior Secondary School, Onkagetse Kadisa, was also sentenced to five strokes by Maun principal magistrate Clifford Foroma. He had pleaded guilty to stabbing his former girlfriend with a knife. According to the facts of the case, on March 18 at Shashe ward the 19-year-old's former girlfriend, Reneilwe Mafoko (17) told him she had decided to end their affair.

Kadisa reportedly opposed the termination of that relationship and instead proposed they talked, a meeting which took place on March 23 at the public water standpipe.

When Mafoko stood by her earlier decision to terminate the affair, Kadisa stabbed her with a knife. The matter was reported to the police and the accused subsequently pleaded guilty in the court though he insisted it was the complainant's fault as she got him beaten up by her other boyfriends.

In mitigation, he asked for a lenient sentence saying he is awaiting his Form Three results. He also said he is an orphan and was assisted by the Social Welfare department. He also said he was forced by the complainant to commit the offence. When passing sentence, Foroma said he considered the accused's mitigation and that the accused had pleaded guilty, which shows remorse. He, however, said he considered that the complainant sustained multiple injuries including to the spinal cord. He said the complainant was admitted to the hospital and was undergoing psychotherapy.

Foroma also said he considered that a knife is a dangerous weapon, adding that a jail term was appropriate for the offence. He also said he considered that the accused was still young and can be rehabilitated.

Wildlife department donates to a Maun woman

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) in Maun recently donated goods worth about P4 000 to a needy woman in Boyei ward in Maun.

Boikanyo Mosweunyane, 67, received the goods which included a bed, blankets, a four burner stove with a 19 kg gas cylinder and cooking utensils from the department's social welfare committee.

Speakers at the event urged the community at large to also take the lead in helping. It was also noted that traditionally people used to help those in need through practices such as Mafisa and Letsema which assisted many in fighting poverty. This has changed as people rarely help those in need leading to the rise in numbers of destitutes.

Kgosi Moeti Moeti, of Boyei Ward, said the donation should be taken as a challenge by the community to do likewise in helping those in need. He added that donations are not meant to be made only by workers and companies as even an individual can show support.

Moeti called upon people to assist Mosweunyane in building her a house to keep her goods safely. She is currently staying in an old reed house.

DWNP's John Mazebedi also said they had also donated toiletries valued at P3 500 to the Thuso Lutheran Rehabilitation Centre. Funds were raised through the sale of drinks and snacks. The Social and Community Development unit from North West District Council and the Boyei Village Development Committee (VDC) assisted them to identify the deserving recipient.

A happy Mosweunyane thanked the donors for having given her an early Christmas present, saying she was going to live just like other people and that that her lifestyle has changed to a better.

More crocodiles released into the Okavango

Special Correspondent

SHAKAWE  Here's a Christmas story with a difference - about 100 farm-reared young crocodiles this week suddenly found themselves free to swim wherever they want, and dive as deep as they can in the clear water among water lilies and papyrus stalks, with live, colourful fish whisking past their astonished faces.

While this could in one way be a perfect Christmas story of a confined existence changing in an instant into one of freedom in paradise, the team that released the crocs could not help but pity them a little bit as a battle awaits them to fend for themselves away from the heated ponds and fast food existence they have been used to during their almost two years of their lives!

While crocodiles have been receiving a lot of bad press during the past months due to the flooding of the Okavango swamps crocodile farm at Sitatunga and the fear and anger caused by the increase of these crocs in the river, few people realize how more crocodiles actually benefit them as more in the river actually keeps the water and the fish population of our Okavango Delta healthy!

This fact was the reason why the Krokovango Crocodile Farm in Samochima in the Okavango panhandle area was established in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife in 2004, and is the reason why this farm has just released the final batch of a total of 300 crocodiles into the river.

Like in the Maun area, concerns are expressed by many in the panhandle, but Krokovango does its best to inform and educate people on how to live alongside wildlife for a healthier environment through the Leseding Centre and the University of the Free State research done in this area. Research is also done by the Crocodile Research Monitoring team, and the Department of Animal Health and Wildlife departments are involved in the process from beginning to end.

The release was accompanied by Dr T Aron from Veterinary Services, and Israel Modisa from the Wildlife Department.

The main role of crocodiles in the river is to act out their role in the food chain by keeping the numbers of predatory fish down, such as catfish, which in turn helps to increase the fish favoured by subsistence and recreational fishermen, adding to food security in the area and the rest of the country.

Three batches of crocodiles were released over a period of 4 years, their age being one and a half years to give them a better chance of survival in the wild.

The released crocodiles were all tagged and numbered to follow their movements and monitor their behaviour to study the transition of farmed animals to wild animals more closely.

The surprise factor of this release project has been that two actually returned to the farm, yearning for the safety of heated ponds and regular food, one of them even came back after a full year from as far as Nxamasere lagoon which is more than two hours upstream by boat.

Even though it looks like pure bliss when a farm-reared animal takes to the freedom of deep and clear water, this shows that the transition to territoriality and the survival of the fittest is not entirely problem free.

It is for this reason that Vince Shacks, from the crocodile monitoring team, states that most of the released crocodiles were later spotted in the shallow floodplain waters, where fishing is easier and larger crocodiles do not feel so comfortable.

Botswana Games a key to success in sport

The Botswana Games which got away in Gaborone last weekend must be seen as an opportunity to identify, develop and nurture potential sport talent.

Speaking at the official opening, Sports minister Shaw Kgathi said the timing brought to a close a year that could be termed a sport year for Botswana.

The Zebras qualification for AFCON in January-February is an achievement to be celebrated.

Botswana has this year participated in regional, continental and international competitions where local athletes did well. Some had done well at international competitions and were products of Botswana games. Outstanding athletes at the Botswana Games stood a chance to be selected for under-20 teams which would represent the country at the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa, Zone VI Games, also taking place next year. He urged athletes to put up their best performances to make it to the national team for the 2012 Under-20 Youth Games to be held in Zambia.

No funding for Olympic athletes

The Botswana National Olympics Committee (BNOC) says it does not have funds to give local athletes much-needed preparations ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

This was said in the BNOC's annual report handed in during the BNOC annual meeting. The BNOC had expected to be funded from three streams, namely the government, Olympic Solidarity as well as the private sector.

To date, only the support of Olympic Solidarity has come through. Three athletes - Amantle Montsho, Kabelo Kgosiemang and Isaac Makwala - have been on full Olympic Solidarity scholarships for a few years, with the latest renewal of their scholarships occurring at the beginning of this year, the report reads.

Regarding government funding, the government has talked to us a few times in the past on the issue but we have yet to get a confirmation of how much they will provide against our budget, the report stated.

Meanwhile, two promising athletes, Pako Seribe and Sakaria Kamberuka, left the country for Dakar, Senegal, on Wednesday to start intense training ahead of next year's Olympics.

Permalink | View Entire Page

12 Dec ' 03:55

Edition 583 9 - 16 December 2011

CROCODILES STOP RECOVERY OF DROWNED MAN

The warning of danger at the Shashe River which was ignored by four allegedly intoxicated men, resulting in one of them drowning. Pictured (top) is the activity there as officers hunt for crocodiles before they could recover the body

Crocodiles in the Shashe River played a role in the delay in retrieving the body of a 31-year-old Maun man who drowned in the river last Sunday afternoon. It could only be removed on Tuesday.

The police and Botswana Defence Force (BDF) scuba divers had, at the time of the Shashe incident, been retrieving the body of a 15-year-old boy who drowned in Matsaudi on Saturday and whose body could also not be retrieved that day.

The reason why it took the BDF divers and the police almost two days to recover the man's body was because crocodiles could be seen at the place where he had drowned.

Eye witnesses said that when the scuba divers arrived at the scene, they were eager to start searching for the drowned man, but were then reluctant when they saw crocodiles at the spot.

On Monday, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks was brought in to kill the crocodiles so that the search could commence.

They spent the whole day trying to shoot the crocodiles, but without success.

On Tuesday, the body was found floating in the water and was removed.

The Maun Police Acting Station Commander, Assistant Superintendent Thusoemang Letibirwa, confirmed the weekend drowning of the man at the well-frequented picnic spot at Shashe.

The man, who was in the company of three other colleagues, is said to have ignored warnings from onlookers who tried to convince him and the others not to swim in the river, considering the fact that crocodiles posed a serious danger to swimmers.

He said the three men, all of whom were drunk, including the deceased, managed to swim to shore while the deceased vanished into deep water.

Letibirwa said because it was already dark, the police were not able to rescue the deceased and only managed to retrieve his body at around 7 am on Tuesday.

Letibirwa said when they got to the scene on Sunday at about 6pm, three crocodiles could be seen moving from one point to the other. The aim the following morning was to hunt for those crocodiles and kill them so that they could proceed with their mission.

Their efforts failed however as they only managed to kill one.

We carried on nevertheless with our searching but could not locate the man, whom we believed had sunk deep down. It was only the following day that we finally managed to get him out, he said.

On the Matsaudi incident, Letibirwa said the 15-year-old boy lost his life by drowning in Matsaudi on Saturday while he and two friends had gone to look for stray cattle which they were told could be on the other side of the river.

As they got to the river bank, they reportedly found a canoe, supposedly used by fishermen and which they used to cross.

The canoe capsized. Two of the boys survived.

The body was removed on the Sunday morning with help from the BDF scuba divers.

In another incident, a 24-year-old Thito man was found hanging from a tree by a passerby after he had had an argument the previous night at a shebeen.

The deceased's brother is said to have tried to intervene, after hearing of the misunderstanding which led to a fierce fight, by pleading with him to go home but his pleas fell on deaf ears as the deceased reportedly sneaked back to the shebeen and later on hanged himself.

No suicide note was left and police investigations continue.

Letibirwa said that as police they have reached a point whereby they feel stuck for words, now that the public has become so ignorant of the many warnings which are meant to keep them from of the dangers of swimming in the dangerous and crocodile infested rivers.

He said the many suicides are also enough evidence that people bottle up their problems and do not share them with family or friends. Suicide is something which, he said, should be seriously discouraged.

Our efforts seem not to ring a bell to communities here because day in and day out we report the same issues. It has also become apparent that people choose to do the opposite because we are not seeing any progress.

We wish to keep repeating and coming up with strategies of educating the public. All we want is for our alert messages to make sense to everyone, he said.

Bethia's powerful message at Christmas Ball

The yearly North West District Chairman's Christmas party, dubbed the Christmas Ball, was not characterised by the usual rhetoric about council projects and the state of council service to the public but rather on life and how God wants people to love Him and their neighbours.

The message is as simple as it is powerful: that we should love God and love our neighbours as ourselves. This message is one that can unite us and give hope and light to the world, the chairman, Tebogo Bethia, said, adding that the primary reason of the existence of the local authority is to provide services to the community it serves.

We have collectively done so much as a council with the help of government. However, we are individually called to play some part in helping those who are less fortunate in life. The central duty of every individual is to help those who need it most, the homeless, the hungry and the sick, he said.

He called on guests to help the down trodden to give them hope.

The leader of the opposition in the council, Tapologo Mosika, of Matlapaneng ward, said the council had achieved a lot over the years due to selfless service by councillors and council staff.

He pointed out that council now has a leader of the opposition and of the house, the leader of the council, which will ensure there are checks and balances.

Story emerging of why vet was deported

South African-born American veterinarian Dr Clay Wilson has been deported from Botswana after High Court judge Singh Walia endorsed President Ian Khama's decision to declare him an unwanted visitor to Botswana.

He left the country for the United States on Tuesday after spending the weekend in the Gaborone Prison. There is still no official clarity over the reasons, which the president does not have to reveal. Clay was deported in terms of an Executive Order.

Wilson had approached the High Court for an urgent interdict preventing his deportation, accusing President Khama of interfering with the administration of justice in that he declared him (Wilson) a prohibited immigrant while he had a pending case before court.

Wilson's attorney, Lizo Ngcongco, argued in court that the President was in contempt of court and said his argument was supported by Khama's affidavit in which the President stated that he considered and balanced such national interest with the current and pending review application of the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs decision to cancel Wilson's residence and work permits.

Ngcongco argued that Khama stressed in his affidavit that should the applicant succeed in his application it would seriously compromise the national interest and security.

Ngcongco contended that the decision to fast track the removal of Wilson supported their position that the President should have left the courts to deal with the pending review application (regarding residence and work permits) and that he was infringing on another arm of government, the judiciary.

The Ngami Times understand that Wilson had some weeks ago been warned and given time to pack up and leave.

It is thought that although he was an honorary veterinarian for the Department of Wildlife in the Chobe National Park, he had upset some department officials and conservationists by allegedly taking people into the park without having a guide or tourism licence.

Recently he apparently also took a film team into the park and allegedly darted an elephant without any licence for filming. In terms of Botswana law, no one can film in national parks without special permission being given by the Office of the President. There has been widespread comment on the Facebook social site on the internet with pros and cons being debated from all corners of the world. Some of the questions being asked include has something like this ever happened before in Botswana? In a role model country in Africa? Another alleged that Wilson had painted a very negative picture of the Chobe National Park and its wildlife conservation efforts, basically the picture of a wild habitat in a deep crisis, massive poaching, diseases and vanishing predators. Obviously not exactly what made the authorities happy. Wilson was founder and director of Chobe Wildlife Rescue. He graduated from the University of Florida, United States, with a BSc in Zoology in 1979 and after a year working as a game warden in Sabi Sabi game reserve in South Africa, he attended the veterinary school at Onderstepoort Veterinary Research Institute in Pretoria, graduating in 1987. While running Chobe Wildlife Rescue, Wilson maintained a veterinary practice in Kasane. Three weeks ago he donated 10 Garmin handheld GPS units to the Chobe National Park Wildlife and Parks officers. He had also conducted a mass vaccination of local dogs for Canine Distemper Virus and other potential diseases.Wilson was on the council of the National Wildlife Humane Society Advisory Council, a group involved in various wildlife fields that provide advice and information concerning their field of wildlife and/or environmental expertise.

Council robbery case set for hearing next year

The trial dates of a case of theft, involving Maun police constables Liberty Matikiti and Gammu Masole have been set for March 27, 28 and 29, 2012, for the hearing.

The dates were set during a mention hearing before Maun principal magistrate Clifford Foroma. The particulars are that the two, on April 11, 2010, broke into the North West District Council Revenue Office and stole two cash boxes containing the sum of P522 948.05 - payments for the Ipelegeng Programme.

Both accused had earlier been given P5 000 cash bail and surrendered two sureties each.

They were also ordered not to interfere with prospective witnesses and to report to Maun Police Station. The bail variation was later changed as they were ordered to attend mention hearings monthly.

Representing Matikiti was Tebogo Phoi, of Lecha and Associates, while Masole was represented by Wanano Lumbile, of Charles Tlagae Attorneys.

The prosecutor was Ali Tjizera, of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

Reality of lack of funds'

The contradiction surrounding the financial constraints refrain on the one hand, and the increasing instances of corruption in public institutions on the other, played itself out in Parliament recently.

Tshekedi Khama, Member of Parliament for Serowe North West, was told the electrification of staff houses and kgotla offices in Moreomabele and Tshimoyapula could not be implemented during National Development Plan (NDP 10) due to a lack of funds.

The Selebi Phikwe west legislator, Gilson Saleshando, was also informed that the town's 11 primary schools could not have all the chairs and desks they need due to financial constraints, and similarly, the residents of Rakops could not get a bridge to cross the Boteti River, which cuts the village in half as there is no budget provision for it under NDP 10.

In Tswapong, the construction of guard houses at clinics and health posts cannot be done due to financial constraints.

The refrain of lack of funds has simply become a standard response to many cases of development projects that have been put on hold.

Ironically, the same Parliament got a gripping and revealing presentation from the MP for South East South, Odirele Motlhale's motion that called for a parliamentary investigation into the Botswana Development Corporation (BDC).

This government enterprise is suspected to have lost more than P100-million at the glass manufacturing plant under construction in Palapye.

The BDC saga has been in the public domain for the most part of the year, and a forensic audit that was commissioned by the BDC board of directors unearthed what could amount to corrupt activities with impunity, involving, at least at this stage, the corporation's top executives.

Strangely, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Kenneth Matambo, under whom BDC falls, fired those board members who instigated the forensic audit.

However, last Friday's parliamentary session adopted a motion to investigate the financial shenanigans at the corporation. Just when everybody, that is ordinary citizens, thought our parliament is beginning to take its oversight role seriously, we hear the executive (President Ian Khama and his Cabinet) are about to thwart that effort.

Could this be another political expediency stunt by government?

Why would a government that can barely implement its numerous projects, which impacts directly on ordinary citizens' lives, choose to casually treat instances of suspected corrupt activities involving hundreds of millions of pula?

Millions are being lost in many public projects that include stadiums, airports, roads, bus ranks, hospitals and others. Under any accountable government anywhere in the world this should be a source of not only concern but also embarrassment.

But this does not appear to be the case here, where the government is only preoccupied with amassing dubious favourable ratings from the likes of Transparency International, which incidentally ranked us the lest corrupt in Africa this week.

We, however, cannot agree more with the director of the Directorate for Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), Rose Seretse, who described corruption as unhealthy for the economy. She recently told the Lobatse full council meeting that corruption cases are on the increase, particularly in relation to fraudulent acquisition of land, collusion between public officers and private companies during tenders, double invoicing, failure to declare interest and project cost overruns.

Until government starts treating these issues seriously, the lack of funds refrain is increasingly unconvincing to ordinary citizens and taxpayers.

Sooner rather than later, even our beloved rating friends will come around to see the reality that ordinary Batswana are living.

Why is it that Batswana persist in using American English spellings?

Even the Office of the President is at fault.

English, that is the Queen's English, is, according to the Constitution of Botswana, the official language of the country (Setswana is the national language), so when one sees Americanisms such as program (programme), autos (cars), gonna (going to), color (colour) etc cropping up in speeches and reports, Shuffle's blood boils.

School teachers and other public service employees across-the-board are the main culprits as they have also grown up on a diet of Americanisms picked up from TV programmes and reading foreign magazines. Therefore, teachers pass on the spelling of certain words to their students, who in turn pass those on to the next crop of kids going to school. One would like to think that education departments would make it clear to school teachers, and even their own staffs, that the correct spellings should be used. President Ian Khama the other day read a speech to commemorate World AIDS Day. The prepared speech from his office contained spellings such as program and so on. Don't even his spin doctors know how to spell or speak English?

After all, he was educated at good schools and attended Britain's Sandhurst Military Academy where you can bet your bottom dollar (er, pound) the spoken and written words were ALL in correct English.

The 5 hour power break in various parts of Maun last Thursday afternoon and evening played havoc with businesses and residents.

Of course, no one was answering the telephones at the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and so far as is known there has been no explanation and most likely never will be.

One would have thought that after all these years and countless maintenance power cuts, the BPC would have sorted out the glitches in their poorly-delivered service.

It is no wonder that the late Lionel Palmer referred to BPC as the Botswana Powerless Corporation. He would surely be laughing uproariously in his grave!

When are people going to learn?

Another life has been lost in the Shashe River due to supposed ignorance of the area. It is a great pity that although this newspaper and the police have continuously warned about the dangers of swimming in that river which when dry is pitted with deep holes and once the rains come, the holes fill up with water and become deadly for unsuspecting people. Now this newspaper has been informed there is a crocodile there as well, a new development, Shuffle hears.

So, here's a renewed warning about that area stay out the water!

** A question was again asked the other day about how cosmopolitan Maun really is as the town is regarded as having so many nationalities we can form our own United Nations! This is what the latest nationality count is supposed to be: Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Switzerland, Argentine, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland., Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Congo, Kenya, Italy, Spain, Tanzania, China, Mozambique, Cuba, Austria, Nigeria, Angola, Malawi, Greece, Cyprus, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ghana, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Cameroon, Lesotho, Sudan, and Bangladesh.

If anyone has other countries to add, please advise Shuffle.

**

Did You Know? Between 1902 and 1907, the same tiger killed 434 people in India.

Toteng's ladies of the night'

Sir, - I refer to the recent article Prostitution out of control in which local ladies of the night are reported to be luring unsuspecting men into exchanging sexual favours for quick cash.

While I have no doubt that the good gentlemen of Toteng have indeed been rendered helpless by the allure and skills of these pitiless temptresses, might I also suggest that, contrary to popular fantasy, these ladies are plying their trade as a desperate last resort, and not as a matter of choice.

Most would rather be safely at home with their babies than servicing a nightly succession of drunken and often violent customers.

Dear councillors and Police Commissioner, please dig a little deeper for the root of society's ills.

CAROLINE LINDSTROM

Botswana seen as least corrupt in Africa

Transparency International (TI) has released its annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and for the 16th year in a row, Botswana was cited as being the least corrupt country in Africa, as well as among the least corrupt countries in the world.

In a statement, the Office of the President says it is especially pleased to note that our country's overall score and ranking have significantly improved in this year's survey.

Botswana was ranked 32nd out of 183 countries included in the 2011 survey, up four places from last year and eight places since 2009.

Our country overall score this year was 6.1, up from last year's 5.8 and the 2009 score of 5.4.

Botswana's standing placed it well within the top 20% of all surveyed nations, as well as above over half of the nations of Europe, the statement added. In Africa, Botswana was one of only four countries to score above five, being trailed by Cape Verde (5.5), Mauritius (5.1) and Rwanda (5.0).

Of the 53 African countries, 37 scored 3 or below, which according to a TI is indicative of high levels of perceived corruption. TI is the leading international non-governmental organisation devoted to fighting corruption worldwide. Its annual CPI index reflects the perceptions of business people, academics and risk analysts, both resident and non-resident. It is a composite index, drawing on a range of additional expert and business surveys. Botswana's relative success in the annual survey over the years has been attributed to the country putting into place multiple safeguards, including the establishment of such institutions as the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) and the Ombudsman, as well as its constitutionally entrenched provisions for independent oversight by the Auditor General, Parliament and the Judiciary, said the statement.

Francistown airport potential lauded

FRANCISTOWN - The Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) says the upgrading of Francistown Airport will grow the country's tourism industry. The organisation's spokesperson, Keitumetse Setlang, said in an interview with the Botswana News Agency (BOPA) said the new international airport is an indication of the attention that government gives to aviation, which can help expand the tourism industry.

Matshwane Primary School celebrated its 30 th birthday recently with a production of the Faraway Magic Baobab Tree. It was a magical evening for both children and adults. Mervyn Palmer, who started the school in 1981, was the guest of honour. These pictures show the cast and some of the performers.

Relax folks, the end of the world is NOT near!

Everyone can breathe again and you don't have to pack for Mars or the new planet just discovered by NASA. The human race does not have just a year left on Earth before a major catastrophe is said to strike the planet on December 21 next year. The end is not near. At least that's according to a German expert who says his decoding of a Mayan tablet with a reference to a 2012 date denotes a transition to a new era and not a possible end of the world as others have read it. The interpretation of the hieroglyphs by Sven Gronemeyer, of La Trobe University in Australia, was presented at the mysterious archaeological site of Palenque in southern Mexico. His comments came less than a week after Mexico's archaeology institute acknowledged there was a second reference to the 2012 date in Mayan inscriptions, touching of another round of talk about whether it predicts the end of the world. Gronemeyer has been studying the stone tablet found years ago at the archeological site of Tortuguero in Mexico's Gulf coast state of Tabasco. He said the inscription describes the return of the mysterious Mayan god Bolon Yokte at the end of a 13th period of 400 years, known as Baktuns, on the equivalent of December 21, 2012. Mayans considered 13 a sacred number. There's nothing apocalyptic in the date, he said, according to The Associated Press (AP) news agency. The text was apparently carved about 1 300 years ago. The stone has cracked, which has made the end of the passage almost illegible. Gronemeyer said the inscription refers to the end of a cycle of 5125 years since the beginning of what is known as the Mayan Long Count calendar in 3113 BC. The fragment was a prophecy of then ruler Bahlam Ajaw, who wanted to plan the passage of the god, Gronemeyer said. For the elite of Tortuguero, it was clear they had to prepare the land for the return of the god and for Bahlam Ajaw to be the host of this initiation, he said. Bolon Yokte, god of creation and war, was to prevail that day in a sanctuary of Tortuguero. The date acquired a symbolic value because it is seen as a reflection of the day of creation, Gronemeyer said. It is the passage of a god and not necessarily a great leap for humanity. Last week, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology said a second inscription mentioning the 2012 date is on the carved or moulded face of a brick found at the Comalcalco ruin, near the Tortuguero site. It is being kept at the institute and is not on display. Many experts doubt the second inscription is a definite reference to the date cited as the possible end of the world, saying there is no future tense marking like there is in the Tortuguero tablet. The institute has tried to dispel talk of a 2012 apocalypse, the subject of numerous postings and stories on the Internet. Now, almost as if to give the world hope in the event of such a disaster, the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced the discovery of an Earth-like planet 600 light years away and orbiting a sun which could mean there is alien life. A single light year is measured as 5 878 625 373 183.608 miles or 9 459 724 000 000.00 kilometres (km). The Kepler spacecraft was launched on March 7, 2009 and its 3.5 year mission was to discover Earth-like planets. The planet has been named Kepler-22b and exists in the habitable zone of the Kepler 22 system. It is about 2.4 times the size of Earth, has a 290 day orbit, and orbits a star a bit smaller and cooler than our own sun. We don't know if the planet is mostly liquid, gas, or rocks (yet), but it's a good start just to discover it. A habitable zone is defined as the right distance for liquid water to exist, a temperature based on the sun being orbited and the warming effect t of different atmospheres. Scientists say the temperature on the Kepler planet is about 22 deg C. Kepler has found 10 new planets, out of at least 2 000, that are both in the habitable zone of a system and around the same size as Earth. However, only Keplar-22b has actually been confirmed as a planet so far.As one scientist commented: So don't run out and start pointing antennae toward Kepler-22b expecting to hear messages from aliens. There is a long way to go before we begin to probe the question of life on this newly discovered world.

Benah is 2011's Queen Esther'

Mahalapye-born 21-year-old Benah Sekgabo is this year's Queen Esther winner.

Sekgabo, a journalism and broadcasting student at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, did justice to the final question which requested the top five finalists to share the qualities of a good leader as told about Queen Esther in the Bible.

Sekgabo answered that a good leader ought to be ready to lay down their life for other people, among others which consequently made her the woman with inner beauty. Onalenna Kelebemang, aged 20 from Gaborone, also a student at Limkokwing University, was crowned 1sr princess while 22-year-old One Gothaang, of Lobatse but based in Maun is the 2nd princess.

For her part, Queen Esther patron, Lackey Odirile, said the pageant was started by a young woman with a vision - Vahae Tjiriange.

Odirile said Tjiriange staged the pageant in Maun, her home town, but some aspirants and well-wishers were unhappy about it.

Odirile challenged the youth to cherish their beauty and reminded them that their bodies were a temple of the Holy Ghost, hence should not shy away from abstinence.

She said the pageant was in search for a young person with such qualities, and therefore alcohol abuse, promiscuity and fornication were not Godly. (BOPA)

DWNP rejects human death compensation

The acting director in the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Nelson Nagafela, has rejected a motion by a North West District councillor that the department should set up a fund to cover funeral expenses for people killed by wild animals.

Councillor Duncan Enga had said when tabling the request that people whose areas encroach in wildlife prone places are mostly destitutes and vulnerable to many social ills. He said they have problems when trying to bury relatives killed by wild animals.

In his response, read at the recent council meeting, Nagafela said although the idea is a compassionate one, it would be difficult to administer citing the problem of sustainability.

He said the current compensation to people whose property or livestock have been damaged or killed by wildlife respectively is a classic example, where it has seemingly created a culture of inadequate management of property or livestock by owners.

He went on to say the scheme is already experiencing signs of not been sustainable, and therefore the proposed fund would also not be sustainable.

The response by Nagafela however did not go down well with councilors who felt the problem of human/wildlife conflict is not being adequately addressed by relevant authorities.

Councilor Galaletsang Mhapha was of the view that the Council Secretary should instead write back to Nagafela to ask him to reconsider his response and advise him, as councilors, that they have not accepted his response which they see as lightweight.

He said as people's representatives, there are various concerns and grievances, including human/wildlife conflict and are therefore duty bound to see to it that such grievances are tackled in the appropriate way.

Deputy Council chair Latlhang Molonda said councillors should in the meantime halt all discussions about compensation and await a response from the Office of the President. He said the president is fully aware of what communities here are going through.

Squatter camps to be demolished

GHANZI  Government yellow monsters JCBs and similar machines - are expected to soon demolish squatter camps in and around the Ghanzi showground areas.

The lands were allegedly illegally occupied by a number of Batswana, particularly Basarwa people from various settlements within the district and Hambukushu men and women from deep corners of the Okavango Delta like Xaoxo and controversial panhandle area of the Okavango. Illegal settlers came to Ghanzi in search of jobs and other means of survival to earn a living through, for instance, illegal sales of traditional beer around squatter shebeens.

Some people lost their lives as a result of uncontrolled behaviour after heavy drinking.

Ghanzi District Council chairman Mogomotsi Serole said: All squatter camps are going to be demolished by the district council, particularly around the showground area. A court order has been obtained in line with the laws regarding settlements and squatting, be it legal or illegal. Several attempts have been made to solve the matter and proper consultations between concerned groups, stakeholders and other members of the community.

About 10 illegal squatters who owned camps in the area have been relocated to Xabo, a settlement near Kuke cordon fence gate, and those who refused to relocate during the first relocation - which took place last week are to have their structures demolished if they fail to comply with the court order.

The council talked to these people at length over the years and they failed to comply with the law. It is for this reason that council went to court for a legal order to relocate squatting groups but not by force as the squatters are saying.It is a vague statement for some of them to say that their children will lose education opportunities if they leave squatter camps because some argue that they are not used to new settlements. It is done for the full enjoyment and benefit of government initiatives including food rations, skin industries and including educational schemes for remote area people, Serole said.

If they go to Xabo and other proposed settlements they shall be entitled to livestock ownership, residential plots, farm lands and other schemes put in place by government to help remote area people, particularly in places like Xabo, Somelo and New Xade. Serole denied Ghanzi District Council took a long time to allocate plots and said the council had given them plots at new settlements but the people refused.

Council to blame for Francistown abattoir closure

FRANCISTOWN - The deputy director at the Department of Veterinary Services (Abattoirs), Kerapetse Sehularo says the Francistown abattoir will remain closed until the city council adheres to regulations that guarantee the safety of meat and meat products. Addressing the Francistown special full council meeting, Sehularo said prior to his department issuing a licence the council must ensure that the abattoir is pest proofed, the plant is repainted, there is hot water and sterilizers, and that staff issued with hygienic protective clothing. He explained that since 2007 the abattoir has been operating on a temporary licence with the hope that the city council will address the concern and comply with regulations but he noted that due to the failure to address those minimum requirements, the safety of meat to consumers was compromised.

Earlier on councillors had requested that the abattoir be opened because its closure will also pose a health hazard as butcheries will slaughter cattle in the bush. (BOPA)

Graduates expected to have input in the economy

Graduates at the Botswana Wildlife Training Institute (BWTI) 29 th graduation ceremony held last week in Maun have been told by Professor Susan Ringrose, of the Okavango Research Centre, that it is fully expected that their contributions as wildlife officers or professional guides will impact positively on Botswana's economic landscape.

Ringrose told graduates that the knowledge, training and experience they have gained from the programmes will provide the tools needed for their work so that they can make a significant contribution as individuals in transforming Botswana into a better country.

She stated that tourism is one of the major drivers of Botswana's economy and that our tourism based economy cannot survive without good ecosystem service such as wildlife. As we all know, Botswana's well protected elephant population is a major drawing card for tourists from around the world. In order to promote good wildlife management Botswana needs people with your training and skills to help maintain healthy and productive wildlife populations. Ringrose added that tourism, as one of the fastest growing segments of the economy, directly and indirectly accounted for nearly 12% of the total GDP, and the government is fully aware of tourism's important contribution to diversifying the mineral-based economy and its ability to create jobs, particularly in rural areas. The results of a major study conducted by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in 2007 estimated government expenditure for services to Botswana's travel and tourism industry as around US$122-million (about P800-million), which comprises about 6% of total government spending.

Of that, about US$92-million was spent on tourism-related equipment and infrastructure, which amounted to 5.4% of total capital investment in the country.

Ringrose said that it is apparent that these figures augur well for travel and tourism growth in Botswana as the data shows that the sector is increasing to the present day to levels of over 10%.

This kind of growth, she said, may well be the tip of the iceberg as active current government measures will continue to expand the industry and open doors for further foreign investment.

Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBRNM) projects have also mushroomed in the 1990s.

The income of joint ventures between CBOs and private companies can be in the region of P6.4-billion and is distributed to the communities for development needs.

This rapid growth demonstrates the interest of communities as well as the economic potential of the CBRNM approach, particularly in areas with a high wildlife density.

A total of 57 officers graduated - 13 from a 2-year diploma in Wildlife Management and Conservation; 31 from a 1-year certificate course in Wildlife Management and Conservation and 15 from a course in professional guiding.

Admission of private candidates into BWTI training programmes is progressing smoothly as there are currently nine candidates training and 15 are expected to commence training in January.

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks remains the institute's major consumer with 35 candidates form the DWNP expected to commence training in the 2012/2013 academic year.

Fewer people are living in poverty - survey

Preliminary results of the 2009/2010 Botswana Core Welfare Indicators Survey (BCWIS) have indicated that the proportion of persons living below the poverty datum line (PDL) has dropped from 30.6% in 2002/2003 to 20.7% in 2009/10. The Chief Statistician at Statistics Botswana, Moffat Malepa, told the Botswana Press Agency (BOPA) the results were based on assessing the basic needs of life such as food, clothing, personal items, household goods, and services and shelter.There was a decline in the overall number of persons living below the poverty datum line, from 499 467 in 2002/2003 to 373 388 in 2009/2010, he said. He said households were asked to make observations on their general living conditions relative to other households in their communities. The majority of households rated themselves average and these ranged from 64% to 44% for cities and towns and rural areas, respectively, he said. He said 30% of rural households considered themselves poorer than average compared with 21% in cities and towns. The target population covered all members of the household and visitors who spent the night with households, and would be staying with the household for a period not less than 14 days. Malepa said the survey was the first of its kind conducted by Statistics Botswana and contained a lot of modules that it is hoped will enrich and shed more light into the welfare and living conditions. The survey was to provide comprehensive data and update information on incomes, expenditure, poverty datum line and other household characteristics needed for socio-economic planning, monitoring and evaluation purposes. He explained that Poverty Datum Line (PDL) is the cost of a basket of goods and services deemed to be necessary and adequate to meet basic needs for household members. He stated the final reports are expected by the end of March next year.

Huge honour for Botswana football

Following the excellent performance of the Botswana senior national team, the Zebras, during the qualifiers of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, which resulted in the team qualifying for the first time for the finals of Africa's prestigious competition, Botswana football has been nominated for three awards for the 2011 Confederation of Africaine de Football (CAF) Awards, sponsored by Globacom Limited, a Nigerian telecommunications company.

David Fani, president of the Botswana Football Association (BFA), said this week that Botswana has been nominated as finalists in the 2011 edition of the awards in the following categories: National team of the year, Coach of the year, and Player of the Year (based in Africa). The nominees from the BFA are the Zebras, Stanley Tshosane and Jerome Ramatlhakwane, respectively.

The Zebras have been nominated alongside Cote d'Ivoire, Libya, Niger and Tunisia while Tshosane will compete with Nabil Maaloul (Esperance Football Club, Tunisia), Rachid Taoussi (MAS Fes Football Club, Morocco) and Harouna Doula (Niger national team). In the Player of the Year category, a shortlist of three persons is yet to be announced.

These nominations are a first for Botswana football as no team or person from Botswana has ever been nominated for these awards before. The BFA National Executive Committee views the nomination of Botswana's team, its head coach and the team's consistent goal scorer during the AFCON qualifiers as true testimony to the progress that Botswana football has made over time, particularly during the last several years, Fani said when congratulating the nominees for making a first for Botswana and for their contribution in putting Botswana on the continental and world maps. Credit must go to the head coach, layers and the technical team for their hard work in achieving a huge milestone.

He also praised the National Executive Committee for its foresight and focus on taking Botswana football to another level, staff of the BFA, the government for supporting and resourcing football, the Botswana National Sports Council and the Botswana National Olympic Committee for support and guidance, team sponsors Orange and All Kasi for making much needed resources available, as well as the BFA leagues, clubs, regional football associations, standing committees and supporters for their contribution to the upliftment of the standard of football in Botswana.

The winners of the awards will be announced at a ceremony to be held on December 22 in Accra, Ghana.Tshosane, Ramatlhakwane and a representative of the BFA will attend.

Gunners of Khwai overcome BMC

Gunners of Khwai put three goals past Maun BMC, who turned out with nine players and then were reduced to eight after one of the meat boys was red carded at Maun Sports Complex on Sunday afternoon in their Nhabe regional league match. This puts Gunners equal with Delta Winds at the top of the log.

Maun Terrors had to defend hard to gain a 2-1 victory in a game that saw Cubs putting everything into attack but Cubs have themselves to blame for not winning the game after squandering a lot of chances in front of a shaky Terrors defence, with Vincent Harry Potter being the most exposed.

Tendai Katiyo had to be substituted in the second half after he was hit on the eye by Sims in a ball scramble after the Zimbabwean international scored with a beautiful volley - the second goal for Terrors to keep the third slot on the log. Maun Heroes were held to yet another 1-1draw by North West United on Sunday at WAP grounds.

North West, better known as the Elephants, were playing their third game in the absence of the regions father figure, Bototi Thabano, who fell sick almost a month ago and was rushed to his home village in the North East where he has been confined to a wheel chair.

Moeti overcame a spirited 9-man Horizon Stars beating them 5-1 and CTO was held to a 1-1 draw by Maun Heroes. Maun United shared the spoils playing to a 0-0 draw with Makgabisanaga.

Maun Tigers play catch up

Maun Tigers are playing catch up with three games remaining for them in the first round in the 1 st Division (North).

On Saturday, Tigers travelled to Sua for their cancelled game, and held Sua to a 1-1 draw with their goal coming from their top striker Tumo in the second half ten minutes from re start to cancel the salt men first half lead. Tigers could have come home with all the three points but the wasteful strike force denied them any chance of doing so.

Sua had fair chances of increasing the score line but were consistently denied the opportunity by Onalethata in goals for Tigers.

Permalink | View Entire Page

27 Nov ' 14:50

Edition 581 25 November - 2 December 2011

Karla Rawlinson, from Matshwane Primary School in Maun, did well to come third in the Lions International Peace Poster competition held recently. Another schoolgirl from the same school, Vanessa Grobler, won an achievement prize. The Lions International movement invited several schools to participate in the competition to stress the importance of peace, tolerance and international understanding. The judging was done in Gaborone and the winners are now going to compete against the rest of Africa. The winners from Africa will then compete against the rest of the world. Karla's special peace message is: I dream about a world where children can grow up in peace and be loved, no matter who or where they are! Pictured are (from left to right) class teacher Linda Klopper, Karla Rawlinson, Manon Barr, Chikodzi Mokiya, Kayla Conradie, Emily Empson-Davies, and Lions Club representative Mrs C Kenosi.

We are 12 years old!

The Ngami Times this weekend celebrates its 12 th anniversary.

Founded in 1999, the first edition was published on November 27 of that year. Originally printed in Serowe at the Serowe Brigades Printing Unit, the first newspaper to be printed and published at the premises in Maun came off the press on August 18, 2000. It was also the first printing of a newspaper in Maun.

An electronic edition was added in 2005. It boasts thousands of hits from readers all over the world.

The Founding Editor, Norman Chandler, said: We are expecting to vastly improve our publication in the years ahead under the helm of the new Editor, Keto Segwai. Readers and advertisers can look forward to a new face for the newspaper.

DRIVERS HELPED BEAT UP MOB'

Sequel to Battle of Maun at snake woman' house

A huge row has broken out over why the police allegedly brought in government departmental drivers and office staff to help disperse a mob of people outside the house of the infamous snake woman in Boseja last week.

The matter is regarded as so serious that the Commissioner of Police, Thebeyame Tsimako, immediately instituted an investigation into circumstances that led to the altercation after images of the violence were shown on Botswana TV. A report into the circumstances that led to clashes between the police and the public following the rumour of a woman who had allegedly changed into a snake is expected to be handed to Tsimako today (Friday).

A statement from the police says that the Commissioner's move followed clips shown on television depicting some disturbing incidents following a report of unlawful assembly in Maun. The incident happened after a crowd had converged on the compound of the woman in Boseja on November 15, demanding to see the woman.

The police intervened and after having seen the woman as being normal, they then asked the crowd to disperse but the crowd refused. The police then started using force and firing tear gas to disperse the crowd.

It was at that stage that the drivers, some carrying batons, allegedly became involved, leading to many complaints being laid by members of the public. Some complained that the police used excessive force, and were even beating up school children on their way home from school. It is said that some TV viewers recognised those involved in the chaos as being drivers from the Central Transport Organisation (CTO) and employees from other government departments.

Contacted for comment on the possibility of non-police government employees having been used to disperse the crowd, Botswana police public relations officer Christopher Mbulawa said the investigations that were instituted by the commissioner would reveal exactly what happened on that day.

The report shall be able to answer all those allegations. For now we cannot deny or confirm because the investigations are on going, he said. Mbulawa added that after studying the report, Tsimako may make its contents public.

The investigating team, led by high-ranking police officers, was this week in Maun. They held meetings and took statements from different individuals and police officers. The police commissioner had given the team a week to have completed its investigations and hand in the report.

Convicted rapist says the devil made him do it

Othusitse Bashi Maloba (21), of Nata, told Maun principal magistrate Clifford Foroma that Satan and his slip of mind drove him to the offence of rape.

He said this after he was convicted and asked to state any exceptional circumstances in the case to mitigate the sentence.

The accused was facing a single charge of rape contrary to Section 141 as read with Section142 of the Penal Code (Cap 08:01) Laws of Botswana.

The particulars of the offence are that on November 12, 2009, at Xhanio cattle post in the Gweta area, the accused raped his victim.

He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment as a minimum mandatory sentence to the offence. Foroma said he considered what Maloba said in mitigation and that the victim was 14 years of age. Also what was considered was the disregard of the victim's right of privacy as she was forced to undress herself.

In evidence led in court, the victim's brother said Maloba came to their place and sat next to him under a tree. He said by then the victim was inside the hut. He added he then left the accused and went to attend to cattle at a nearby kraal.

He said upon his return, the victim was crying in the hut and when he got inside it he was grabbed by the accused, who slapped him. He said by that time the victim was also grabbed by her dress by the accused who was very angry.

The brother told the court that he freed himself and ran to the bus stop to look for his mother who had gone to Gweta that morning. Unfortunately for him, the mother had not yet returned from Gweta so he decided to return home only to discover both his sister and the accused were missing.

Another witness, the complainant's mother, said she left her children at Xhanio cattle post when going to Gweta. She explained that when she came back, the victim was not present and was told by other children that she was dragged away by the accused. They showed her the direction in which was taken and she followed the drag marks that were suggestive of a struggle.

She said the victim was not found and she decided to call her sister, who was in Gweta, to report the matter to the police. Her daughter only managed to return home late in the evening.

The next day the police telephoned to advise they had arrested the culprit.

The investigating officer, Sergeant Martin Kangunde said he came to know the accused when he arrested him in connection with the offence. He said he received a phone call report from the victim's aunt stating that her niece had been dragged away by someone called Bashi. He said they went to Xhanio cattle post where they met the victim's mother.

Kangunde also revealed that they traced the footprints but their efforts failed due to tall grass and the impending dusk.

After the unsuccessful search they returned to Gweta to be later informed that the victim had managed to return home. The police immediatedly went to the cattle post where they found a stressed, bare-footed victim with blades of grass on her head.

He issued a police medical report form to the complainant to be examined at the hospital.

Kangunde said they resumed the search for Maloba the following morning and found him. He confronted the accused who eventually took him to the scene of the crime.

He said that in her statement to the police, the victim told him that she was forced by the accused to undress and that the accused raped her twice. Kangunde said during the interrogation, Maloba told him that the victim was his girl friend and that he had consensual sex with her. He said he warned and cautioned Maloba for the offence of defilement as the victim was under age. His evidence was never challenged again.

In his submissions, the prosecutor, Carlos Barayang Diundu, pleaded with the court to convict the accused person saying that the State had proved its case beyond doubt. He said the main issues were whether the sex had occured, whether there was consent, and whether there was enough evidence.

He said the victim's evidence corroborated well with that of other witnesses and that evidence was never challenged. He also said the accused never disputed the evidence of the victim when saying she was forced to undress.

He dismissed Maloba's evidence saying is nothing but an after thought to mislead the court.

Foroma said the state called four witnesses and that the accused person also gave unsworn evidence. He said he considered all the testimonies and found that the accused's evidence was an after thought.

It was clear that the complainant did not sleep at the accused's place, as he claimed, and also the issue of sexual intercourse was never challenged adding that it shows that there was no consent as it took place in the bush. He also said the complainant could have returned home before her mother came home.

Foroma added it was clear that the complainant was dragged, as witnesses testified that they saw tracks consistent with dragging.

He also said it is common cause that the complainant's brother ran from the assault as the Maloba was aggressive.

He said the complainant's evidence was consistent and credible.

The accused person was convicted as charged and in his plea of mitigation, the accused begged for a lenient sentence saying that he left some of his goods with no one to look after them. He also said he is assisting his elderly father at the cattle post.

Mother sentenced for neglecting children

In a rare case of neglecting children, a 33-year-old woman of Sedie ward was this week given a wholly suspended sentence by Maun principal magistrate Clifford Foroma.

Katamelo Dimbo, a mother of three, was sentenced to two months imprisonment, wholly suspended for two years without committing a similar offence. Dimbo had pleaded guilty to the offence.

According to the facts of the case, on July 1, 2012, Dimbo left her three children aged 2, 8, and 12 years with neighbours without food and clothes at Xharaxao cattle post. It was revealed that she had erected a tent for the children.

With the help of workers in a mobile clinic, neighbours reported the matter to the Social Welfare unit and Dimbo is said to have returned to the children after a full month.

The accused, who was said to be a first offender, in her mitigation pleaded with the court for a lighter sentence saying she neglected her children because of her low income.

She also said the father of her first two children passed away and the father of the last c child was reported for maintenance but was later discharged. She also begged for a lighter sentence, saying the father had deserted them when they were still young and her mother passed away. She added that other relatives do not assist her in supporting her children.

She also prayed for a lenient sentence saying that she is taking care of her sister. The children now are said to be staying at the Love Botswana mission in Maun.

The prosecutor was Luanda Antonio, of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

Hospital refutes clinic allegations by councilors

Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital superintendent Dr Maxwell Mungisi has refuted allegations by North West District councillors that the 24-hour clinic at the old Maun General Hospital is operating way below par.

He said in fact communities staying within the same locality as the clinic are more than happy that the facility has become functional and is fully servicing them

Councillors at the recent sub-council meeting had expressed their dismay at the clinic's daytime and night operations.

They also complained of recurring instances of non-availability of nurses and doctors to provide medical assistance to patients. They were not happy that the clinic's dispensary closes at 4.30pm.

The councillors had also complained about the general state of cleanliness within the clinic's premises with indications that most areas not been attended to ever since its re-opening. Mungisi maintained that nurses and doctors are always available at any given time, adding they have been constrained with staffing at most health institutions, something which he says is a nationwide problem. He said they are however trying their best to rationalize the limited staff that they have and that they have managed to at least have a minimum of three nurses during the day and two at night, as well as at least two doctors during normal working shifts.

We are doing our best also to divide the little human resources we have to offer service. If we had enough, we would have been able to deploy more staff at the clinic and elsewhere because the demand is high, but as you might know we are already very thin on the ground, making it impossible to meet all demands. Instead of always firing criticism, Mungisi advised the councillors to be appreciative and be grateful that health authorities have delivered as promised, and that a significant number of patients have been relieved of the extensive travelling that they used to undertake to access the main for health services. The transformation of the old Maun hospital into a 24-hour clinic followed repeated requests from the public. Asked why the dispensary closes after working hours, he said in circumstances whereby patients show up late during the day, they are prescribed medication and given only small doses and advised to come for the rest of the supply the following day because the dispensary only operates during normal working hours.

Doctors are also on standby at night and are only called out in situations which require their input. If a patient's condition is seen to be critical, the doctor on call is also at liberty to refer the patient the patient to Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital, upon which the patient will immediately be taken to the ward without having to re-consult depending on their ailments.

As for the filthiness at the clinic, I have not seen it to the extent that would jeopardise the running of the clinic. We work round the clock to clean the facility, but it is worth noting that this time of the year is windy and so people should expect to see dirt every now and then because leaves keep falling, he said.

Editorial

Black Tuesday shadow over Southern Africa

In typical herd mentality and its attendant arrogance that characterises the majority of the region's ruling parties, South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) dominated parliament on Tuesday passed a controversial secrecy Bill with a vote of 229 against 107.

The Bill effectively takes that country back to the dark apartheid era of yesteryear, hence the day it was passed will undoubtedly go into the annals of history as Black Tuesday. Media and other civil rights activists last Tuesday were dressed in black to mark that day.

Its passing by parliament came against sober counsel from three of South Africa's own Nobel lauretes that included former president Nelson Mandela, former archbishop Desmond Tutu and writer Nadine Gordimer. Even the ruling party's ally, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), had expressed its displeasure with the Bill.

Indeed, the cross section of South African society is against the Bill in its current form.

The Protection of State Information not only contradicts South Africa's acclaimed Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) but also makes no provision for a public interest defence. Gravely, the Bill criminalises possession and publication of classified information and punishes its publication with up to 25 years in prison.

Tutu aptly described it as a legislation that makes the State answerable only to the State. Journalists could be jailed for publishing information that officials want to keep secret. This flies in the face of efforts to create transparent and accountable governance on a continent that is ravaged by corruption, inefficiency and maladministration.

Ironically, worldwide the talk of protecting whistleblowers is rife and laws are being enacted to that effect.

Unfortunately, for us in the Southern African region, our promiximity to the African economic and military power disadvantages us in this regard.

The actions of the South African government have, and will continue to set the tone for political developments in the region. However, the current leadership in South Africa seems to be oblivious to their regional and continental responsibilities.

For the region, specifically for us in Botswana, the Tuesday vote could spell doom for commendable efforts underway to develop transparency and accountability. We have our controversial Media Practitioners Act, which is before the courts and government has encouragingly been unethusiastic in effecting.

During his recent state of the nation address, President Ian Khama disclosed that government is formulating legislation to protect whistleblowers. Gaborone Central legislator and president of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Dumelang Saleshando, is expected to move a motion before the current parliamentary session on the Freedom of Information law.

Our concern now, given the latest developments in South Africa, is that our government could regress on these positive efforts. In fact, other southern African countries that include Namibia, Zambia, and Malawi have previously put on hold legislations inimical to the free flow of information, ostensibly in deferrence to the regional power's known position on the subject matter.

Now floodgates of secrecy could be opened with devastating effects to the entire region

Doesn't Maun have a conscience?

Recently we had a horrendous air crash in which nine people were killed, but no one has arranged a memorial service for the dead, as is the case when other air accidents happen in our area.

There was a private memorial service held by the family of the dead pilot but as far as the passengers are concerned, it would seem there is no need to do so.

Shuffle recalls that when four Australian and New Zealand tourists, and the pilot, died in an accident some seven years ago while on a scenic flight, there was a memorial service attended by many in the tourism/aviation industry. Why not this time?

Maun has for years been a reasonably closely-knit community, sticking together whenever disaster strikes or financial assistant/sponsorship is required. It has become a tradition down the years. This time, however, it seems to have lost its way.

Excuses are of course being made, such as a nonsensical one of the embassies don't want it. Who do the embassies of France, Britain and Switzerland think they are, taking such a decision, if it is true.

While on the subject, crash investigators have been given until February to publish their report on the Moremi Air disaster and the causes of it. It should make interesting reading.

The arrival of a so-called booze bus in Maun has certainly got everyone talking. Several such buses have been donated to the police by the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund as a way of tackling the horrifying accident rate on our roads.

Maun is no exception when it comes to partying but over the past few weeks, it has been noticed people are becoming more and more careful when partying and driving.

The One For The Road campaigners is a by-product of the situation.

The organisers are known to have had the idea before the booze bus got here but now it is most appropriate.

The message is clear: Use a dedicated driver to take you home if you are drinking and don't risk being heavily fined and locked up for over-indulging.

Shuffle and Mrs Shuffle were last week invited to be the guinea pigs for the chauffer-driven service and enjoyed the experience as that extra beer could well have made a difference at the police station!

Instead, we had a cold-stone sober driver in charge of the family car.

Maun's unofficial slogan of Maun's a drinking town with a tourist problem may have to be amended quite substantially!

A letter in this newspaper last week illustrated quite accurately the antics of drunk drivers and pedestrians.

It doesn't appear to matter, however, as police don't seem to be taking any action as taxis are still whizzing around corners, cutting off other vehicles, narrowly missing oncoming vehicles, ignoring stop signs (particularly at the airport entrance) and generally misbehaving on our roads, while pedestrians and night clubbers are just as bad.

Here in Africa the toasted sandwich is a great favourite with many as it is usually quite a cheap meal, except in some establishments where it is tarted up a bit at an extra cost.

Now, in Britain, they have found that the old-fashioned slice of toast between two slices of (untoasted) bread is by far much cheaper.

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is reviving the 19 th Century dish, which, unsurprisingly, consists of two slices of bread around a slice of toast. It was first promoted by Victorian food writer Mrs Beeton.

It is taken from Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management which became a best-seller after its appearance 150 years ago next month. To celebrate that anniversary, the Society decided to focus on meals that reflected stern days to come. And that's no joke for there will surely be stern days as the financial crisis bites

The Royal Society's Dr John Emsley said: You simply put a piece of dry toast between two slices of bread and butter, with salt and pepper to taste. I've tried it and it's surprisingly nice to eat and quite filling.

I would emphasise that toast sandwiches are also good at saving you calories as well as money, provided you only have one toast sandwich for lunch and nothing else.

There you have it presumably someone in Maun will think of something different, after all there is always something new coming out of Africa!

The good and the bad

Sir, - I commend The Ngami Times for publishing photos of the elephant at Meno a Kwena.

However the caption is ridiculous whomever on your staff believes poachers might set a gin trap to catch an elephant for its ivory is clearly out of touch with reality. This kind of sensationalised guesswork spoils the reputation of the paper, and does conservation no favours.

While I'm here I'd like to query the figure of 2.1 million tourists visiting Botswana annually given in last weeks paper. This cannot be correct.

Journalist should check their facts - that's journalism 101.

Keep up the good part of the paper!

MIKE HOLDING

Editor's Note : The elephant's trunk most probably came in contact with a gin trap, thereby resulting in its injury. It is also obvious to us that to catch an elephant utilising a gin trap is rather stupid. In regard to the figure of 2.1 million tourists, that was given by President Ian Khama in his State of the Nation address to parliament two weeks ago. It was not guesswork on our part.

Take care under the lights!

Sir, - A note of caution on street lighting - in my village of Nercwys in North Wales we found the innovation very disconcerting as it enabled us to see who we were kissing of an evening.

SIMON JENNINGS

Wales

Temporary bridge to be placed over Boteti

RAKOPS  Parliament has been told that Rakops, the scene of devastating floods when the Boteti River broke its banks earlier this year, is to get a temporary bridge over the river.

The main bridge was extensively damaged and closed to all traffic.

A Bailey Bridge developed for military usage is to be installed, Transport and Communications minister Nonofo Molefhi told parliament. It is expected to be in place by the first week of December.

The Bailey Bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed by the British during World War II for military use and saw extensive use by both British and the American military engineering units.

A bridge had the advantages of requiring no special tools or heavy equipment to construct. The wood and steel bridge elements were small and light enough to be carried in trucks and lifted into place by hand, without requiring the use of a crane.

Villagers split in two camps after murder

Special Correspondent

SEPOPA - The story of a vicious murder which took place a few months ago in Sepopa has taken a bizarre turn of events and continues to fill villagers with horror, resulting in wild speculation of witchcraft and supernatural powers to hide possibly devious practices.

The Sepupa chief, a well-respected and popular leader, has been on the receiving end of those casting unfounded judgements, and the newest developments have added fuel to the fire.

This horror tale started when a distinguished grandfather and former priest of the Seventh Day Adventist church, Saletiyo Nkape (68), was first strangled in his field and thereafter his badly mutilated body was dumped into a deep well close by.

His grandson, Thatayone Nkape (21), confessed to the murder and was arrested and kept in custody in Maun.

In the meantime Sepopa was rife with rumours of what the motive for Nkape's alleged deed could have been and that he might have been used to murder his grandfather. Soon these rumours had the village in two camps, those backing the Sepopa chief and others who targeted him in a witch hunt, even though the reasons for him being suspected has not become clear yet.

In the meantime, two weeks ago the grandson managed to run from the police vehicle which was parked at the Kunyere River at Toteng and he escaped by swimming across the river. A few days later his body was found, where he had seemingly drowned when he once more tried to cross the river, presumably trying to find his way home to Sepupa. Of course this turn of events now adds much more fuel to the fire of the witch hunt brigade, who now attributes such supernatural powers to the Sepopa chief that he could have caused this drowning - presumably to silence the man who could testify against him.

Others speculate about a possible suicide, as the accused not only had this alleged murder, but some previous assaults against his name.

Kagisano Carol Kilano of Maun was the proud winner of the My Spar My Botswana Car Give away competition at Delta Spar. She is pictured with the brand new Kia Picanto she won in the competition. The car is one of the ten that are being given away every week and all the Spar shops are participating in the competition.

Youngsters from the Okavango International School had the time of their lives recently when they went on a walking tour in the grounds of the Royal Tree Lodge close to Maun. They saw a variety of animals and were particularly excited when they spotted a baby giraffe (pictured).

Appeal for better sanitation for Africa

A new report by the international charity WaterAid shows that there are more people in the world today lacking adequate sanitation services than in 1990. Unless urgent action is taken, nearly all governments in Sub-Saharan African will fail to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) pledge they made to halve the proportion of people without sanitation by 2015. On the current trajectory, it will take over two centuries for Sub-Saharan Africa to meet its sanitation MDG target, slays the charity What is more, only 20 countries in the region are on track to meet the water MDG target by 2015. All of this has massive consequences for child mortality in Africa. Released a day before World Toilet Day, the report states that to get the sanitation and water MDGs back on track, countries in sub-Saharan Africa need to spend at least 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on these services. The report also calls on donor countries to double global aid flows to water, sanitation and hygiene by prioritising an additional US$10 billion per year. The report also identifies that it is Africa's poorest people who are being left behind. Poor people in Africa are five times less likely to have access to adequate sanitation and over 15 times more likely to practice open defecation than Africa's rich. According to WaterAid, governments should tackle this inequity through better targeting of water and sanitation resources and services to the poor. The WaterAid report highlights that the shortfall in water and sanitation services costs Sub-Saharan African countries around 5% of GDP each year ($47.7 billion in 2009), more than is provided in development aid to the entire continent ($47.6 billion in 2009). In a coordinated move, an international group of 34 female economists have also written an open letter to the leaders of 11 donor and developing country governments to draw attention to the international water and sanitation crisis. In it they state 4 000 more children under five will die in one day due to diseases brought about through unsafe water and poor sanitation. This equates to more child deaths than AIDS, malaria and measles combined, making it the biggest child killer in Sub-Saharan Africa. Every US$1 (about P7.00) invested in water and sanitation generates on average a US$8 (about P60) return making it the deal that will deliver for billions of the poorest people across the globe.Barbara Frost, WaterAid's chief executive, said: Governments in both donor and developing countries have it in their power to save hundreds of thousands of children's lives every year by increasing what they spend on water and sanitation.Investments in these basic services are engines of economic growth and prosperity in developing countries, but unless we grasp this opportunity we will be failing the millions of poor people whose health, livelihoods and opportunities suffer because they lack these essential services. The report was published on the day WaterAid launched the Water Works campaign to urge governments across the world to do more to tackle the water and sanitation crisis. The campaign aims to show world leaders that taps and toilets are simple, effective and affordable, and that investing in these basic human needs is an urgent priority.

Grip of corruption is getting worse

Corruption is getting worse in Southern Africa and most people pay bribes for public services says Transparency International, the anti-corruption organisation. A new survey shows the police are seen as most corrupt and more than half of all those who come in contact with public service providers 56% were asked to pay a bribe in the past year, according to a survey of six Southern African countries. The survey also found that across the region 62% of people believe corruption has become worse in the past three years. The survey, called Daily Lives and Corruption, Public Opinion in Southern Africa, surveyed more than 6 000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe between 2010 and 2011. The good news is that 80% of those interviewed said they were prepared to get involved in the fight against corruption and three-quarters said ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption. Governments must wake up to the fact that people will not tolerate corruption any more and start reforming weak institutions, particularly the police. People have a right to feel that they are protected by the police and not harassed, said Chantal Uwimana, Regional Director for Africa and the Middle East at Transparency International. The report found that people in all six countries named the police as the most corrupt service provider of the nine featured in the survey and that most bribes were paid to the police. The results showed some regional differences. In four out of the six countries people reported paying bribes to speed up services but in South Africa and the DRC more bribes were paid to avoid problems with the authorities. In five of the six countries, people trusted the government more than non-governmental organisations, the media, international organisations or the private sector to fight corruption. In Malawi, however, non-governmental organisations were trusted just as much as the government.

National radio, TV coverage poor in rural areas

GABORONE - National radio and television reception in several rural areas is so poor that the government is planning on improving it but only after 2013.

Parliament was told last week that the government was aware of poor reception at Qangwa and Xai Xai in Ngamiland.

Ngami MP T G Habano was told that the two areas fall outside the scope of the current radio and television transmitter expansion project that will be completed in March, 2013.

The Ministry of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration plans to develop a plan to improve Radio Botswana reception in those areas as well as others.

In answer to a question from DP Makgalemele, the MP for Shoshong, parliament heard that RB1 and RB2 signals in most parts of the country are very poor and that rural areas are the most affected and in the process communities are deprived of livelihood information such as policies.

Makgalemele said most South African radio stations have a clearer reception in the country

NEWS FEATURE

Former top judge on SA Information bill

JOHANNESBURG - South Africans have the right to bring the Protection of State Information bill before the Constitutional Court if they feel it is impinging on their rights, says former Constitutional Court judge Kate O'Regan.

In a report on the News24 website, she said if people feel the bill is inconsistent with the Constitution, then they have a constitutional right to challenge those provisions before the court.

O'Regan was speaking at the annual Helen Suzman memorial lecture in Johannesburg.

She said the Constitutional Court was unique in that it provided a system whereby it could check the constitutional validity of legislation, while still being held accountable.The Court does not define policy . . . but different legal tools can be used to implement policy, she added.Currently all policy must comply with three constitutional restraints: compliance with legality, rationality and the Bill of Rights. The function of the court when determining challenges to legislation based on the Bill of Rights is two-fold, O'Regan said. Most obviously, it serves as the guardian of fundamental rights, and less obviously and as importantly, it serves to create a forum for public debate about the reasons for the (State's) exercise of public power.

O'Regan said she would not comment on whether the information bill could be regarded as unconstitutional, as she had not read it. The South African parliament's National Assembly approved the bill on Tuesday despite widespread opposition and questions around its constitutionality. The Helen Suzman Foundation said the bill would undermine the constitutional democracy of the country. The bill cannot credibly be described as in South Africa's best interests, it said in a statement. Instead, it is a case of political expediency triumphing over constitutional rights. It marks the beginning of policy being driven by a secretive and self-serving security cluster.

Molefe, Kangodo get two-year prison sentence

A former field assistant with the Tawana Land Board, Castro Kemohilwe Molefe, and a taxi driver, Shakapira Judas Kangondo, were this week sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, 18 of which were suspended on condition that they were not convicted of a similar offence during the period of suspension.

The Maun magistrate's court established that Molefe and Kangondo in August 2007 forged a Tawana Land Board Certificate of Customary Land Grant for a residential plot at Boseja ward in Maun, which was later fraudulently issued to Kangondo.

The two represented themselves while Mompoloki Gaboiphiwe, of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP, appeared for the State.

According to the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), Molefe and one Joseph Legodi were previously sentenced to a year's imprisonment by the same court for offences of forgery and uttering a false document and the sentence was wholly suspended for three years on condition that they do not commit a similar offence within that period.

In September this year, Molefe and Nicky Masheko were each sentenced to five years in prison, three of which were suspended for obtaining by false pretence. Both were ordered to pay back P117 500 to the complainants which was paid to them on different occasions between August 28, 2006 and September 27, 2006. Each was ordered to pay back P58 750 by December this year. The court had established that Molefe and Masheko had obtained P97 520 from Kepu Consultants (Pty) Ltd by falsely pretending that Masheko had a lawful title deed and authority to sell Plot No. 226 at Boseja Industrial in Maun. They were also found guilty of forging the agreement of lease and a Tawana Land Board Resolution.

Orient Express donates to Thuso

Alice Motlogelwa-Morake of Orient Express Safaris handing over boxes of clothes to Bridget Ludick, Thuso's head of administration (left), with Onitame James of Place of Joy- right.

Orient Express Safaris recently donated boxes of clothes to the disabled of Thuso Lutheran Rehabilitation Centre and orphans of Place of Joy Seventh Day Adventist Pre-School. The company has been donating clothes to Thuso on an annual basis. Alice Motlogelwa-Morake, of Orient Express Safaris, disclosed that the company has also donated clothes to Bana ba Letsatsi and orphans in Nxhoga village at Xaxaba lagoon near one of their camps, Eagle Island camp.

She said that they also donated dust bins to the village, which was followed by a cleanup campaign. Orient Express also extended its social responsibility mandate by employing a student who graduated from Motse Wa Tsholofelo.

Umbrella talks have not collapsed, says Saleshando

By Basadi Morokotso

The president of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Dumelang Saleshando has told a Maun rally that talks on the umbrella model to oust the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in the 2014 general election have not collapsed.

He said this despite the fact that their partners in the umbrella talks, the BNF and BMD were conspicuously absent at the rally and did not make the list of the speakers as had become the norm, raising suspicions for many who attended the rally.

Saleshando admitted their talks have not always been fruitful and that indeed they have had differences along the process which they are still trying hard to work on.

Talks elsewhere have not always been easy, particularly in situations where issues of this magnitude are at a centre stage because every one of us brings in suggestions which are bound to fail or go through.

People do not always agree; that is a fact. But fighting does not mean you abandon everything, more especially when you are wise in your thinking. We have seen the collapse of talks even at the ruling party, and therefore we are not exceptional, he said.

Should the talks fail, he said, they will still hold their heads high as BCP and fight on so as to achieve their intended goal.

He urged Batswana to help in the struggle to remove the BDP from power, failure of which President Ian Khama might even cancel elections and settle for a compromise in 2014.

Be warned, we are talking about a very unpredictable man here, a dictator who is used to doing things his way.

This man is capable of turning this country upside down. The time has come now to prove him wrong and do what we see as best for the benefit of the people we serve, Saleshando added.

He said over the years, they as opposition MPs have tried in vain to create relations with Khama which would enable them to work closely together as is expected in a country that preaches democracy and the rule of law, but to date that has not worked.

He emphasised the need for collaboration of ideas for the benefit and interest of the nation.

He attributed Khama's failures to the arrogant attitude he portrays, as well as a habit of deciding and making conclusions in isolation.

Saleshando described Khama as an inquisitive and very stubborn son of the soil who does not have the nation's interest at heart as he has personally never endured the hardships of life.

Saleshando also likened the president's way of handling matters to that of some recently deposed Arab leaders whose leadership tactics never took them anywhere but instead landed them in trouble and robbing them of their dignity.

He contended that a good number of MPs and some BDP heavy weights have proved they are not happy with Khama's administration, and wondered why they still rally behind him.

The absence of other opposition parties at the rally toned down his statements as those who were present had kept their distance from the tent where their colleagues were seated, let alone not putting on their party colours. The mood was quite dull, and one could easily sense a rift coming. It was quite evident that their many disagreements concerning the umbrella are slowly but surely dying, thus driving them further apart.

Some opposition members told The Ngami Times that the reason they did not show up at the rally was that they had other important errands other than gate crashing a meeting which they were not invited to.

They said they only heard on the streets that people had gathered at the Magotlho freedom square for a political rally, and that they could not immediately abandon what they were doing and rush to a meeting which they knew nothing about.

Contacted for comment on why other opposition parties were not at the rally, BCP's Maun East membership officer Gaethuse Mbwe said it was very unfortunate and regrettable that their colleagues were nowhere in sight.

Initially, he said, they had held a fund-raising dinner the previous night where admission was by purchased card only. He said the idea to have a rally the following day only came up at the dinner and it was announced the following morning.

I admit there was an omission which we will correct so that it's not repeated in the future. We did not send them any invitation letters as is the norm because we were not even sure ourselves if the idea to have a rally would succeed. These people are our partners in the struggle and we intend to walk the road together as a united team, he said.

A BCP member, who asked to be anonymous, had a different story to tell. He maintains the rally had long been coming and that it had been scheduled to take place in Boseja and not Magotlho, creating suspicions that the BCP wanted to go it alone.

Renewed focus on aviation safety

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called for a renewed focus on aviation safety to help Africa reap the benefits of aviation connectivity. The organisation also called for a strong partnership to drive innovative solutions to the other challenges facing aviation in the region: security, environmental sustainability and infrastructure. Aviation's connectivity has turned our planet into a global community. With two or three kilometers of runway, even the most remote outpost has access to the world through air transport. This is particularly important in Africa where there are often no land transport alternatives, said Tony Tyler, IATA's Director General and CEO, in a speech to the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). Speaking at the annual general assembly in Marrakech, Morocco, Tyler outlined a vision for supporting the growth of African aviation through partnership and innovation. We must work together to ensure that every government in the continent understands aviation as an engine for sustainable development and a key pillar of economic strategy. Africa will benefit greatly by harnessing the power of a successful aviation industry. To ensure that aviation delivers on its potential, we must work togetherindustry and governmentto ensure that aviation is safe secure, environmentally sustainable and well supported with efficient infrastructure, said Tyler.

Ndingo Johwa launches album in Maun

Ndingo Johwa, the renowned Ikalanga Jazz singer who recently released a new album named The Very Best of Ndingo Johwa will tomorrow (Saturday) launch his album at Cresta Riley's Hotel in Maun. Johwa will be performing in Maun as part of his Gole Bdzwa tour, and says he will not disappoint his fans and Maun Jazz lovers as he will be dishing out the latest songs from his new album as well as some old songs. His new album has 12 songs of which 7 are new and 5 are from the previous albums - Phondanyama, Gole bdzwa, Domboshaba, Chiunga Che Butjilo, Batalaunda and Chibako. He also has DVDs, namely Sunset at Domboshaba, Live at Botswana Craft, and Chibako. The new album has 7 new songs namely Debgwe, Nostalgia , Nata , Lingano , Nele Yangu, Ndobolo and Uwe Uwe

Tickets for the show are available at Cresta Riley's Hotel for P80.

Minister gets examinations report

GABORONE - A report on an enquiry into the conduct of the 2010 examinations has been handed over to the Minister of Education and Skills Development, Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi. The minister also noted that she would study the report and present its recommendations to Cabinet. The commission of enquiry was set up early this year to investigate the crisis surrounding the 2010 examinations. Commission chairperson, and also former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, Keetla Masogo, said they encountered difficulties in the process of carrying out the assignment. One of the challenges was the failure of some of the meetings, such as one billed for Serowe which failed because court clerks and Kgosi were not aware the meeting. The turnout for meetings was disappointing in some villages and this meant revisiting some villages which delayed compilation of the report. In some instances residents were suspicious that the committee was going to be biased when compiling its report since it was appointed by the ministry that was responsible for the examinations reports BOPA

The new One 4 The Road organisation got off to a great start last Friday when a number of restaurant and bar patrons made use of the new service which has been given the thumbs-up by the Botswana Police as a positive step in keeping death and injuries of the roads. The Managing Editor of The Ngami Times, Norman Chandler, and his wife Marinda were invited to be the guinea pigs for the campaign by owners Gavin van Niekerk and Viv Bolton. Pictured is Chandler handing over the keys of his motor vehicle to drivers Parks Ndoze and Bajeleng Kaudimba for a chauffer-driven journey to the Chandler residence.

Matshwane Primary School hosted six visiting schools from Francistown, Selebi Pikwe and Palapye recently for the annual CHOPS gala. Clifton came 1 st , Matshwane 2 nd and Kopano 3 rd . For Matshwane, Juan Milne excelled by breaking all records for all the events in his age group (U/11). He has also been competing in the national Botswana galas in Gaborone and is currently the best under-11 swimmer in the country. The photo shows the scene at the gala as the swimmers try for glory.

Zungu player turns boxer in chaotic game

There was chaos in a Nhabe first division league game played at Maun Sports Complex on Sunday between Maun Heroes and Zungu when the match was abandoned with about 15 minutes to full time when a Mababe side player was red carded for hitting a Heroes player after he decided a rough tackle had been carried out on him. The referee, a volunteer, and a National 1 st division player who came to the rescue of the match, as there were no referees in attendance, gave him his marching orders but the player in question took off his jersey and football boots and decided to stay on the pitch, blocking any efforts of the match continuing. A few of his team mates joined in the fighting, leaving the volunteer referee with no option but to liaise with the match official on the day and came to an agreement and called off the game. Heroes were leading 6-0 at the time. A number of such games are being abandoned, and the league is progressing slowly as a result. Generally the matches are being officiated by volunteers as official referees are not prepared to officiate for any team that owes them money, even if they are playing against a team that does not owe money to referees. This has not gone down well with teams who are made to suffer as they do not owe referees but what the referees are suggesting to the affected teams is that they boycott such matches as they will be given free points for such games. Winning the league on free points has never been as sweet as playing for all the points and as a result at the end of season free points are always taken off to determine how many fair points are collected compared to the second placed team. This has always had a negative effect as to how free points are classified. The Botswana Football Association (BFA) has to come to the rescue of the league before it becomes a crisis let alone a circus, considering that some teams are using hard earned cash to fulfill fixtures in a league which is turning out to be a joke.

Chiefs cane the Police

Mochudi Center Chiefs were merciless when they met Police X1 on Sunday afternoon,handing them a heavy defeat of 7 goals to 2,with Joel Mogorosi scoring a hatrick that put him on the top of all the top goal scorers in the countries' elite league, and this victory saw Chiefs open a 6 point lead over second placed BMC who also beat TAFIC by 2 goals to 1, to pip Rollers for the second spot on the log. Nico aka Amajombolo, who led the log for a good part of the beginning of the season campaign,and were unceremoniously toppled by Magosi,were pushed further down the log after they suffered a loss to Mapantsula,and Mamoja Diski moved to fifth position courtesy to a 2-0 win over Notwane.

The money machine pushed themselves to position 6 after their win away to struggling Serowe based side Miscellenious in Orapa beating them by 2 goals to 1.Another struggling Poilce team GNT got the better of visiting Amafourteen edging them by a goal to nil,while Fighters plunged Satmos deeper into the relegation zone, and the Lobatse based meat boys relegated TAFIC to 10 th position after defeating Matshimenyenga boys by 2 goals to 1.The mid week game played on Tuesday evening between Rollers and BDF X1, saw the army men protecting Magosi side lead on top of the log,edging Mapalastina by a single goal to nil.

Delta Winds overcome BMC

Delta Winds beat Maun BMC in their Nhabe league game in which Delta Winds missed a lot of obvious scoring chances while playing their well-mastered system that saw them demolish Gunners of Khwai and Maun Terrors in recent weeks. The game that had Delta Winds dominate under the guidance of their coach Jabu Ncube missed the services of midfield marshall Leboshe Bojosi and captain Mogotsi Mothibi who were not feeling well, welcomed hard tackling defender Aobakwe Mathambo' from a two match suspension and senior player Tapudzani Dash Brown in defence. Both goals came from none other than the Doctor himself, Unobatsha Mbaiwa, whom most people did not expect to see on the field after last week's injury in which he received a cut under his left eye and had to be rushed to hospital, where he received three stitches. The first goal came in the first half when Brown looped a high ball into the box for the country's under-20 international to head flick home his first goal of the match. After that goal BMC resorted to an off-side trap formation trying to frustrate the Doctors' pace combined with that of another hard running striker Letso Mokhawa but Winds possesed more of the ball with Wabua Aebe and Kago Motlhaedi doing a sterling job in the middle of the path. The teams went to half-time with the score at 1-0 and Winds came back hotter than the Indian chillies trying to increase the goal tally but the offside trap applied by BMC worked for them until Ncube dropped Doctor and Mokhawa deeper.By introducing Aone Matupa Mokopi, who did a lot of damage to the meat boys left flank, forcing BMC to defend in numbers, that is when the other national under-20 defensive prospect, Keobake Mado Mombala - a nephew of Be Mobile league side GNT and former u/20 player Motlhokomedi Shakes Mombala - released a long ball which saw Mbaiwa outpacing the defence to score his second goal. The goal gave Delta Winds all the three points on offer and made sure they maintained the top spot on the log. BMC missed the services of Likha Scara' and the hard sprinting Menson. Their only scoring chance came towards the dying minutes of the game when the gifted left footed, Phokeng, curled a grounder which was pushed away out for a corner by the in-form Delta Winds goalkeeper Onalethata Willie.

Sankoyo in sweet away victory

Sankoyo Bush Bucks registered a win away from home in Bobonong when they overcame Peace Makers by a single goal at the weekend, courtesy to a first half penalty spot kick taken by Fredrick Motukwa. The game, which was evenly balanced and well officiated, was played in an almost packed Bobirwa ground, with the home side enjoying their support base. The new boy on the block, Segomotso, better known to his mates and football followers as Phala, signed by Bush Bucks coach Gadimang Tiiso from the Mababe side, Zungu, at the beginning of the campaign in the higher league but then decided to stay away, was finally convinced that he could do duty at his new club. Playing his first game of the season, he dribbled his way past the Bobonong defence at the speed of lightning and was in turn brought down in the box, creating the penalty in the 20 th minute which Motukwa converted to a goal. Tiiso expressed his happiness after the game saying It has always been good to get a win away from home. The win left the Nhabe region lads at position 5 on the log.Meanwhile, Sankoyo are up for a big test when they travel to Francistown for a date with the army side Task this Saturday at 1pm

Hotspurs fail to turn up again

Mahalapye Hotspurs failed to turn up for the second time in as many weeks for their 1 st Division league game against Maun Tigers over the weekend. Two weeks ago the Mahalapye side could not fulfill the league fixture because they said their players were writing end of year school examinations, an excuse which left Tigers officials fuming as the examinations situation is affecting everyone. The match rescheduled for the past weekend did not take place as the Mahalapye side were nowhere to be found on Saturday afternoon and this time around not even a single excuse was communicated to Tigers. When contacted at around match time, they kept on saying they were on the way until Tigers officials and players left the Stadium to the dismay of a few fans who had come to watch the match. It is not the first time teams have failed to honour their league games in Maun, with Tonota having done so last month also failing to come for a game with Tigers. One has to note that teams playing in the National first division do not have a sponsor and therefor find it difficult to travel long distances. When they play home games, they always attract a handful of spectators who are even not prepared to pay the stipulated P10 required as entrance fee. A few years ago, stadiums were filled when spectators were allowed to come and enjoy the games but since the rules were tightened barring alcohol consumption in stadiums, most soccer lovers have resorted to the pubs and get the results from the few who attend matches. This means a low income to the hosting team, who get very little or nothing to help sustain the travelling ,feeding and accommodation fees when they go on away games.At the time of going to press no reason had been communicated as to what happened to Mahalapye Hotspurs. Tigers travel to Sua for a clash with Sua Flamingoes this Saturday at 3pm.

Permalink | View Entire Page

20 Nov ' 15:04

Edition 581 18 - 25 November 2011

Horror in the bush caused by poachers setting traps for animals. This elephant was photographed last week with a steel gin trap on its trunk near the Meno a Kwena tented camp. It must have been in great pain judging from the amount of blood on the trunk. The elephant is being hunted by Wildlife scouts in a bid to have the trap removed and rescue the animal from the clutches of unscrupulous poachers intent on killing it for its ivory. The sale and use of gin traps and other devices is illegal in Botswana but there are believed to be hardware stores that continue to sell the traps. (Pictures: David Dugmore).

SNAKE WOMAN' SENSATION

People try to force their way to the door of the so-called snake woman's house in Boseja.

A rumour that a Boseja woman in Maun had changed into a snake proved to be just that - a rumour and, most importantly, a lie.

Police are now hot on the heels of the person who started the rumour which caused all the chaos, and it appears to be just a matter of time before the person is arrested.

The rumour resulted in chaotic scenes at the Boseja home culminating in a fierce clash between members of the public and the police as the crowd was getting out of control. Tear gas was used to disperse the mob.

Scores of people were injured while 14 were arrested and are helping the police with investigations.

On Tuesday, people gathered at the house to see the snake woman'. It was claimed the woman's legs, up to the hip, had changed into a snake and that she was locked in the house to escape the public eye.

There were also rumours that the woman, who had been self-employed was put in that condition by muti that she apparently used.

It was a rumour that travelled across Maun like a veld fire, and many say it was spread by public transport operators who made a financial killing from the story.

From as early as 8am on Tuesday people started gathering at the woman's yard and by midday it was crowded. A traffic jam ensued.

The police were called as the crowd proved to a threat to the safety of the people who stayed in the yard. Taxi operators were ferrying passengers to the scene while at the same time telling those who had not heard about the story.

The police were led by senior officers who were concerned about public safety issues. The Ngami Times joined the police party and entered the yard where family members explained their predicament. They said that the woman who was claimed to have changed into a snake was just a sick woman who stays indoors most of the time.

They said since the rumour started making the rounds, their lives have been turned into a misery with schoolgoing children faced with the worst abuse at school.

They also told the police that they were willing to open the room in which their mother was to show that the rumour was a lie.

The woman's daughter, who herself is a Motsetsi' (a mother nursing an infant), opened the room for the police and there we found the woman sitting down with nothing that resembles a snake on her.

The superstitious crowd could not budge as it now started pushing and shoving towards the room to see the woman.

At this point the police ordered that people should disperse but the crowd was still not convinced. However, many did leave when it became clear that the story was a hoax.

The traffic jam outside the compound

According to Maun acting station commander Assistant Superintendent Thusoemang Letibirwa the crowd started getting out of hand when people refused to listen to the police orders. They told the police that they were not leaving until the woman was removed from the house, he said.

At that moment a government truck used normally to transport illegal immigrants was spotted in the vicinity. Apparently the police had intended to use it to round up would-be troublemakers, but the crowds thought it was there to spirit away the snake woman. The unruly crowd started throwing stones at the police and at the house in which the woman was sitting. Letibirwa said the crowd continued to remain in the vicinity and not move away. The police then started using force to disperse the crowd, firing tear gas in the process and arresting people who were taken to the police station. Letibirwa said those arrested will be charged with public nuisance. The person who started the rumour will be charged for offensive conduct, conducive to breaches of the peace contrary to Section 90 of the Penal Code. He said the offence attracts a jail term of six months. I want to assure the public that the story about the woman was just not true and we urge people to desist from spreading rumours such as this one, which they know are not true at all, he said. Investigations into the matter are continuing and the culprit, according to Letibirwa, will be brought to book.

Tlagae, Masheko put up their defence

By Keagisitswe Dioka

Maun lawyer Charles Tlagae last week testified before Maun Chief Magistrate, Mompati Taolo, in a case in which he and Nicky Masheko are charged on two counts of obtaining by false pretences a total of P600 000.

Tlagae told the court he signed, as a witness, a P290 000 cheque written out in Wetu Tshenyo's names following a request from Masheko who had indicated the cheque needed to be cashed urgently.

The stated particulars of the first count are that the two accused persons jointly and acting together with common purpose obtained the sum of P20 000 on October 11, 2007, from Gerhard Visser, who was a sales agent.

On the other count, the particulars of the offence stated that the two accused persons on November 8, 2007 acting together with common purpose obtained the sum of P580 000 from Casparus Jacobus Standler by falsely representing to Standler that the title deed over Ranch Lot-24, situated in the Batawana tribal territory, was registered in the names of Wetu Tshenyo and that Tshenyo was entitled to cede his rights over the ranch to Standler, whereas in truth the representation was false.

Tlagae further said he told them that he was not familiar with some cheques and told them he would seek advice from his bank whether he could assist.

According to Tlagae, Mark Rijntjes, the then First National Bank (FNB) manager, advised him that there were some procedures to be followed.

He said by then Masheko and Tshenyo told him that they would meet him at the Maun FNB branch. Tlagae said he took the cheque to Rijntjes who then referred him to the assistant manager at FNB, Jane Morris-Mohibitswane.

Tshenyo presented the cheque to Mohibitswane who did not show any objection or expressed any abnormal behaviour. He further said Tshenyo complied with Mohibitswane even when he was asked to sign the cheque.

Tlagae also said he had hesitation in signing the cheque as he knew he was not the recipient of that cheque. He said he signed the cheque as Mohibitswane told him that it was per instructions from Rijntjes. He also revealed that the money was presented to Tshenyo to count, followed by Masheko who also counted it before putting P60 000 aside.

He said from the P60 000 Masheko gave him (Tlagae) P30 000 saying it was from Visser and adding that the other P30 000 was a payment from Masheko as he once purchased a car which was later forfeited by police and part of the money was payment as he represented Masheko in a case of unlawful possession of stolen vehicles.

Tlagae also said he expected that money, as he once supported Visser in acquiring a farm. Tlagae further said he left the money with Mohibitswane, who later deposited it.

He revealed to court that he was then approached by the investigating officer about the allegations of a dubious sale of a ranch, upon which he gave a statement which was not under oath, adding that the statement was never read to him.

He said Mudongo (the investigating officer) never told him about Tshenyo's allegations. He also said he was not shown any statement, adding that he told Visser that there was a farm for sale but did not reveal its owner at the time. However, during his evidence in court he disclosed that the ranch belonged to the late Batsweledi Rmatlhodi.

In his unsown testimony, Masheko said in mid-April of 2007, his friend Wetu Tshenyo told him that he has got a ranch and that he looking for a buyer.

He said by that time, he knew Mavura Mavura as an agent as he used to talk to him to advertise plots. He said he told Tshenyo about Mavura and the response he got was that his documents were with Lawrence de Villiers, who was also an agent.

Masheko also said they drove to the Old Mall where he was left in the car by Tshenyo who proceeded to De Villiers who had the documents.

He said Tshenyo explained to him by phone that his ranch is next to RraMoarabi's. He said as Mavura was familiar with the ranches, he preferred to go with him. He said Mavura also told him that there is someone called Gerhard Visser who is interested in viewing the ranch.

Mavura later told him by phone that Visser has got a buyer and indicated that they would get someone from the Tawana Land Board to assist in locating corners with a sketch plan. He said he then phoned Tshenyo who told him that he was selling his ranch for P200 000.

According to Masheko, he added his commission of P100 000 on top. He further said Tshenyo asked him to borrow P20 000 on his behalf adding that Tshenyo told him that the money will be deducted after getting payment for the ranch.

Masheko said he got a cheque of P20 000 at Tlagae's office, which was from Visser's company. He said he passed the whole amount to Tshenyo.

Masheko said he went with Tshenyo to lawyer Johan Venter's office to collect Tshenyo's cheque of P290 000. Venter was at the time handling the transactions on behalf of the buyer, Casparus Jacobus Standler.

Masheko said Tlagae suggested that he would talk to the bank manager about cashing the cheque. Masheko further said they cashed the cheque and he counted his P100 000 commission and gave Tshenyo the balance. He then said he paid Tlagae P60 000.

Testifying before court earlier, Duncan Tudor (50), of Kgosing Ward, revealed that he knew both accused persons as well as Wetu Tshenyo.

He said sometime in 2007, Wetu Tshenyo came to his place with some documents saying he got them from a woman who worked for Masheko, adding the documents were in a form of a letter stating that P20 000 was paid into a company owned by Tshenyo and that the amount was paid in by Masheko.

He revealed that the other document showed a 100% shares certificate to the company bearing Tshenyo's names.

Tudor told the court that Tshenyo apparently sought his assistance in understanding the documents due to the latter's limited education. Tudor further revealed that Tshenyo told him that he had no knowledge of the company as well as the P20 000 deposit.

According to Tudor, Tshenyo phoned Masheko complaining that they have been friends for a long time and how he (Masheko) could do that to him (Tshenyo). He further said he then asked Tshenyo to go and discuss their matter at home. He further said that he has since then never met with Tshenyo. During cross examination, Tshedukani Elijah asked Tudor whether he can recall the dates when Tshenyo came with papers to him and that he testified that there was a 100% company shares certificate bearing Tshenyo's names. Tudor responded that he cannot recall the dates, but confirmed that there was a 100% company shares certificate.

Tlagae's lawyer, Dick Bayford, did not challenge Tudor's evidence.

Both accused persons pleaded not guilty on both counts with instructions from their attorneys - Tshedukani Elijah representing Masheko and Dick Bayford for Tlagae.

Initially there were six accused persons in this case including former Tawana Land Board Technical Officer, Lucky Sebolelo, who committed suicide last year in South Africa, Mavura Mavura who has been deported to Zimbabwe.

The other accused were Wetu Tshenyo and Gerhard Visser who were turned to be accomplice witnesses. Masheko is serving an effective four-year imprisonment sentence relating to stolen vehicles.

The case will continue next year on February 6 and 7.

EDITORIAL

Snake woman' rumour backfires

Maun was this week in the throes of rumours of a woman who turned into a snake in Boseja ward. What could have started as a sick joke instantly assumed a life of its own, reminiscent of a scene straight out of a Nollywood (Nigerian) movie.

We were inundated with calls from all over the country seeking confirmation of the strange sighting. Admittedly, we were of little help to news mongers and as Tuesday wore on, it became increasingly clear that the newshounds were in the same dilemma as the police on the matter. The police, with some reporters, had gone into the homestead only to see an ordinary, elderly woman.

In a situation where deeply-rooted superstition is spiced with runaway rumour mongering, the truth becomes the victim. Most of those we met on the streets came up with different versions of the story, each dependant on the creativity of the narrator.

Though the origin of the rumour still remains a mystery, what is evidently clear is that the police and other law enforcement agencies had an ugly situation on their hands. As the crowds built up around the Boseja home with traffic clogging the ward's access roads throughout the day, something had to give. There were increasing fears that the curious and menacing crowds would storm the Boseja homestead to sniff out the snake woman'.

For a start, neither the concerned woman nor other occupants of the homestead had been suspected of committing an offence that would warrant police action against them. If anything, they had been unjustifiably held hostage by the lurking, curious hordes.

Normally, in cases of suspected ritual murder or any such criminality, police have taken the suspects into custody. But how were the police expected to react on somebody who is not suspected of having committed any crime? Round up the whole family and lock them based on rumours that one of their own has turned into a snake?

The latest case has a ring of familiarity to one reported in Gumare last week, where rumours of a ghost sighting at the local hospital swept through the village like a veld fire.

Apparently, the rumour was that a dead man, ostensibly in a hospital mortuary was seen sitting outside the mortuary - and enjoying a cigarette. Soon the hospital was besieged by eager crowds demanding to see the ghost. Once again police had to be called in to restore the order.

Admittedly, the temperatures have been unusually high in the past few weeks in Ngamiland but surely that is not reason enough to make other members of the community feel miserable and endanger their lives.

No member of the community should have to go through the trauma that the Boseja family was subjected to this week. Before any individual can start spreading such insidious rumours, they would do well to ask themselves that time-tested question:

What if it was me being falsely accused?

So the poachers have won, as have the Asians who want rhino horn powder for all manner of things.

International conservationists disclosed this week that the Black Rhino can be considered extinct in large areas of Africa as there are only 50 known to exist. It's a very sad situation indeed, and therefore Shuffle and many friends, too, feel absolutely nothing for poachers shot dead or arrested for the killing of these animals, as well as elephants and other species. The more dead poachers, the better . . .

There have been big demonstrations throughout the world there was one in South Africa at the weekend against the poaching of rhino.

The Black Rhinoceros or Hook-lipped Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) is a species of rhinoceros native to the eastern and central areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola. Although the rhino is referred to as black, it is actually more of a grey/brown/white color in appearance.

The other African rhinoceros is the White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) .

These common names are misleading, as those two species are not really distinguishable by colour. The word white in the name White Rhinoceros is a mistranslation of the Dutch word wijd for wide, referring to its square upper lip, as opposed to the pointed or hooked lip of the Black Rhinoceros.

These species are now sometimes referred to as the Square-lipped (for White) or Hook-lipped (for Black) Rhinoceros.

There are four recognised subspecies of the black rhinoceros. These are the South-Central (Diceros bicornis minor) which are the most numerous, and once ranged from central Tanzania south through Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to northern and eastern South Africa.

The South-Western (Diceros bicornis bicornis) which are better adapted to the arid and semi-arid savannas of Namibia, southern Angola, western Botswana, and western South Africa; the East African (Diceros bicornis michaeli) which had a historic distribution from South Sudan, Ethiopia, down through Kenya into Tanzania. Today, its range is limited primarily to Tanzania; and the West African (Diceros bicornis longipes) historically occurred across West Africa, but in recent times it has only remained in northern Cameroon.

On November 10, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared the West African extinct in the wild.

Botswana is in the forefront of rhino preservation, as witnessed by the Khama Rhino Sanctuary near Serowe. Maybe it is time to pay a visit before all rhinos fall to the bullets of the dreaded poachers and the greedy Asians.

Shuffle hears, of course it is not official, that Air Botswana is sorting out its business model and routes, and that this would inevitably lead to the acquisition of new aircraft

The decision is, says insiders, long overdue and could end the myriad of problems that the airline has faced over the past 10 years.

Here's hoping that something worthwhile results from the project.

First of all, Shuffle suggests adhering to the open skies policy, ending the monopoly enjoyed on the Maun-Johannesburg route, and re-introducing the Maun-Cape Town flights, not to mention ending the biltong and peanuts served on board and improving standards of maintenance as mentioned in parliament earlier this year...

While on the subject of aviation, it is comforting to know that civil aviation authorities finally decided to remove the tail of the Moremi Air plane that crashed recently with the loss of nine lives.

Eight people died in the crash while a 9 th reportedly passed away at a Johannesburg hospital last Saturday. Last week a plane landed at Xakanaxa, in the delta, with materials to be used to obliterate the crash site. It was none too soon because tourists flying into the camp over the last month had seen the horrifying site, and naturally also wanting to know from various pilots what had happened.

There were some nervous passengers clambering out of aircraft at the landing strip.

Why the tail could not be covered up earlier or be removed straight after crash investigators had been there remains a mystery.

There was consternation among cattle farmers last Friday when a headline on the sports page of this newspaper stated: BMC slaughters Elephants

Everyone who read the headline didn't bother, it seems, to have read the text below it. The headline referred to the North West United football team, which is also known as the Elephants, having been beaten by the local BMC side!

Rest assured the Botswana Meat Commission is NOT slaughtering elephants!

***

Did you know? Discovered by Dr. Edmund Schulman, the oldest living tree is a bristlecone pine, named Methuselah, that has been reigning over the White Mountains in California, United States, for about 4 700 years. The identity of this specific tree is kept a secret in order to protect it from possible damage due to excessive visitors. (Courtesy: Jacananet)

Mogae and role of sex workers

Sir, - At a recent meeting of the National Aids Council, former President Festus Mogae spoke out in favour of decriminalising commercial sex work in Botswana. Mogae argued that decriminalisation of the sector would play a positive role in the fight against HIV/AIDS and that it would open avenues to protect sex workers from possible abuse by their clients.

Mogae's proposal received the support of the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA) and was also backed by opposition leader Botsalo Ntuane. The ruling BDP is yet to decide on its position on the issue.

There is also outright opposition against Mogae's proposal from the more conservative sections of society, especially from some religious groups.

Father William Horlu of the Roman Catholic Church strongly rejected Mogae's proposal, commenting sex according to Christian values is meant for people in a marriage with the aim to pro-create. and it is taboo to engage in sex for money and I hope Botswana, being a Christian country, will not allow the trade to be decriminalised.

No matter what ones take on sex work and sex workers is, the fact that it is often referred to as the oldest profession in the world, indicates that it is an occupation of all times and places.

Commercial sex has been, is and always will be a fact of life. It is estimated that there are some 40 million sex workers worldwide.

Through the ages, sex workers have been stigmatised, marginalised and criminalised. In some areas, complete prohibition of the sector drives it underground and renders it completely uncontrollable. In other areas, it is officially criminalised, yet generally condoned. Finally there are areas where sex work has been decriminalised and regularised.

Botswana is a country with one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world. Remarkable and commendable efforts have been made by our government, NGOs and other sectors in society to curb the scourge that is AIDS.

By the nature of the trade, sex workers have a high number of sexual partners. If infected, they can pass the virus on to a large number of clients. The clients in turn take it home to their wives and/or girlfriends. As long as sex work remains criminalised it will be difficult to reach sex workers with HIV intervention programmes.

This is however not the only disadvantage of an illegal sex work sector. While criminalised, women in the sector are vulnerable to rape or abuse by clients or even by police. They cannot report abusive clients or exploitative pimps to the authorities. Decriminalising the sector would put it in a better position to monitor and regularise it, to expose sex workers to health and HIV intervention programmes, to make sure women are in the sector voluntarily, to ensure they are not under-aged and to avoid excesses like human trafficking and child prostitution.

As mentioned, it has been, is and will be common for sex workers to be stigmatised and condemned by those who are morally opposed to their profession. This is very often where a certain measure of hypocrisy creeps in, because what people like to disregard when condemning sex workers as immoral sinners is the fact that they wouldn't exist without a market for the services offered. Research has always shown that the clients, who form this market, are ordinary people from every layer of society, including well respected doctors, lawyers, politicians and religious leaders.

On Father Horlu's remarks of sex being meant for people in a marriage with the aim to procreate and Botswana being a Christian country which should not decriminalise sex work, Mogae replied that: we cannot talk about the church way because it has failed in history.

I would like to add that I always find it very interesting and intriguing to hear a celibate Roman Catholic priest, someone who has never been in a serious or sexual relationship in his life, comment and give advice on matters regarding sexuality.

Furthermore, in this day of HIV and AIDS the Church of Rome still prohibits the use of condoms and contraceptives. This has been utterly damaging in the fight against HIV in many parts of the world, so I strongly believe the Roman Catholic Church might want to take a slightly more humble stand in this respect.

As for Botswana being a Christian country; unless someone has rewritten the constitution, this is still a secular state. Lastly, in the context of Botswana, sex being meant for people in a marriage is utterly out of sync with reality as on average, we are a country of unmarried single mothers.

Women have children first, and sometimes marry later. That is the local reality, just like the sex workers are a reality. Condemning, denying or criminalising reality has never worked.

FERDINAND BERKHOF

Sir, - Last weekend the police were out in force to nab people allegedly driving under the influence of liquor.

They appeared, from all accounts, to concentrate on only two so-called drinking holes, and not on others that beg for their attention every night of the week.

There is a nightclub in Maun where patrons drink on the streets in direct violation of the law and then drive, also in violation of the law. The bottles and tins are thrown on to the ground and it is a sight to behold the following morning!

There is also a bar on Sir Seretse Khama Road in New Town where drinkers spill over on to the road, often causing motorists to narrowly miss people who are patently under the influence of liquor. I believe some people have been struck by vehicles in that vicinity. Maun, like other centres in Botswana, now has its own booze bus which, it is hoped, will help curb drinking and driving. Let us hope the bus will be in attendance at all bars and not just a chosen few where police sit in unmarked cars and wait for patrons to leave.

OBSERVER

Maun

(Name and address supplied)

Proud graduates from the Thuso Lutheran Rehabilitation Centre in Maun

Support people with disabilities'

By Keagisitswe Dioka

The principal of Maun Technical College, Leabile Phepheng, has appealed to stakeholders and the public in general to support people with disabilities, the majority of whom do not have formal education.

Phepheng, who was guest speaker at the recent graduation ceremony of the Thuso Lutheran Rehabilitation Centre, further noted that for such people adaptive and intellectual training becomes part of their programme.

He also said learners with disabilities are not having the same privileges being enjoyed by their peers without disability, adding that only the support to those can lead to equal opportunities. He added that the Centre has enrolled close to 350 graduates.

The graduation ceremony was organised under the theme A world inclusive of people with disabilities: Availing equal opportunities.

In his welcoming remarks, the Centre's board chairman, Mmoedi Modiegi, said in most societies people living with disabilities, and their rights, are not recognised. He also said the potential in people with disabilities is not recognised, adding that some people have not realised how productive they can really be.

Another speaker, the head of the Vocational Rehabilitation department at Thuso, Remigio Kadzviti, said even though the centre produces graduates every year, it is still faced with challenges. He said the centre does not have enough space to accommodate students and that that has impacted negatively on their intake.

Kadzviti added the centre offers courses in leather work, dress making, and poultry production, all of which are BOTA-accredited programmes.

The senior education officer in Special Education, Malebogo Balebetse, said disability is not inability, adding that people living with disabilities should not be discriminated against when it comes to job opportunities and urged people to work together with people living with disabilities to achieve a common goal.

Kelebogile Kekobilweng, who was also a best student in dress-making, said they are very proud even though they do not have sponsors to assist them in establishing their own business.

She urged parents to involve them in their day-to-day projects as well as assisting them with find employment.

The ceremony was closed by Kgosi Oleyo Ledimo who is also a board member of the Centre.

Ngamiland cattle needs regional markets, says BMC

Ngamiland cattle need more regional markets to absorb the oversupply that currently characterises the district.

This was said by the Botswana Meat Commission's livestock procurement manager, Clive Marshall, at the Ngamiland BMC farmers pitso held in Maun last week.

Marshall said that currently, Ngamiland has an oversupply of cattle, most of which are full mouth oxen which need to be sold quickly to rebuild the value of Ngamiland beef. One easy way to do that, he said, is to seek markets in the region which are prepared to buy meat from the red zone.

According to Marshall, farmers were getting close to nothing in value for their cattle when they sold them to butcheries because oversupply has driven cattle prices too far below markets prices.

This untenable situation was a result of the period that farmers stayed without selling to BMC following the foot-and-mouth outbreak (FMD) in 2007.

Before the Zimbabwe, Angola and Mozambique markets were sourced, Ngamiland beef was only sold in the district and had to be processed to be sold elsewhere in the country. Marshall called on farmers to support BMC's endeavour to find them alternative markets throughout the continent.

He said these markets were an alternative and would be sustainable as they are looking at buying beef, live cattle and breeding stock. The BMC had by last Friday managed to send four truck loads of about 120 live cattle to the Zimbabwean market from Ngamiland.

He also noted that Ngamiland has unique challenges, and there was need for it to be treated as such in order to avoid stagnation of its herd.

Marshall's presentation at the Pitso was on possible solutions to a unique problem.

BMC chief executive officer Dr David Falepau told the farmers that the BMC is mandated to find viable markets for farmers. He said in sustaining such markets the BMC is bound to supply the beef in time, in full and to specification.

He added this can only be achieved if farmers also met their end of the bargain by supplying cattle to the BMC in time, in full and to specifications. On the Maun abattoir, Falepau said it was very difficult to operate because of the costs that are involved. He said the abattoir's capacity is 100 cattle, adding that when the abattoir started slaughtering recently, there were only 14 available.

This drives the operational costs even higher. Slaughtering less than 100 cattle at this abattoir is just not cost effective, he said.

Five injured in Disaneng road accident

By Lesley Van Neel

Maun police are investigating an accident early on Saturday morning on the Disaneng road in which the occupants of the two vehicles involved sustained injuries.

According to Maun station traffic officer, Assistant Superintendent Bigboy Tiyedze, they are investigating the cause of the accident.

It involved a Mitsubishi Pajero in which there were two occupants - a man and a woman - and a combi taxi with three occupants, two men and a woman.

The driver of the Mitsubishi is said to be a pilot and he was admitted to Delta Medical Clinic together with his passenger. They were treated and discharged by Monday morning.

The driver of the combi taxi has been referred to Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone while his passengers were admitted to Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital in Maun.

Both vehicles were extensively damaged.

Tiyedze said they suspect that one of the drivers might have been driving recklessly, but they are still waiting for a statement from the combi driver and will only be able to determine the cause of the accident when they have taken statements from all the individuals involved.

Tiyedze has called on public transport drivers to park their taxis, buses, and combis when their time of duty has ended.

Marathon helps with donations

The recent New York Marathon has helped raise funds for various humanitarian projects in Botswana, and in particular the Bana Ba Letsatsi centre in Maun which looks after over 200 at-risk and vulnerable children. The Somarela Fund each year has a team in the New York Marathon and this year Fiona Hatton, the previous executive co-ordinator of Bana ba Letsatsi, was one of the participants. The current co-ordinator is Charlie Ellis. Hatton says that on a bright but cold morning, 17 Somarela team runners joined 47 543 others to run 26.2 miles through the streets of New York City. By participating, the team raised over US$7400 (P54 000) for the Somarela Fund.

Some donations are still coming in, but so far over US$39000 (P266 00) has been raised by the team.

Khama gives warning to contractors who cheat'

FRANCISTOWN  President Ian Khama has officially opened infrastructure projects costing P120-million at Tati Siding, near here, and has warned contractors in general not to cheat.

The infrastructure includes the tarring of internal roads, construction of a new primary school, an administration block and the upgraded Tati Siding Clinic.

He said: The commissioning of these projects is a clear demonstration of the government's commitment to develop rural areas and improve the lives of Batswana. We have always given rural development a lot of attention in order to encourage job creation and economic development. He added that an investment of this magnitude is a clear indication of the government's commitment to diversifying potential economic localities in addition to urban centres. Tati Siding is an ideal place to do business from due to its proximity to Francistown and also lies along the transit route to countries in the north that we trade with. Khama said Botswana was still recovering from the economic recession which has negatively impacted on the national budget, with the result that some projects were scaled down and others deferred. He said the government is deeply concerned with the performance of some contractors who default in executing contracts. A decision has been taken that disciplinary measures are meted out to defaulting contractors, based on the provisions under the PPADB Act and Regulations. Such disciplinary measures include suspension from participating in government tenders for a specified period of time or removal from the PPADB register. Contractors must not try and cheat the system. This is criminal conduct and will be treated as such.

School kid drowns in Thamalakane

By Lesley Van Neel

The Thamalakane River claimed yet another life over the weekend when a 12-year old school boy drowned while on a fishing exercusion with friends. He was doing Standard Three at Bonatla Primary School. In a communiqué this week the head of the school, Dorcas Sethoko, identified the student as Kao Zambura.

The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon. The body was retrieved on Sunday morning near the main bridge. The boy is said to have gone fishing with two friends on Saturday at the river and had a certain spot where they would drink water when thirsty and then go back to their fishing. Zambura slipped and fell into the water. His friends ran off to report to his parents who got assistance from the police and Botswana Defence Force army personnel to assist with the river search.

The Acting Station Commander at Maun police, Assistant Superintendent Thusoemang Letibirwa, this week cautioned parents to restrict their children from playing at or near the river. He also appealed to parents to monitor minors when they are out fishing.

Kgosi refuses to have vehicles searched

The government has expressed grave concern over an incident in which Kgosi Kgafela Kgafela II may have compromised the campaign against the spread of Foot and Mouth disease (FMD). Police have reported an incident in which at 3am on October 26, the Kgosi refused to allow a police officer to search the four vehicles in which the Kgosi and his delegation of 17 people were travelling at the Makalamabedi FMD control gate. He told the police officer that he and his delegation could not be searched because they were senior or elderly people, resulting in them passing through gate without their property in the vehicles being inspected and searched.

The government said in a statement on Thursday that every person travelling in Botswana, regardless of who they are, must respect and comply with all measures intended to combat the incidence and spread of animal diseases.

Woman kills man in shebeen

MOPIPI - Orapa police have arrested a woman suspected of killing a man in a shebeen here.

Orapa station commander Station Commander, Superintendent Kabo Badirwang says the woman is currently in police custody. The suspect appeared at the Orapa magistrate's court on Wednesday.

It is understood the incident took place after the man had asked for beer from a group of women, who however walked away from him. He is then believed to have said something derogatory and one of the women answered back, after which the two attacked each other and the man was killed.

Training on eradicating violence against women

By Lesley Van Neel

Women Against Rape (WAR) has held a half-day workshop in Maun to train participants from different organisations and departments on how to address the issue of violence against women. The workshop comes at a time when the world is preparing for the annual 16 Days of Activism against Violence on Women.

The workshop was attended by representatives from the Tribal Administration, Botswana Government Information Services, NCONGO, the Kgota O Mone theatre group, Air Botswana, the Botswana Wildlife Training Institute and secondary school teachers.

The workshop, which was facilitated by male employees of WAR, was aimed at teaching participants on the proper ways of approaching the issue of violence against women and children, in the workplace, in society generally and at home.

The 16 days of activism starts on November 26 and ends on December 10. The period also encompasses other dates that are critical to the eradication of violence and its effects on the spread of HIV and AIDS.

November 25 is in commemoration of the killing of the women activist Sisters in the Dominican Republic in 1960, while December 1 marks the World Aids Day. The International Day for the Disabled is commemorated on December 3.

December 6 is the commemoration of the 1989 Montreal massacre, in which a man shot 14 young women because he could not get into an engineering college. He apparently blamed women for taking his space. December 10 is International Human Rights Day. WAR has called on communities to reflect on issues pertaining to violence against women and children during the 16 days. This year's theme is from peace in the home to peace in the world: prevent violence against women your way.

24-hour clinic in name only'

The newly-opened 24-hour clinic at the old Maun General Hospital has come under a barrage of criticism from North West District councillors who maintain that it does not qualify to be classified as such.

Taking a swipe as a newly-opened clinic, nominated councillor Abel Molelo said he has personally observed the dilemma during his numerous visits to the clinic which was initially expected to bring health care services closer to the community.

It was also expected to ease congestion at the Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital, which has been the only health facility offering a 24 hr service in the district.

The old hospital clinic was also meant to help relieve the most frequented local clinics as well as to reduce the burden of travelling by the old and the less privileged who cannot afford taxi money and the distance to the new hospital.

Molelo said recently patients at the clinic have complained of a lack of drugs, saying they are always told to collect their medication at Letsholathebe and other clinics. He said patients have decried the depressing situation under which they are compelled to spend more money on transport. This situation, he said, is further compounded by the closure of the clinic's dispensary at 4.30pm, and the nurses deployed there are also usually nowhere to be found.

Molelo noted, however, that the clinic is also understaffed and at times nurses are forced by circumstances to work single-handedly and perform duties which they should not be doing. He said the entire premises are dirty and most of the structures are dilapidated, which points to poor planning.

Two great draws for the mighty Zebras

The national senior soccer team, the Zebras, gave excellent accounts of themselves when they held the Nigerian and Niger to draws at the weekend and on Tuesday.

The match against Nigeria's Super Eagles ended in a 0-0 draw and the midweek match finished at 1-1.

The matches had been lined up by Zebras' coach Stanley Tshosane to sharpen up his lads in preparation for the upcoming AFCON finals, to take place in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon in January next year.

The Nigeria game - that had all the Zebras players plying their trade in South Africa in action as well as the elusive Jerome Ramathlakwane, who just a few days ago had been named amongst the best in the continent - saw the Super Eagles, boasting a squad of most players turning out for Europe teams, have a torrid time and at the same time proving to the world that Botswana's first-ever qualification for the finals was not a fluke.

The result has sent cold shivers down the spines of other AFCON finalists, especially Ghana who play the Zebras in their group opening encounter on January 24, as the style of both teams is similar. Nigeria has in the past dominated the continent's football with Ghana playing second fiddle.

Zebras defended as a unit, keeping good numbers behind the ball and closing the opposition quickly, thereby denying them any chance of penetrating easily thanks to the tactics implemented by former coach, Jelusic Veselin.

Tshosane, who spent time as an assistant to Veselin, perfected the system further as soon as he was appointed head coach.

Besides playing well, there were flaws especially on the left flank where Twizer Ramohibidu and Bloemfontein ace Phenyo Mongala were constantly exposed but the National Under-23 goalkeeper, Kabelo Dambe, was in good form stopping all the efforts of the opposition and also proving that he is prepared to do duty in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea next year. His acrobatic saves left the football scouts with some future considerations for the young Zebras goalie.

Joel Mogorosi also was a thorn in the flesh for Nigeria, tearing into them with his lightning pace and was on one occasion denied a goal when his header hit the crossbar.

The South African-based contingent of Dipsy Selolwane and the evergreen Mogogi Gabonamong showed character of playing in one of the best paying leagues in the world, standing tall for their country.

All in all this game was a test of what our heroes are to expect in the finals.

The Zebras finished off their FIFA calendar week on Tuesday by drawing 1-1 with the other AFCON 2012 finals debutants, Niger.

Despite playing without all the South African-based stars, who flew back after the Nigeria game as agreed, Zebras held their opponents in their backyard with a goal scored by Onalethata Tshekiso.

This was not the first time the two teams had met as they played each other in the 2003 World Cup qualifiers when Niger emerged victors 1-0 and then 2-1.

One would recall that Niger held South Africa's Bafana Bafana to 0-0 draw after having beaten them 2-1 in Niger.

Meanwhile, the Botswana football association caused problems fore the players by failing to pay the allowances before the match, as had been agreed. The players had threatened not to play.

Terrors terrified by Delta Winds

Maun Terrors were shown no mercy when they met Delta Winds in a league encounter played at Maun Sports Complex on Saturday evening.

The game which had all the ingredients of a first division clash saw Delta Winds, emerge victorious by 2-1. Both teams applied a 3-5-2 formation but delta, aka Abafana Ba Style, proved stronger with Omphile Haera and long-time captain Mogomotsi Mothibi. In the middle it was a battle of experience with Zimbabwean international Tendai Katiyo and Leboshe Nkamodira, Coaster Rica and the young Wabuya Ayebe. Delta Winds opened the floodgates early in the first half when Leboshe slammed in a hard shot and a few minutes later Letso Mokhawa unleashed a grounder from the right hand side for Unobatsha Mbaiwa to stretch full length and slide the ball to the top corner to give his side a 2-0 lead at half time. The coaches of both sides, Bushy Basitang and Jabulane Ncube, made some tactical changes to the pattern of play but Ncube's plans were dented when Haera was sent off for retaliation a few minutes from the break and Mbaiwa had to be rushed to hospital after colliding with a defender and receiving a deep cut under his left eye.

Ncube brought on Beki-le Beki in the place of Mbaiwa and this paid dividends as he managed to hold tight with nine men until the introduction by Terrors of Calito who towards the dying stages of the game flicked a ball beating Ernest Nkgorisang and Delta Winds goalie Onalethata Willie.

Horizon Stars run riot in derby

Horizon Stars ran riot over the weekend in the fight for supremacy in Boseja against Brothers of Peace in their Nhabe regional league football match.

The two teams come from the same area and matches between the two tend to bring about rivalry in homes, streets, water standpipes and the many Chibuku depots.

The match was played to almost a full house as the old, young and lame from the area came to cheer their favourites.

Stars started like a house on fire and were rewarded with four quick goals in the first stanza of the game.

Brothers made a change after the break, introducing BT Boitumelo who, for reasons known only to the technical team, was benched to the surprise of their followers.

He was quick to prove the technical team wrong when he netted twice, reducing the scoreline to 4-2. The happiness was short-lived as Stars netted 2 more goals to put the game beyond reach of Brothers, claiming supremacy by 6 goals to 2 at the final whistle.

In the other games played over the weekend, Maun Heroes played to a 2-all draw with Fuji Rollers while CTO pushed themselves up the log ladder to 16 points, the same number as Gunners of Khwai.

Another win for wasteful BMC

Maun BMC beat Zungu 5-2 on Sunday in a match that one can dub comical as BMC wasted clear-cut scoring opportunities, with senior players like Menson and Likha being the chief culprits after using their explosive high speed sprints on the left and right flanks respectively, and fluffed scoring opportunities with the goal keeper at their mercy.

Had they converted all the chances that came their way, he scoreline could have been a dozen or more for BMC.

The BMC coach, Defaulter, was given his marching orders by referee Selekano before the kick off of the second half for pulling the match ball from his hands to give his players some warming up while waiting for the Mababe side who had taken more than the stipulated 15 minutes half time break.

The match official on the day, Sathiso Mazonga, was ordered by the referee to remove the coach from the bench to the stands as he was not in a position to start the second half with him threatening to abandon the game.

The coach had to leave the ground with the help of his players, with him questioning which law of the game was being applied to sack him.

Drama almost happened after the final whistle when Defaulter walked back on the pitch to try and get clarification about his sacking -and there were almost blows exchanged before Mazonga came to the rescue and separated them.

Cubs abandon game

Cubs abandoned their league clash with Moeti United at the weekend when they refused to allow the opposition's second goal of the match to stand.

The game was not provided with referees and under the circumstances was hosted by Cubs who provided a volunteer referee in order for the two teams to fulfill the weekend fixture. The game was played fairly and Cubs were first to draw blood, hitting the net in the first half. Moeti were not to be pushed over and in turn equalised before scoring the goal that the Cubs team felt was not legitimate and refused to finish the remaining minutes of the game.

Tigers show no mercy

Maun Tigers came to their 1 st Division (North) football match on Saturday wounded and showed no mercy to Peacemakers, tearing into them from the first whistle.

Tigers, who lost their last match two weeks ago in Selebi Phikwe after also losing to Senete newcomers 225 the previous week and were denied game time after Mahalapye Hotspurs cancelled their fixture last weekend at the last hour, came into this game hungry for three points and proved too strong for Peacemakers.

Wellcome Patrick opened the scoreline with a beautiful goal when he made his trademark 360-degree left turn and unleashed a volley with everyone thinking he would cut in front of the defence to the right flank. The score remained at 1-0 going to half time.

Tigers came back firing on all cylinders and showing even more hunger, but were constantly denied any chance by the Bobirwa outfit who had a greater support base on the terraces.

Andrew Nkipa, the Tigers goalkeeper, gave a very good account of himself, showing spectators some of his refreshed goalkeeping skills as he had just returned from a goalkeeper coach course, the first of its kind in the country.

Ali came off the bench to score a beauty to hand Tigers with 3 points and putting beyond reach any hopes of peace making between the two sides when a good number of exchanges of passes were done in the box. Meanwhile, Sankoyo Bush Bucks on the other side of the country fought gallantly, losing 1-0 to Mahalapye Hotspurs for the better part of the game and then when two red cards were given to the Nhabe side, they ended down 2-1.

Gunners lose log leadership to Delta Winds

Gunners of Khwai were humiliated by North West United in an Nhabe regional football league game on Sunday afternoon when they were dispatched 4-1 at Maun Sports Complex, surrendering their top spot to close rivals Delta Winds side, who in turn had overcome a more determined Maun Terrors side on Saturday evening beating them 2-1.

After all the weekend games, Delta Winds head the league 16 points from 8 games, 2 points better than Gunners who tie in 2 nd place with CTO but with Gunners are second on goal difference. North West United, known as the Elephants, dominated play from the onset, capitalising on space marking from Gunners, distributing the ball to each others at the twinkle of the eye, and committing the opposition to go to half time leading by 2 goals to nil. The North West side were marshaled by none other than the exciting midfield maestro Omphile, who was a thorn in the side each time he got the ball - and as a result netted 2 goals.

The second half started with the Elephants employing a defensive tactic, dropping numbers to the back and allowing Gunners to pressurise their goal area. As a result they cracked, allowing the opposition to reduce the score line by a goal.

Omphile then scored his team's 3rd goal. Khwai made two changes to their line up and introduced the veterans - the gifted left footer Ledombi tried by all means to dismantle the defence of the Elephants but all the effort was were frustrated and as a result were caught on a counter attack and North West United put the game beyond reach with a 4 th goal.

Equestrian musical dressage display

Maun's equestrian enthusiasts enjoyed their first Musical Dressage display this weekend. Hosted by Palmer Stables, and organized by Mia Farr, the event was a great success with 11 horses and riders, dressed and decorated to their themes, showing their dressage skills.

There were 4 musical pairs and 8 musical solo displays and, with music by Launce, the show ring was alive with strains of Spanish, Western, jazz, classical, Gregorian, Arabian, African, Pink Rock, and some James Bond and Queen Magic.

1st place - Musical Pairs: Kind of Magic Norte & Charl / Harry & Susie; 1 st place - Musical Solo: Shania Twain's Any Man of Mine Jack & Kathy; 2 nd place Musical Solo: James Bond George & Gill.

The organisers wish to thank the three judges Pippa, Debs and Julie, and to Mervyn, Mia and Debbie.

Permalink | View Entire Page

13 Nov ' 15:46

Edition 579 11 - 17 November 2011

The road to the hospital has been ripped up and is under re-construction.

NEW ROAD TO HOSPITAL REBUILT

The road from the Botswana Wildlife Training Institute junction to Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital in Disaneng is being rebuilt after less than three years in use.

The road was built as part and parcel of the hospital project but started showing defects only a year and half into its use. It developed potholes and was peeling off.

The North West District Council (NWDC), to which the road was handed recently, has started reconstructing it because it could not be maintained. The hospital was built at a cost of over P350 million, inclusive of the access road, and was officially opened in April 2009.

This week NWDC public relations officer, Wada Motsamai said the council is reconstructing the road at a cost of P2 452 464.30. She said the road which was built during the hospital construction was given to the council for maintenance.

Wada said they do not have any idea as to why the road became unusable after only two years in operation, referring all questions to the Department of Buildings and Engineering Services (DBES) which was responsible for the project.

According to a director of Stocks and Stocks (Botswana) Ltd, Giepie Barnard, they were the main contractors of the hospital and the road. Barnard said this week that his company built the road based on the approved design and specifications supplied to them by DBES. What the client told us to build is what we built, and any questions on the lifespan of such can be directed at DBES, he said. He noted that the design of the road would have been done by the consultants, and approved by the client who was government.

However, the public relations officer at DBES, Morwalela Kesalopa told The Ngami Times initially that she doubted the road was their project since they do not construct roads. She later changed her mind and requested a questionnaire be sent to her on the matter so that she could respond. A questionnaire was immediately sent to her and by the time of going to press she had not responded to the questions.

There have been reports that the road may have been built to cater for a low traffic count and therefore could not handle the heavy flow of traffic to the hospital.

In his state of the nation address this week, President Ian Khama raised concern about professionalism and effective monitoring in the construction industry. He said this has led to problems such as corruption, fraud and premature boarding of government buildings. To reduce the risk of substantial variations being introduced after a construction project has commenced, a stakeholder reference group consisting of people representing the developer and clients has been introduced along with design and quality audit teams for each stage of design and construction.

Khama said these teams will make unannounced inspections of projects.

We shall continue to hold the party that caused the defect accountable for costs to correct the work. Poor workmanship, along with failure to complete work on time, by both local and foreign companies, has cost government dearly and cannot be tolerated, he said. He also said a claims audit team has been introduced as part of the restructuring of DBES and has uncovered substantial amounts of funds falsely claimed by contractors and consultants, with up to P1 million in such amounts uncovered every week.

Tourism's massive earning power

Botswana's second earner of foreign revenue, the tourism sector, had a record 2.1 million international tourist arrivals, who are estimated to have spent P4.7 billion last year.

In his State of the Nation address on Monday, President Ian Khama also disclosed that 1.2 domestic tourists contributed an additional billion Pula in revenue.

He said efforts are underway to expand the tourism industry, among which is the targeted development of 100 heritage sites, 82 of which have been completed. Such developments will include construction of access roads, trails and signage.

Other efforts include identification of new tourism opportunities through the development of dams, game reserves and educational parks.

Management plans are being developed for Gaborone Game Reserve and Dam, Francistown, Maun Educational Park and Dithopo Game Ranch, Khama said.

The proposed commercial development of educational parks has been met with reservations from the community, specifically in Maun where such development allegedly involves the construction of a golf course complete with a casino. Some prominent government officials are thought to be behind the venture in their private capacities.

In his address Khama also revealed that the listing of the Okavango Delta as the second World Heritage site in Botswana is expected to be completed by 2012. The only existing Botswana World Heritage Site is the Tsodilo Hills.

BMC meets angry Ngamiland farmers

By Bright Kholi

Botswana Meet Commission (BMC) top brass were met by not-too-happy Ngamiland farmers associations yesterday prior to the first ever Farmers Pitso taking place today at Maun Lodge.

The farmers brought in their concerns regarding the BMC, which they accused of taking them for granted. They decried the lack of consultation by BMC on matters that affect them directly, citing sourcing markets for the beef as one such example.

They called on BMC to be transparent with the farmers when it comes to the pricing, expense and comparison of cost between regional markets and the EU one.

Galeitsanye Masedi, who made the presentation on behalf of the associations, said they had previously said regional markets can benefit farmers more as compared to other markets. They also said the BMC should work on issue of logistics regarding loading points of cattle in the district. Movement protocols by the Department of Veterinary Services was also said to be contradictory to the BMC loading points.

For his part, BMC chief executive officer Dr David Falepau told the farmers that as a businessman and not a politician, his intention was on how best the BMC and farmers can work together to bring BMC to the top again after years of making losses. He explained the pricing system and the operational challenges of BMC if it fails to get the supply it needs and also explained the prices for live cattle bought by Zimbabwe and that this week two trucks were loaded at Makalamabedi, albeit a low supply of cattle for both the Zimbabwe market and for slaughter for the Angolan market.

Botswana hunting trophies hijacked in Johannesburg

A truck and a Botswana-registered trailer containing a number of Botswana sport hunting trophy shipments was hijacked by armed robbers in Johannesburg, South Africa, last Friday. The truck and trailer was on its way at 8.25am to OR Tambo International Airport to unload sport hunting trophy shipments for shipping to international destinations. The truck and trailer were equipped with a number of satellite tracking devices which were instantly mobilised when the hijacking took place. Agents in Johannesburg swiftly responded with armed vehicle and helicopter support to recover the truck, trailer and the contents within a very short period.

Two people were arrested and are in police custody waiting to appear in court shortly. All shipment contents have been recovered and there were no fatalities.

At this stage, the South African Police Service is not certain of where the breach in security occurred, and officials from SA Nature Conservation and other internal security agencies are investigating the incident.

Rural fire brigades planned

The Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism is establishing rural fire brigades in Ngamiland, Chobe, Ghanzi and Central districts.

This was disclosed by President Ian Khama during his Monday State of the Nation address to parliament this week.

He noted that uncontrolled wild land fires continue to be a major challenge to forest and range resources management. As part of the efforts to address this challenge, the government entered into a partnership programme with the Australian government under which 1 162 fire fighters have been trained so far. An Advance Fire Monitoring System has also been installed at the Department of Forestry and Range Resources.

Towards the end of September and early October this year, huge veld fires swept across the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve (CKGR), the Hainaveld, Makalamabedi and the Mababe areas.

According to the Maun-based Services for GeoInformation (SGI), an environmental and mapping consultancy, by October 5 those fires had ravaged about 25% of the CKGR in just 13 days. The affected area, at 13 093 square kilometres, represented the size of the West African nation, The Gambia.

Most of the veld fires are suspected to be started by farmers, poachers and tourist campers. Farmers are suspected to burn dry grass in winter months so as to make way for fresh pastures, while poachers are suspected to deliberately start fires in order to stampede game towards their hide outs for easy shooting. On the other hand, tourists are suspected to leave their camp fires unattended and smouldering. Meanwhile, in an effort to combat land degradation, Khama noted that about 136 000 trees have been planted under the Accelerated Tree Planting Programme since April 2010. This year's National Tree Planting Day on November 26 will be held at Nokaneng. According to a statement from the ministry, the commemoration will be held under the theme: Forests for the people: a key to poverty eradication, and will seek to highlight the contribution of trees and forests to environmental conservation, poverty alleviation, food security and sustainable rural development.

Man held over fake note

Maun police are holding a man in connection with a suspected P100 counterfeit note, following his arrest Wednesday night at the Makalamabedi cordon gate. The man apparently used the note at a local Engen filling station.

According to Maun police deputy station commander, Assistant Superintendent Pusoemang Letibirwa the man allegedly filled up with fuel worth P220, and handed the petrol attendants notes arranged in such a way that the P100 counterfeit note was at the bottom and the P20 on top. He left hurriedly.

However, on a routine scanning of suspicious notes, the attendants picked out the counterfeit note and swiftly played back their closed-circuit cameras (CCCTV) on which they easily identified the suspect and picked up his car registration.

Police were alerted and the suspect arrived to a welcoming party at the Makalamabedi gate. The suspect, who could have been heading anywhere south of Makalamabedi, was by yesterday still assisting police in their investigations.

Three suicides in two days

Police in Maun are investigating incidents in which three men allegedly committed suicide within a space of two days. The motive behind the suicides still remains unknown as the deceased did not leave any suicide notes.

In the first incident on Sunday, a 28-year-old safari guide who was employed by African Horseback Safaris at Macatoo Camp died instantly after pulling a gun on himself.

Another man, aged 36, of Boseja, Maun, was found hanging from the rafters of his house on Tuesday by members of his family soon after he had arrived from his work place at the Regional Agriculture Office where he worked as a labourer.

According to police, he had not shown any sign of displeasure as he had spent sometime with his family whom he had found outside the house before taking his life.

At Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital, a 48-year-old Shashe man left his hospital bed and was found hanging from a tree by a passerby. He had been admitted at the hospital on Sunday and towards lunch time on Tuesday he was nowhere to be found.

His death were confirmed by hospital superintendent Maxwell Mungisi who said the man was admitted to the hospital's medical ward after he is understood to have had a misunderstanding that led to a heated exchange of words with members of his family.

He apparently left the hospital through holes in the fence and hanged himself outside the premises.

Acting Station Commander at Maun Police Assistant Superintendent Thusoemang Letibirwa said this week that as police, they are equally appalled and concerned by the many suicides whereby people choose to take their lives for no apparent reason or for minor issues which could have been resolved.

He said people, whether young or old, should learn to seek advice from the elderly members of their families, from social workers, the police as well as the district leadership so that their problems might be discussed, leading to solutions to whatever setbacks they might encounter.

Letibirwa said people should change their mindset towards the police and not see them as rivals, but should instead always seek assistance as the police are duty bound to offer counseling and if possible reconcile whoever needs their services.

People should make use of this facility. They should also refrain from seeing the police as enemies, and not only come here when they report cases. Our doors are open 24 hours to allow free access to our services which are offered at no charge.

They should also know that taking one's life affects so many people, their friends, immediate families- particularly children who are mostly affected even psychologically, he said.

Extremely hot weather continues

Extremely hot conditions are expected over most parts of the country.

Maximum temperatures will reach 40°C or more over the Ghanzi, Northern Kgalagadi, Ngamiland and Southern districts, the Weather bureau says.

Other districts can expect temperatures of between 38°C and 40°C.

From Monday, temperatures are expected to reduce over the east parts and Kgalagadi, but extremely hot conditions will continue over the rest of the country at least up to Tuesday.

Forecasters say the public is advised to exercise due care and take precautionary measures to mitigate the impacts of excessive heat.

Attacking corruption head-on

Government is clearly and gradually outgrowing that flattering tag of being the least corrupt in Africa which is often bandied around by the likes of Transparency International, and instead now coming to grips with the scourge of corruption that has been eating away at our societal fabric.

Such pronouncements have lulled the country into complacency instead of confronting the increasing activities of corruption, despite the prevalence of telling signs.

Just the other day, senior executives of a company constructing the Shakawe Senior Secondary School were hauled before the courts for allegedly trying to bribe the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology, Carter Morupisi, by offering him a total package of P1-million to accept a structurally defective school project, which he, credibly, turned down. The project is a year late to completion.

We shudder at the thought of what could be the reasons behind the delayed completions, cost-overruns and shoddy workmanship that have become the hallmark of our public projects.

Many ordinary Batswana, however, are well alive to the many projects that have been wrought by corruption from local authorities' tenders all the way to multi-million national mega projects.

These categories are the epitome of the most prolific enablers of corruption, living up to the dictum that Behind every great riches, there is a great crime.

In his state of the nation address on Monday, President Ian Khama admitted as much that government has come up with various initiatives to address the situation, and his government must be commended for waking up to the realisation of the scale of corruption and its attendant cost to the nation.

He announced that a reviewed Corruption and Economic Crime Act is to be tabled in the current parliamentary session and disclosed the government is drafting a new National Anti-Corruption Strategy, and whistle-blowing legislation to protect individuals who in the public interest disclose information that relates to corrupt and illegal activities.

The president also cited other ongoing initiatives aimed at combating the scourge, and these include the establishment of anti-corruption units in all ministries and local authorities, and the now fully-operational Competition Authority.

The mainstreaming of corruption topics in various programmes that include the Junior Certificate (JC) curriculum is also ongoing and the Code of Conduct that was developed, and launched in September 2011 by the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and the Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM).

These are commendable efforts that need all our support. However, based on experience globally, these on their own have been found to be inadequate.

To effectively address the corruption scourge, the government will also need to formulate legislation on the Declaration of Assets by political leadership, top government officials and heads of parastatals; and on the Freedom of Information.

It may come as a surprise to many that Gaborone is apparently only now celebrating its silver jubilee - 25 years.

It certainly is a surprise because Gaborone, or Gaborones as it was originally called, came into being around the Gaborones Station in the early 1960s. The station was an important watering hole both for the train engines and the passengers back then.

By the time Shuffle first visited Gaborone, in or about 1964, the village that had sprouted up had already moved on to town status.

The main mall was in place, there were shops and the President Hotel was being built and later opened by the late Sir Seretse Khama, first prime minister and then president of the Republic of Botswana.

The opening had to be delayed by 24 hours as refreshments brought from the old Lidchi's Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa, were eaten by the newly-appointed staff even before the ceremony could begin and Lidchi's had to send in another consignment post-haste! A true story, by the way.

Shuffle had a room for the occasion in that hotel, at that time a two-storey building, and also frequented it at the time of Independence back in 1966. Such dates should actually make Gaborone at least 50 years old and not 25 as is being stated in advertisements flighted in the government newspaper, Daily News.

For the record, Maun is three years away from turning 100 as the capital of Ngamiland. Here's hoping the authorities get their act together well in time!

Maun's leap into the future, ie the new street lights, are really getting people talking.

While all main thoroughfares have not yet been lit up, those that have been are delighting motorists and pedestrians because at long last it's taken 97 years one can see other vehicles approaching more clearly, cattle, dogs and donkeys roaming on the roads, and pedestrians leaping for their lives as dangerous taxi drivers speed along the roads. This newspaper was one of those who for years agitated for street lights. We supported the North West District Council and the police in the campaign, which finally bore fruit this year.

Now we want to know about the lack of fire fighting equipment even though we have a brand new, state-of-the-art fire station standing empty for the past two years because of an alleged lack of funds.

Illustrating this is a fire in the grounds of the Sedia Riverside Hotel last Friday night that could have had disastrous consequences had it not been for the management and a few friends dousing the flames in high winds, accompanied at times by rain and hail.

The cause of the fire, in a palm tree, is not known.

Today is November 11, regarded as one of the most important days in military history.

At 11am, silence will descend on many cities, towns and villages as we remember the war dead.

It was on this day in 1919 that what we call World War One (The Great War) came to an end in Europe. The day is to commemorate the dead in that vicious conflict which involved troops from Africa and, of course, Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand and other nations. The day also salutes the dead from World War Two, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and all the other conflicts that have bedeviled the world over the years.

Stop for a moment at 11am today and think about the folly of war.

Laugh out loud

· Three old guys are out walking. The first one says, Windy, isn't it?'. The second one says, No, it's Thursday!'. The third one says, So am I. Let's go get a beer..'

· A man was telling his neighbour: I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me 30 000 pula, but it's state of the art. It's perfect.' Really,' answered the neighbour. What kind is it?' The reply: Twelve thirty.'

*Morris, an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical. A few days later, the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm. A couple of days later, the doctor spoke to Morris and said, You're really doing great, aren't you?' Morris replied, Just doing what you said, Doc: Get a hot mamma and be cheerful.'' The doctor said, I didn't say that. I said, You've got a heart murmur; be careful.'

Letters to the Editor

Youth idolising the wrong person

Sir, - I would like to point out to an increasingly militant number of youth of Botswana, especially the spokesperson of the Botswana National Front (BNF), something to ponder. Since the pronouncements made by the leader of the South African African National Congress Youth league (ANCYL), Julius Malema, about mobilising his organisation to effect regime change in Botswana, the obviously many historically misinformed young people in Botswana seem to support his rabid views.

Let's look at some facts. When Botswana attained independence in 1966, most of the current dissenting youth of today, were not born, thus I would ask them to bear the following in mind.

Unlike most African countries at independence, Botswana had almost no infrastructure at all. There was less than 50km of tarred road in the entire country. Where Gaborone now stands, there was nothing but a small village.

From that time to the present this country, under the leadership of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has become an internationally recognised model of democracy, rule of law and development.

As we all know, the country now has thousands of kilometers of tarred roads, modern towns, an educational system that makes South Africa's look like it belongs in the Stone Age, modern hospitals, but most importantly a government that works for the people and the greater good of the country.

Many will probably totally disagree with the last statement, but bear this in mind. Most African countries, on attaining independence, inherited an advanced infrastructure. Most of them have ruled so badly, and so much for their own account, that the infrastructure has all but collapsed.

Zimbabwe is a prime example of this, but since obtaining independence South Africa has been rapidly following suit

They are constantly having public demonstrations over lack of service delivery. Their electricity system has being allowed to degrade so badly that they are now having to charge unacceptable amounts to consumers in order to try and play catch-up.

Their water and sewerage infrastructure is collapsing so badly in many parts of the country that it is leading to unacceptable water pollution. Many rivers are becoming poisonous cesspools.

It is so bad in one river that the pollution is even killing crocodiles. Their health system is not third world but more like fifth world.

All the while, the politically connected from their president down are amassing huge personal wealth. This is not a theory but a fact. The corruption in SA is so bad that it has been estimated that up to 30-billion rand has been misappropriated in the last few years.

Malema, who so many young people in South Africa idolise, is one of the worst. On a salary of 40 000 rand a month, which in itself is way too much for the so-called champion of the poor, he has amassed a fortune.

It is no secret that Malema idolises (Zimbabwe President Robert) Mugabe who is said to be worth US$10-billions.

He has expressed horror at the overthrow of Gaddafi whom he calls an African hero and champion of the African people. This has been echoed by the BNF spokesperson, Moeti Mohwasa.

Gaddafi ruled Libya for 42 years as if he owned the country, much like Malema's hero Mugabe. Shortly before his overthrow he described his own people as rats, so please become more enlightened to the facts.

Now let's take a look at Botswana. We have a government that under its current leadership works to achieve the four D's - Discipline, Dignity, Development and Democracy.

Our leaders differ greatly from almost every other African leader on the continent in as much as they actually serve their country and not themselves. So those of you that think Malema is a hero, open your eyes and think a bit.

Every country has its problems and faults but Botswana is light years ahead of almost all the rest. Please remember this before following and admiring the antics of a hypocrite and corruption soaked South African.

MIKE G

Maun

Parks' checks and balance needed

Sir, - I write to you to voice my concern over the terrible loss of a tourist in the Chobe National Park.

In this day and age of technology it is an outrage that tourists can go missing for a week in a world-renowned park without being missed! It is not acceptable, even if they get lost. There are no excuses. If tourists enter any park in Botswana, there should be checks and balances. It does not take much management skill to install a system where tourist movements or lack thereof are monitored.

I urge the Botswana Government to act! To become proactive and take steps to secure the security of tourists entering large game areas. I also urge the Wildlife department to improve the road signs, or lack thereof, in our national parks so that visitors do not inadvertently take wrong turnings that could lead to them getting lost or stranded.

Let us not only preserve our wildlife but also our tourists!

DEAN HATTY

(Letter by e-mail)

Maun's popular annual family fun fair drew many to the Okavango River Lodge grounds last weekend. Many stalls, such as books and foods, and activities that included horse riding, were on hand to thrill visitors. The fair was organised by the Women's Aglow Fellowship in Maun to raise funds for care of the elderly.

Botswana reduces Malaria prevalence, deaths

By Basadi Morokotso

The Minister of Health, Dr John Seakgosing, says Botswana has significantly reduced the burden of malaria from 77 555 unconfirmed cases in 2000 to 12 196 cases in 2010.

Speaking at a SADC health ministers' meeting on malaria elimination held in Maun last week, Seakgosing said malaria deaths have declined from 35 to 7 over the same period.

I am glad to inform you that Botswana has managed to distribute enough LLIN nets over the past two years to achieve the universal coverage of all our targeted areas. These nets are in-door residual spraying which we have been able to sustain since the early 1950s without external support.

The rollout of Artemisa-based combination treatment (ACT) in 2007 has also contributed to the decline in malaria cases and deaths.

Seakgosing has called on countries on the frontline to maintain momentum and work hard to meet the target of malaria elimination by 2015. Member states of the committee include Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Known as the E8, it was established in Windhoek in 2009 and the region has since seen progress in the reduction of malaria mortality and morbidity.

Seakgosing said the fact that malaria is more than just an ordinary disease calls for solid cross-border collaboration and strong partnership.

The disease is reported to have already killed close to a million people globally, the most vulnerable being pregnant women and children, and has cost Africa an estimated P215- billion annually.

In terms of regional achievement, the chairperson of the committee, Richard Kamwi, who is also the Minister of Health and Social Services in Namibia, said they have lobbied their government and heads of states to support all programmes relating to malaria which can help rid the countries of the disease.

In the case of Namibia, he said they have been provided with technical support, have trained and retrained their medical doctors and health practitioners and have brought in international partners who have offered technical expertise and financial support.

He said they also have the international business coalition which assists in technical and financial support.

As E8, Kamwi said they have also managed to convince sponsors that they have put their money where it is wanted.

He singled out Botswana as testimony of how much leadership can bring down the HIV/AIDS burden, adding that Namibia is another example where leadership at the highest level is making a dent on HIV/AIDS.

Most economies are reportedly struggling with malaria, particularly those at undeveloped areas where fundamental determinants of continued vulnerability to malaria are high. These include poverty, the inadequacy of health services and poor accessibility of health services to the most in need.

Mogae's plan to legalise prostitution

Former president Festus Mogae wants the country to decriminalise prostitution in order to facilitate HIV prevention initiatives with sex workers, according to the publication The Body, a specialised American publication on HIV/AIDS. It says one in four adults has HIV in Botswana, and that rate has hardly moved during the last decade. Decriminalizing sex work does not mean encouraging it, but it would rather pave way for policies that protect those that have been forced into the trade, Mogae is reported to have told a recent meeting of the National AIDS Council. They will be able to report men who forcibly put them at risk of contracting the virus, and in turn men who seek their services will no longer abuse them as might be the situation now. The proposal has the support of the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS but faces a backlash among some religious groups.

Sex according to Christian values is meant for people in a marriage with the aim to procreate, said Father William Horlu, a Roman Catholic Church spokesperson. It is taboo to engage in sex for money and I hope Botswana, being a Christian country, will not allow the trade to be decriminalized. Mogae is quoted as saying we cannot talk about the church way because it has failed in history. Mogae has also proposed scrapping Botswana's anti-sodomy law. He plans to bring his recommendation to the cabinet and parliament.

British military in Ngamiland for disaster management exercise

By Bright Kholi

Five teams of British military members, together with a number of civil servants from that country, have been deployed in Ngamiland to review the disaster risk management plan in Botswana.The group, comprising 35 people, started the exercise this week. In an interview this week, Martine McNee, head of media operations, said they came to Botswana at the invitation of the Office of the President.

She noted that it was the first time that British military have been to Botswana to specifically review the disaster management plan. The exercise, named Civil Bridge 11, will report back to the President after making an evaluation and review of disaster readiness. The exercise, she said, entails meetings with various government ministries, local authorities, and traditional leaders.

Ngamiland was chosen as the subject area due to its vulnerability to national disasters, especially flooding. Five teams comprising of six specialists have been deployed in Gumare, Shakawe and Maun, with the headquarters at Audi Camp in Maun. The teams are working closely with the Botswana Defence Force (BDF). The team will conclude its work on November 18 and will then make its recommendations.

Lack of sponsorship delays volunteer scuba team

By Bright Kholi

An appeal by businesswoman Sasha Otukile for volunteers and sponsors towards her initiative to form a volunteer community scuba divers rescue team in Maun got some positive response from a notable number of volunteers but no sponsorship.

Otukile told The Ngami Times this week that about 20 volunteers have shown interest and that most of them have some life-saving skills and training. Otukile said she was adamant that the initiative was on the right track.

My only concern is that no business entity has shown any interest in sponsoring the project, and without sponsorship this project cannot see the light of the day. This initiative is non-profit making, and will rely heavily on sponsors and donors for its survival, she said. Otukile came up with the idea after realising the high number of drownings in the Thamalakane River and that in most instances scuba divers only arrived to assist after the victims had already died. With this envisaged rescue team, the response will be prompt as our life guards will be on standby, mostly at hotspots along the river and especially on weekends because that is when most of these incidents take place, she said.

Otukile said the volunteers will have the knowledge on how to swim and also life saving in water skills.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been nine cases of drownings in Maun and the number is expected to increase as the festive season approaches. Otukile says her plea goes to the business community to join hands and help fund the project.

Otukile can be contacted on 72586091 or email sotukile40@gmail.com.

Pony's burnt to ashes

The burning to the ground of the popular Maun watering hole, Pony's Bar, in the early hours of Sunday has highlighted the vulnerability to fire disaster of a town or village without fire-fighting equipment.

Ironically, Maun boasts a fire department with one of the best state-of-the-art fire stations in the country that was completed two years ago but is yet to be equipped. It has since been unoperational supposedly due to lack of funds.

Assistant Superintendent Phillip Lopang, of the Maun Police, confirmed that a fire outbreak at the Borolong Ward premises was reported to them at about 1am on Sunday and they rushed to the scene. The police called the Civial Aviation Authority Botswana (CAAB), who are the only outfit here with fire-fighting equipment but were informed the CAAB rules and regulations do not permit the use of their equipment in non-aviation related matters.

The police are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Pony's Bar proprietor, Grace Ledimo, also confirmed that I got a call from the police at about 1 on Sunday alerting me of the fire, but by the time I arrived at the scene the buildings had already burnt to the ground.

She estimated the cost of the damage at around P225 000 at this stage. Regarding the possible re-opening of the bar popular with mature and senior patrons, Ledimo said funds permitting they would like to be back in operation during the first week of December. Another fire incident took place on Friday night on the grounds of the Sedia Riverside Hotel but disaster was averted by quick reaction of the hotel staff and some patrons.

Chobe hotels, camps protected by police

The Minister for Defence, Justice and Security, Ramadeluka Seretse, has told the Dikgosi about the need for Batswana to protect tourists so as for the nation to maintain a good reputation.

Seretse said criminals who attack tourists reduce the number of people who visit the country. Responding to a question by Kgosi Mmualefhe Mmualefhe at the Ntlo ya Dikgosi on Friday as to whether the minister was aware that police officers in the Chobe West region act as security guards at hotels instead of mounting patrols, Seretse confirmed that he was aware of the deployment at hotels and tourist destinations.

You may be aware that Chobe West Region remains a high income earner for the country through tourism, said Seretse, adding that it is regrettable that the area has been affected by a spate of robberies and break-ins at camping sites and hotels.

Although Mmualefhe indicated his point to be that the hotels need to hire their own security personnel like other companies, Seretse emphasised the importance for the two (hotels and police) to come up with the solution.

He said tourists have now become victims resulting in the lowering of confidence in their safety - if not adequately addressed, this state of affairs will negatively impact on the tourism industry, Seretse added.

The decision to deploy police was deliberately taken while a long-term solution is being devised.

Such a solution will include a combination of state and private efforts and to say they are used as guards is simplistic, he said. (BOPA)

Murder accused drowns in river

By Lets Open

SEHITWA  The body of a 20-year-old man who was being sought by the police has been retrieved from the Kunyere River.

Police station commander Moutlwatsi Ikobeng confirmed this week that the body had been first seen by Toteng villagers.

It is understood that the man, who was facing a murder charge, escaped from police custody while being taken from Maun to Gumare for a mention hearing at the local magistrate's court.

He was last seen running in the direction of the river.

The man was facing a charge of having murdered another for muti purposes.

Diamond agreement will not affect production

Botswana has been advised of an agreement between Anglo-American plc and CHL Holdings Limited (CHL), 100% owned by the Oppenheimer family, through which Anglo-American seeks to acquire an incremental interest in De Beers, which would increase Anglo-American's current 45% shareholding in De Beers up to 85%.

The transaction is expected to take between 9 and 12 months for its full implementation. The current shareholding of De Beers is 45% Anglo-American, 40% CHL (Oppenheimer Family) and 15% Botswana government.

Under the terms of the existing shareholder's agreement, the government has pre-emption rights with respect to the CHL Group's interest in De Beers, enabling the government to participate in the transaction and to increase its own interest in De Beers, on a pro rata basis, up to 25%. This option will be explored in the coming months.

In a statement, the government says it appreciates the fact that Anglo- American has had a long standing stake in De Beers, both historically and currently as the major shareholder in the company.

Anglo-American thus already has a deep corporate understanding of the global diamond industry, as well as value of De Beers as the world's premier diamond brand for more than a century.

The transaction does not in any way alter the existing arrangement for the management of De Beers, including Nicky Oppenheimer's position as chairman, prior to its completion. The government is grateful to the Oppenheimer family for their vision and contribution to the diamond industry and to Botswana, and will proudly take forward that legacy with Anglo American. We look forward to building on the excellent relationship we have with Anglo American, both through our ownership of De Beers and through the Debswana joint venture, the statement added.

Aussie consulate to open in Gaborone

Australia shares with Botswana one of its strongest bilateral relationships in Africa and this is to be boosted further with the official opening of the Australian Consulate in Gaborone on November 23.

Amin Sabet will be Australia's Honorary Consul, resident in Gaborone, with jurisdiction throughout Botswana. According to the Australian High Commissioner to Botswana, Ann Harrap, the opening of the consulate reflects Australia's commitment to enhancing its engagement with Botswana and the continent of Africa more broadly, as well as the dynamism of the local Australian community in the country.

Australia and Botswana have long been good friends and the appointment of Sabet as Honorary Consul recognises the solid and long-standing political, economic and people-to-people links shared by our countries. In 2010-11, two-way trade between Australia and Botswana amounted to almost P39-million and the number of Australian companies interested in doing business in the country continues to grow, particularly in the mining sector where there are already 17 companies doing business. Australia continues to play a role in helping to address human resource development needs in Botswana through its Australia Awards Scholarships programme. In 2012, Botswana will receive 14 Masters-level scholarships, which is a significant increase on previous years.

The programme is specifically designed to meet the needs of Botswana in priority areas, including assisting the Botswana government at a time when it is trying to diversify its economy, Harrap said.

She added that the stable political and economic environment in Botswana was drawing an increasing number of Australian visitors and investors to the country.

A large part of Sabet's role would be to provide consular and passports assistance to the diverse Australian community and to promote Australia's political and commercial interests in Botswana.

The consulate will be open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm at Plot 20681, Unit 1A, Ramakukane Way, Block 3 (Opposite Oriental Plaza), Broadhurst Industrial, Gaborone (tel +267 390 2996, fax: +267 391 4293, cell: +267 7133 1500).

Traffic police shock at drunken driving

With the festive season just around the corner, traffic police are staggered by the number of motorists who continue speeding or driving intoxicated.

The divisional traffic officer for North, Senior Superintendent Engemadzo Sechele, has expressed disappointment at how ignorant and careless some Batswana are on issues of road safety.

He told BOPA the results of a three-day Operation Life Saver exercise showed an increase in the number of those caught on the wrong side of the law.

This is despite the fact that the police had publicised the operation some weeks before they took to the roads of Francistown and the A1 road from Ramatlabama/Ramokgwebana.

Sechele said 541 road users were arrested in Francistown for various offences while 564 were apprehended along the A1 road. Among the 564, there were 397 arrested for high speed while four were booked for drunken driving. He said that three drivers had their driving licenses seized by the courts. The outcome of the operation gave us a clear picture of how drivers behave on the roads because some of those who were caught for drunken driving were too intoxicated to realise what was happening and even insisted to drive their own cars, Sechele added.

Crocodile, hippo warnings

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks has gone on radio to tell the public that the floods have subsided in the rivers, leaving behind pools infested with Nile crocodiles and hippos.

It says this poses a threat to the public since a number of attacks have been recorded. Parents are advised not to allow children to play in pools as this puts their lives in danger, the department said. The floods recorded this year inundated thousands of hectares of land, damaged roads and bridges and resulted in many properties being inundated.

Four die as bus overturns

JWANENG  The death toll from a 60-seater bus accident that occurred on the Jwaneng-Kanye road recently is likely to rise. A total of 25 passengers were on the bus. Four died instantly and another four are in a critical condition. Four patients have also been transferred to Bokamoso Hospital, Gaborone, where they are in the Intensive Care Unit. Station commander of Jwaneng Police Station, Superintendent Kebafitlhetse Mothubane, said the bus overturned. It was carrying mostly employees of a construction company involved in the multimillion Cut 8 expansion of Jwaneng Mine.

A Windy afternoon for Fuji Rollers

Delta Winds recorded a 5-2 victory over Fuji Rollers on Sunday afternoon in a fast-paced thrilling encounter at Maun Sports Complex.

The game started off at a very low pace under the scorching afternoon sun and increased pace gradually with the youthful side dictating from the onset thanks to an opening goal scored by Unobatsha Doctor Mbaiwa who made a solo run eliminating two defenders on the right flank before passing the ball to Victor Digoro, who in turn respected Doctor's run by laying the ball back to his path to beat the gloveless goal keeper.

Twelve minutes later the Rollers side were not to be pushovers when traffic officer constable Makoba fired home an equaliser on a rebound past Onnalethata Willie.

It was Delta Winds that got the lead on the stroke of half-time when Letso Mokhawa beat a Fuji defender and rounded the helpless goalkeeper to slot the ball into an empty net.

After the break Delta Winds came out a rejuvenated side, making darting runs from left to right, but the police side stood their ground but could not last and due to pressure they cracked when Mokhawa registered his second goal (3-1).

The introduction of Wabua Aebe on the right flank, when the coach substituted captain Mogomotsi Mothibi, proved to be an overdose to the Rollers as they were torn left, right and centre to the jubilation of Desert Winds supporters who never stopped singing and chanting. Winds got their 4th goal when Doctor Mbaiwa prescribed one more medication to the Fuji goalkeeper, this time hitting a hard shot to the near post. A few minutes later, another traffic officer, Ndiye Pelaelo, scored a rare goal straight from a corner kick, bridging the scoreline to 4-2 but his celebration was short-lived when Wabua put himself on the score sheet with a volley after being set up by the dreadlocked former Fuji Rollers player, Kefilwe Fisher, to put the game beyond reach.

Maun BMC slaughter Elephants

Maun BMC overcame the mighty North West United side, the Elephants in a David and Goliath battle at the Maun Technical College ground on Sunday. BMC were recording their second victory since the beginning of the season, the first being the one against Maun United a week ago. The game was played in a friendlier atmosphere and ended at 3-1 for BMC. Elephants showed more determination of trying to a get a goal in the dying minutes but were constantly frustrated by the meat boys' defence marshaled by long serving member Lebogang, who rarely puts a foot wrong when it comes to defending.

North West tried all they had with their inspirational midfield striker Omphile, who according to many, could be plying his trade in a more fancied league because of his talent and ball distribution skills.

In the other games, league draw specialists Brothers of Peace held a more determined Maun Terrors to a 2-2 draw while Maun United registered a narrow 2-1 win over Moeti United. At Maun Sports Complex, Maun Heroes came back from a 4-1 deficit to level the score to 5-5 with Makgabisanaga. The match was boycotted by referees as they claimed Makgabisanaga owes referees money from previous seasons. The referees had in the previous week ordered Solomon, the Makgabisanaga coach, to pay upfront for them to officiate at the game. Solomon could not dance to the pay forward system saying no one can get paid before they do the job. A recently trained referee had to be asked to come to the rescue of the two teams when he offered his services for free. It is most likely that teams who do not owe the referees will suffer when they play away to teams that are in arrears as the referees have vowed not to officiate.

Centre Chiefs opens five point lead

Mochudi Centre Chiefs opened a five-point lead in the Be Mobile league after beating second placed Nico United 2-0 at the weekend.

But this victory came with heartsore when one of the Centre Chiefs' supporters lost his life in a combi accident on the way back to Gaborone.

Township Rollers leaped to 2 nd place on the log, pipping Nico United after their impressive away victory to TAFIC in a fully packed Francistown Stadium 4-3.

BMC got the better of Notwane when they beat them 2-1, Satmos registered they first win of the season by hammering other newcomers Great North Tigers 2-1 in Selebi Phikwe, and Ecco City Greens lost to Mogoditshane Fighters 2-0.

Permalink | View Entire Page

07 Nov ' 15:43

Edition 578 4 - 11 November 2011

The disgraceful state of the storm water drain leading from Maun's Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital to the Maun Educational Park and Thamalakane River is clearly shown in this picture. It is apparent that hospital waste and other rubbish the main causes of a stench about which residents have been complaining for months - is being washed down the drain despite claims that this is not the case. The situation has been worsened by the installation of a Bio-Tec box designed to destroy effluent. (Picture: Bright Kholi)

CHILD KILLED BY CROC

By Basadi Morokotso and Lets Open

A crocodile - thought to have been one of the dozens that were washed out of a crocodile farm at the height of the recent floods - has killed a child near the Makgalong cattle post, about 45km from Maun,. Two youngsters had accompanied their mother to the Nhabe River from the cattle post, which is situated near Haka, to wash clothing and they were playing in papyrus when the crocodile dragged a 15-month-old child underwater. The woman watched helplessly as the crocodile took the screaming child and was powerless to help as the river was too deep at that point. The other child ran for its life.

The mother had apparently sent her older child, aged about 11, to fetch some water when, all of a sudden, a huge crocodile emerged from the river and instantly charged at the children before dragging the youngest one back into the river.

At the time of going to press, the police with assistance from members of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) were busy trying to locate the crocodile, which is suspected to be one of the many that recently escaped from the Okavango Swamps Crocodile Farm at Sitatunga and are still on the loose.

The incident is believed to be the first involving a human life since the crocodiles escaped into the Thamalakane River in September.

In yet another river occurrence, an 11-year-old boy lost his life last Sunday in a drowning incident in the Shashe River in Maun where his father had gone to wash the family vehicle.

The boy and his siblings had been playing by the river banks when he accidentally fell into the river and drowned.

Two weeks ago, a 29 year old Gaborone man drowned while swimming with friends in the same River.

The man, who worked for the Botswana Life Insurance company in Gaborone, was on an official trip to Maun when he drowned.

The latest incident brings to 10 the reported cases of drowning in Maun alone this year, according to Maun police station commander, Superintendent Kenny Badumetse.

Badumetse, who described the latest incidents as unfortunate, also advised people to stay away from rivers, whether these are flowing or stagnant. He said his office has been inundated with drowning reports despite police efforts to educate the communities on the dangers of rivers, particularly those that have been in flood recently.

Badumetse has appealed to communities living along the rivers to try as much as they can, to stay away from water as their lives could be in danger.

I want to call upon even those who reside in Maun and are familiar with swimming to keep away from the river as even crocodiles are now roaming freely. I am also worried by school children who do their laundry at river banks unsupervised because it is never known what will happen next. We have also observed that most of the people who drown in these rivers are usually drunk and driven by excitement. This is uncalled for and should come to an end, he said.

Badumetse was also of the view that the North West District Council (NWDC) should step in and make sure they seal-off the deep pools in the Shashe River which had resulted from illegal sand mining. He noted that these pools have become death traps as most of the drowning incidents reported in Maun occur there.

Maun abattoir starts to a slow kill'

The Botswana Meat Commission (BMC)'s Maun abattoir started slaughtering on Monday with farmers delivering a paltry 14 head of cattle. On Tuesday 25 were supplied, gradually reaching 54 by Wednesday.

The abattoir general manager, Goabaone Ranko, noted that on Thursday the abattoir could only slaughter 10 head due to problems with the delivery truck from Gani, which is about 30 km from Shakawe. The abattoir is expected to reach its full slaughter capacity of 100 head a day by mid-December.

The abattoir is currently only slaughtering cattle from Zones 2A and 2B which include Shakawe, Sepopa, Tsodilo and related areas. The current slaughter is expected to ultimately make part of the first consignment of 120 metric tonnes of beef required by Angola.

On the other hand, Zone C - which comprises Gumare, Nokaneng and Tsau - is expected to supply live cattle at a rate of 500 a day to a Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) abattoir. The Zimbabwean live export market is offering farmers P8.00/kg/LWt for both grades one and two.

Zone D, which stretches from Kuke condone fence to Makalamabedi and is the region's main livestock production area, can only supply the Maun abattoir from December 14 due to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the Kareng area early in September.

The Maun abattoir is currently offering the following rates:

Weight Range

<179.99

>=180

Prime

11.00

20.00

Super

11.00

19.00

Gr 1

11.00

18.00

Gr 2

11.00

17.00

Gr 3

8.50

8.50

Gr 4

7.00

7.00

Canning

4.50

4.50

Condemned

150.00

150.00

Chobe poacher arrested, three killed

Police in Kasane have arrested a suspected poacher following an incident in which three of his colleagues were shot dead in a gunfire exchange with Botswana's anti-poaching unit in the Chobe National Park last week.

Deputy Officer Commanding District No. 7, Superintendent Sazi Mpinyane confirmed on Tuesday that we have arrested one of them and he is in remand.

Mpinyane also confirmed that the three dead suspected poachers are in a Kasane mortuary where they are awaiting identification.

We are working with our Zambian counterparts to help us identify the bodies, and this is not proving to be an easy task as poaching is transnational. It could be that these guys are not from Zambia at all.

Sometimes they do not even know each other, having just met at the poaching operation. It could turn out that they are from other countries in the hinterland other than Zambia, he added.

Apparently the only clue linking the deceased to Zambia is the mobile telephone sim-cards that were found on their bodies. The suspects were in possession of 12 elephant tusks. Between April and July alone, there had been reported slaughter of 16 elephants in the Chobe National Park, whose carcasses were found with severed tusks.

Museum hosts photo workshop

Nhabe Museum in Maun is hosting a week-long photographic workshop organised by Botswana Society for the Arts.

It is being attended by a local group, Poetavango, three participants from Ghanzi, two government officials (one from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks and the other from Department of Information Services), art teachers and young individuals with knowledge of photography.

The workshop is facilitated by Stewart Arnold, of Kalahari Images, and Ulf Nermark. of WaFaBo (Pty) Ltd.

The works will be judged and successful participants' work will be displayed at the museum on Thursday evening at 6pm.

Nermark acknowledged the assistance of local partners as well as the sponsorship by the French Embassy, the German Embassy, the Department of Arts and Culture, and the German Development Services (GIZ). The latter has donated three digital cameras and lenses for the workshop, something that Nermark says has helped them save time.

Gas shortage cripples Botswana, South Africa

A huge shortage of gas is expected to continue in the Maun area and other parts of Botswana until at least December.

According to the e-News television station in South Africa, half that country's oil refineries have been closed for unscheduled maintenance work, but the South African Ministry of Energy Affairs says it was not aware of the closures and had been caught unprepared by the closures. The ministry called gas and oil executives and dealers to parliament on Tuesday to brief them on what was taking place. According to oil company executives, it was expected that the gas situation would begin to normalise in December. The gas shortage has resulted in emergency measures being taken by restaurants and hotels in the Maun area while in South Africa some restaurants have had to close because of the shortage.

In addition, supplies of jet fuel for aircraft is in short supply at the OR Tambo international airport in Johannesburg but the airport authorities say there is still sufficient available to continue normal operations.

It is not immediately known whether there will be a fuel shortage affecting Botswana airports.

Beware of foreigners buying land';

PALAPYE - The transfer of land to foreigners is a disturbing trend and a sizeable chunk of land is owned by foreigners, says Ngwato Land Board deputy board secretary Otsile Ditiro.

Speaking during an agribusiness forum for cattle breeders in Palapye, Ditiro requested farmers and other stakeholders to assist in coming up with interventions that could help address the situation. He advised Batswana to realise the dangers of selling and transferring land to foreigners.

He noted that applicants were allocated specific land uses but ended up developing the land for different uses.

An alarming rate of illegal change of use were observed in agricultural holdings, ploughing fields as well as boreholes, which were turned into full scale livestock watering boreholes, he said.

Farmers concerned about game at water sources

GUMARE  Farmers in the area say they are becoming increasingly concerned about wild animals preying on their livestock.

The farmers say that for years their livestock was able to graze on palatable vegetation at water sources in and around the Samosokwa lagoons, Habu and Xurube as well as cattle posts in the district.

Baboons, monkeys, wild dogs, lions and other predators virtually seal off pathways to these water sources and vegetation, causing major problems for us, said farmers Monageng Salepito and Moetedi Gabothuse.

They claimed farmers were often harassed by wildlife scouts if they disturbed game.

They acknowledged some people were engaged in poaching. Farmers are also concerned about cattle rustlers, and a woman farmer, Mosamarea Keletile, said the community should work with the police and wildlife scouts to stamp out the practice.

Heat wave on way out?

The heat wave conditions which have resulted in high temperatures in North West District, the Caprivi Strip and in Zimbabwe over the past two weeks is beginning to change, weather forecasters say. Temperatures of up to 45 deg C have been recorded at Nata and in the Kalahari Desert. Unofficial readings have recorded up to 43 deg C in the Maun area. There are expected to be temperatures touching 38 deg C during the whole of next week with the possibility of thunderstorms as well.

Plunder, corruption and helplessness

Any reference to development projects in Ngamiland now customarily conjures up images of plunder, corruption and utter helplessness.

About two weeks ago, when road diversion signs were being put up to divert traffic from the supposedly new road leading to an equally new Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital, Disaneng road users assumed minor repairs were to be undertaken.

Obviously there were wrong as the yellow monsters soon after moved in to literally rip up the new road! In any case, they were not surprised as nothing amazes in Maun anymore.

The whole hospital project alone is the true reflection of the disdainful manner with which public projects had been implemented in this region. Everything, from the turn-off, which is about a kilometre away, all the way to the wards themselves aptly fits the word disaster.

The hospital turn-off is a conduit for stinking hospital waste being discharged into the Thamalakane River, thanks to a botched experimental bio-box technology in use. The stench from what in all intents and purposes is an open sewer poses a serious health hazard to both human and livestock in that environs and beyond.

The community, including elected representatives, has repeatedly voiced their displeasure at this sad state of affairs but no avail.

Recently, when the Minister of Infrastructure, Science and Technology, Johnny Swartz, toured the hospital, the establishment's management and staff took turns not only to castigate the use of the bio-box system but also other hospital equipment that included dysfunctional boilers and chillers.

In fact, to their credit the hospital has been seizing every available opportunity to raise issues of concerns with visiting authorities. For instance, in early October they debunked, before the Social Services Parliamentary Committee, the lies peddled by the Central Medical Stores of stockpiles of uncollected drugs.

Health facilities throughout the country are both understaffed and financially under-resourced. We are now familiar with that ingenious global recession excuse.

It is apparent it is an excuse - otherwise, how do we explain the pillage and wastage of billions of Pula that are characterised by cost over-runs, delayed completions and sub-standard workmanship? Some structures start collapsing even before they can be put to use and painfully, the same companies are repeatedly awarded more lucrative tenders.

Ironically, nobody is ever held accountable. The pain of it all is that, as taxpayers, we are losing both ways for overpriced structures that we are not going to use for long.

Every now and again this column highlights incidents affecting Air Botswana.

The latest concerns one of this newspaper's senior staff who flew to Johannesburg on Sunday, hopefully expecting to land there in time to attend a meeting that night.

No chance of that as the pilot of the jet he was on turned back to Gaborone because of bad weather.

In the words of Bright Kholi, our News Editor, it was the worst moment of his life! Eventually, after being on the ground at Gaborone for over an hour, he eventually reached Johannesburg five hours later than expected.

To make matters worse, an ATR from Kasane to Johannesburg landed incident-free not more than 10 minutes after his plane turned for Gaborone.

Maybe the jet's pilot was too scared, or the jet isn't as safe as it should be?

Add to this the news from Zambia this week that that country has stopped Zambezi Airways from flying in Zambian airspace because of safety considerations, and forces one to think carefully about the performance of regional airlines in this part of the world.

We have already had two incidents, one fatal, in the Okavango delta and we really do not want another, whether it is shoddy servicing or pilot error being responsible.

On the subject of aircraft, the new 2.9km runway at Maun airport opened to traffic on Monday. It should have been 3.7km but because the Botswana Defence Force Air Wing hangars are scheduled to be moved, the remaining bit of runway will only be tarred when that happens.

Who has noted this?

At 11 minutes 11 seconds on the 11 th day of the 11 th month in the year 2011 those with cheque books and other documents will be able to write 11/11/11.

It will not happen again in our lifetime.

They walk among us!

# While looking at a house, my brother asked the estate agent which direction was north because he didn't want the sun waking him up every morning.

She asked: Does the sun rise in the north? My brother explained that the sun rises in the east and has for sometime. She shook her head and said: Oh, I don't keep up with all that stuff

# I couldn't find my luggage at the airport baggage area and went to the lost luggage office and reported the loss. The woman there smiled and told me not to worry because she was a trained professional and said I was in good hands. Now, she asked me, Has your plane arrived yet?

Media has potential to cause harm'

The media is a powerful tool which if left unregulated has the potential to cause harm.

A board member of Press Council of Botswana (PCB), Tachilisa Balule, said this at a workshop held in Maun to familiarise media practitioners and stakeholders with the council. Balule said the media plays a vital role to facilitate free flow of information and a watchdog role which are vital in a democratic state.He said self regulation of the media is the best form of regulation, adding that self regulation does not necessarily mean non state involvement. Balule observed that the moral sanctions of PCB was a limitation which he said was looked into in order to amend the deed that it included penal sanctions such as fines. When answering stakeholders, board member Gladys Ramadi said the main reason could be that PCB membership was voluntary. She said when the media code of ethics are ignored the media loses credibility and unnecessary harm is done to people. She said negligence on the part of media practitioners may weaken the media's role and democracy may suffer, adding that irresponsible reporting had caused some media houses to close in some countries. Balule said it was common for local journalists to release unbalanced articles and say the person was not available for comment, which he said was a sign of irresponsibility. BOPA

Second BDF pilot to be buried tomorrow

The second Botswana Defence Force (BDF) pilot who passed away last Friday is to be buried at his home village of Maitengwe tomorrow (Saturday). The late Captain Shepherd Tamuhla had been hospitalised at the Bokamoso Private Hospital in Gaborone following the October 20 PC7 air crash during the army's flight routine training. The 33 year-old Tamuhla was one of the four BDF pilots who crashed mid-air over Letlhakeng village. One of the pilots passed away a day after the accident while Tamuhla succumbed to injuries last Friday. The other two pilots are still recovering.

According to a statement from the army, Tamuhla joined the BDF as an officer cadet in July 1999 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 2000. He had worked as a training instructor at the Force Training Establishment between 2000 and 2001 before his flight career. He excelled in his basic flight training and subsequently became a rated flying instructor, noted the statement.

Business takes NWDC to task

The last in a series of six P3 roundtable meetings, under the coordination of the Botswana Administration of Local Authorities (BALA), ended last week with stakeholders voicing displeasure with the North West District Council's inactivity on the issues that were covered in the past sessions.

Various stakeholders accused the council of not providing any form of feedback to queries directed to them, and demanded to know if the meetings were of any importance or should there be seen as a waste of time.

Since the beginning of this year, the NWDC has hosted meetings where issues affecting business people were raised and promises made.

However, the business community's initial optimism has dissipated in the face of the council's failure to effect the agreed changes. A member of Bokopano Business Association, Margaret Kerekang, said they have been bringing what they believed to be constructive ideas which they had expected the council to take on board and wondered why the officials from the Tawana Land Board never attend P3 meetings even though the department is allegedly the most corrupt.

She called for a revision of Botswana trade laws which she viewed as too rigid and always not accommodative of the small business sector.

We do not seem to be going anywhere with developments in this region. We have requested a lot from council, such as a market place where every one of us will be free to rent stalls and sell their products, but we have never received any positive response.

Instead, the same council is kicking us out of our make-shift stalls and forcing us back to poverty. This leaves us with more than enough to think about as we now suspect someone somewhere is not doing things right, she said.

Another member from Bokopano, Nelson Gaobusiwe, said P3 forums are of great importance because they give stakeholders an opportune time to interact with other service providers, some of whom did not even know of the association's existence.

He suggested that in the long term council should allow an open platform whereby someone is randomly picked from stakeholders in attendance to chair the meetings, so that they also feel a sense of belonging and ownership. Their involvement, he said, will also enable them to help contribute in the development of Maun.

In response, NWD Council secretary Kwele Puso said stakeholders need not despair, but instead keep on giving a helping hand on issues which they feel can help.

As a council, he said, they are duty bound to implement the act as it is, even though this does not mean the end of everything.

He agreed that some trade laws can be inflexible, but advised that some issues be routed through political leaders such as councillors and Members of Parliament to present them as motions as it has proved to be a quicker way of tackling issues of great importance. He said however that this does not mean council cannot tackle issues first hand, but that in most cases there are procedures to be followed, most of which might take long, looking at cost implications which were worsened by the global recession.

Workshop participants inspecting Pabalelo Trust's demonstration compost heaps to compare different recipes that could be used to enhance crop production.

Food security workshop calls for help

Special Correspondent

SHAKAWE - While small and subsistence farmers appreciate the government's efforts to support them through programmes such a ISPAAD and youth funding programmes, a huge gap remains which impacts on food security in the country as the reality is that a large number of people will never be able to qualify for the least of the requirements of these empowerment schemes.

At a workshop on food security and conservation at the Leseding Centre in Samochima, organised by the Pabalelo Trust, agricultural demonstrators showed participants the ways to apply for funding and on how to know if one is eligible for support. However, most of the participants - all of them experienced and ardent farmers and backyard gardeners - did not qualify for the support and empowerments schemes. Concern was also raised that government requirements would increase deforestation and desertification as the proposed ploughing clusters of a minimum of 150ha often result in large, fenced but barren chunks of open land as farmers are made dependent on fertilisers and on outside help, which often fails to come on time, and are using methods not sustainable in remote rural areas.

Farmers might be able to organise themselves into groups for the benefit of short-term assistance but there is no guarantee that the group will remain active or that mechanised ploughing will be the answer to the realities farmers face, such as poor soils, lack of markets and problems with animals such as hippos, elephants and porcupines.

We want government to help us where we are, and with the things we are struggling with, and not try and change our ways to make us eligible for their plans. All the places do not have the same realities in farming and the extension officers do not know our area like we do a farmer from Samochima told the audience.

I can only get help with ploughing if I have removed all the stumps from my field ... now these two hands cannot do that. In the past we used to farm between those stumps, but now we do not have those oxen to plough with anymore.

Some women participants also stated the difficulty of farming without help to assist as their older children were either in schools far away or no longer interested in working in fields.

The Pabalelo Trust introduced concepts of conservation agriculture, piloted in Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia.

The idea of this kind of farming is that with only a hoe, a small family cannot only manage to prepare their fields sufficiently, but also maintain soil quality throughout so as to give much bigger yields than what a traditional maize, sorghum or millet field would give. In Zambia, farmers reported eight times the yield after the second year of building up the soil organically in controlled basins filled with kraal manure and fringed with mulch. Insects are controlled by hand, as well as by using traditional methods such as certain kinds of ash and herbs.

Pabalelo Trust, based in Samochima, will develop a demonstration field by which to train those not eligible for ploughing support or for other benefits from government, and continue to hold field days for farmers in its immediate target area, to follow progress and to jointly find answers for more sustainable agriculture in this area. The workshop also demonstrated compost making, nematode control with organic methods as well as introduced the value of farming with earthworms to build soil quality.

Early start to National Tree Planting Day

By Thuso Mafoko

Extreme weather in the form of high temperatures has prompted the Matlola Primary School's Environmental Education (EE) club to organise the planting of trees at the school.

The event was held on at the weekend under the theme Planting a tree to sustain human life and eradicate poverty.

Neo Pogiso, the coordinator of the project, said we chose this activity as EE club members because 2011 had been declared the International Year of Forests. We wanted to sensitise the learners on the significance of trees as the source of life.

Pogiso said most of the trees planted were fruit trees donated by the Forestry Department in Maun.

Desmond Serero, head of the Forensic and Range Resources, department in Maun, whose department promotes tree planting and researches on trees in general, attended the event.

He spoke of the importance of trees, the preliminary steps and stages of planting a tree and to how to care for them.

Serero was impressed by the school's endeavours to engage learners as they are the owners of the land. We borrowed this land. It's our heritage and needs to be cared for and used wisely for the generations to come. Planting trees is another step in the right direction.

The type of fruit trees to be planted should be considered. Invasive trees like guava, which are easily dispersed by birds, should not be planted in large numbers as they may end up outnumbering others.

After a lecture on the steps of planting trees, Serero demonstrated all the concepts before the students did so.

He urged students to pass the knowledge to their parents. They were impressed by what they learnt as they ardently planted trees.

He invited all to the National Tree Planting day to be held at Nokaneng on November 26, adding that everyone in attendance at the occasion will be offered a tree to plant and care for because no tree, no life.

No pay increase for expats'

Botswana's Directorate of Public Service Management says there has been no increment in expatriate salaries within the civil service this year beyond the 3% that was awarded to all Government public servants.

A document recently cited in the media did not increase the allowances and salaries of expatriates by 35% across the board was falsely reported, the directorate said in a statement. The document reaffirmed existing, longstanding expatriate inducement allowances, which range from 0-35% depending on the position and nature of recruitment of the employee.

We would like to emphasise that there has been no adjustment to such inducements whatsoever this year, the statement added.

Barclays lead the way for corporate responsibility

Do you believe that children who have ended up at risk in Maun should be helped? Do you believe that every child has the right to education and a meal each day? Do you believe that helping the children of our community is everyone's responsibility? The Maun branch of Barclays Bank does.

The bank approached the Bana Ba Letsatsi (BBL) organisation a month ago asking if there were any physical projects they could help with at the BBL centre.

There is never a shortage of work to do around our plot, so putting our heads together we decided that the refurbishment of the ablutions block and the supply of water to our vegetable garden were the key priorities', said Charlie Ellis, the executive coordinator of BBL.

The ablutions are used for daily showers and facilities throughout the day for the children that we support. They were in dire need of maintenance and painting.

The vegetable garden at Bana Ba Letsatsi is tended to by the children and the produce comes into the kitchen to add essential nutrients to the 120 or so daily meals produced.

With the water shortages in Maun over the previous months, and with the heat at present, we have been struggling to keep the garden producing quality vegetables. Barclays offered to alleviate this by setting up an irrigation system pumped from the river some 20m from the end of our plot so that we may have an uninterrupted supply of water to our garden, and so fresh and healthy vegetables for the kitchen, she added.

The ablutions project was led by Norman Chikambure, recruited by Barclays for his expertise, and assisted by members of the bank staff and Bana Ba Letsatsi and Teen Club children and youth. Down at the garden

Mr Makgale, the District Agriculture Officer, put more volunteers to work breaking up soil and laying irrigation piping. Work continued throughout the day and at the end a programme of events and speeches, including a tour of the projects, was led jointly by the Bana Ba Letsatsi and the Barclays Bank team, along with singing by the Bana Ba Letsatsi choir.

We cannot thank Barclays' Bank enough for their support, hard work and generosity, said Ellis, adding that we at Bana Ba Letsatsi work tirelessly to secure a better future for the children at risk in our community, but we cannot do it alone. It is contributions such as this that allow us to move further with the work that we do.

Teachers, vets and diamond workers are essential'

GABORONE - An urgent motion requesting government to go back on its decision to expand professions classified as essential services has been rejected.

The new development presented to Parliament by the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Peter Siele, means employees under the teaching profession, veterinary services and diamond sorting, cutting and selling services are classified as essential services. Earlier attempts by the minister to effect changes to the Trade Disputes Act were thwarted by Parliament last month.

MPs then cited lack of consultation as reason for rejecting the amendment. However the minister brought back the amendment earlier this month.

Gaborone Central MP, Dumelang Saleshando, last week moved a motion calling for annulment of the instrument on grounds that the minister failed to institute comprehensive consultations with relevant stakeholders before amending the Act.

State withdraws recognition of Kgosi

The government has derecognized the controversial Kgosi Kgafela II, of the Bakgatla.

In a statement, the government says it has been following closely, the unfolding events in Kgatleng especially where Ministers have been barred from addressing Kgotla meetings.

The government views this state of affairs as denying Bakgatla the opportunity to interact with government officials to get first

Page2RRS

05 Feb ' 13:51

29 Jan ' 12:08

23 Jan ' 00:10

16 Jan ' 03:45

17 Dec ' 21:02

12 Dec ' 03:55

27 Nov ' 14:50

20 Nov ' 15:04

13 Nov ' 15:46

07 Nov ' 15:43