(APA 11/18/16)
Botswana’s Vice President Mokgweetsi Masisi was on Friday awarded the distinction of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun by Japanese Emperor Akihito. Japanese ambassador to Botswana Masahiro Onishi said the Imperial award was given in recognition of his contributions to promoting friendship and cooperation between Japan- Botswana and the Africa region. As this honour is awarded to foreign citizens who have promoted the cordial bilateral relationship between Japan and their own nations, Onishi explained that Masisi was given the award due to his continuous dedication in strengthening the bilateral relationship between Japan and Botswana.
(APA 11/17/16)
Swimming against the tide of congratulatory messages from other African leaders, Botswana President Ian Khama is yet to extend his own to United States President-elect Donald Trump, Mmegi newspaper reported here Thursday. A number of countries across the globe including opposition parties have sent their congratulatory messages to Trump. Khama’s private secretary, Brigadier George Tlhalerwa told the paper that Trump is not yet the President of the US. “The international norm is that you congratulate somebody after they have taken office. So the President (Khama) is not in a rush. Trump is like a woman who has completed paying the bride price stage, but is still awaiting her wedding,” he said, stressing that Khama did not have a problem with...
(AFP (eng) 11/17/16)
African leaders met in Morocco Wednesday on the sidelines of UN climate talks to agree a joint stance to fight global warming on the continent. "Africa is paying a heavy price over the climate issue and is without doubt the continent worst affected," Morocco's King Mohammed VI told the summit attended by 20 African leaders. "These disruptions... greatly hamper Africa's development and gravely threaten the basic rights of tens of millions of Africans," he said. He said the continent needed...
(AFP (eng) 11/12/16)
Across Africa, the approaching presidency of Donald Trump has provoked deep uncertainty over how the United States will pursue policies ranging from counter-terrorism and trade, to aid and climate change. Many African countries had high hopes that Barack Obama would bring transformative benefits to the continent and were left disappointed as he winds down his time in office. But Trump's rise to power poses fresh questions that reveal the lack of concrete detail on his foreign policy plans -- while...
(APA 11/10/16)
Botswana respects the United States' presidential election results and relations between the two countries are expected to remain cordial, government spokesperson Jeff Ramsay told Yarona FM radio station on Thursday. Botswana President Ian Khama has during the build-up to the presidential elections supported Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton as opposed to the scare-mongering and divisive utterances that emanated from Republican candidate Donald Trump. Trump cruised to a surprise victory on Tuesday to become the 45th US president after defeating Clinton...
(Dw-World 11/09/16)
Africans across the continent followed the US presidential election with keen interest. While some fear that a Trump presidency could have disastrous consequences, others remain cautiously optimistic. Tanzania's President John Pombe Magufuli was one of the first African leaders to congratulate Donald Trump on his election victory. "Tanzanians and I assure you of continued friendship and cooperation," he wrote on his Twitter account. Burundi's controversial leader Pierre Nkurunziza - the subject of intense US and international criticism for his decision...
(AFP (eng) 11/04/16)
As Canada considers where to send troops as part of a commitment to boost UN peacekeeping efforts, its defense minister will visit Mali and Senegal starting Saturday, the government said Thursday. Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan will spend four days in the two countries to assess local security challenges and concerns. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters a decision on where to deploy Canadian peacekeepers would be announced "in the coming weeks, probably." In August, Trudeau pledged Can$450 million (US$350 million)...
(Reuters (Eng) 10/29/16)
By Michelle Nichols | UNITED NATIONS United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed regret on Friday that South Africa, Burundi and Gambia want to leave the International Criminal Court and said it could "send a wrong message on these countries' commitment to justice." The International Criminal Court, which opened in July 2002 and has 124 member states, is the first legal body with permanent international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. South Africa and Burundi have officially...
(AFP (eng) 10/15/16)
Stemming the astronomical losses caused by crime in the oceans surrounding Africa is the focus of a major continental summit on Saturday in the Togolese capital, Lome. "Over recent decades, the accumulated revenue losses resulting directly from illegal activities in the African maritime sector add up to hundreds of billions of US dollars, without counting the loss of human lives," the African Union (AU) said in an online statement about its Protect Our Oceans meeting. Up to 30 African heads...
(Graphic Online 10/12/16)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has emphasised that Africa will be a priority when her country takes over the G20's revolving presidency at the end of 2016. Speaking in Ethiopia yesterday on the final stage of a three-nation African tour, which also included visits to Mali and Niger, Mrs Merkel pledged development as well as military aid on her trip. She said it was important to stem migration at its source. Germany took in more than one million irregular migrants last...
(APA 10/05/16)
The opposition Botswana Congress Party (BCP) on Wednesday said its members are prepared to pay with their lives to defend the full suffrage of the country's citizens if the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) presses on with the use of electronic voting machines in general elections set for 2019. This follows President Ian Khama's decision to assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2016, which seeks to introduce electronic voting machines that the opposition claim will be used to rig elections in favour of Khama's BDP. BCP spokesperson Dithapelo Keorapetse said the Act is an antithesis of democracy as it will disenfranchise
(AFP (eng) 09/24/16)
Gabon's disputed election, which culminated Saturday with the constitutional court's confirmation of President Ali Bongo's victory, is the latest in a long list of violence-tinged ballots in Africa: - Ivory Coast - After a five-month-standoff, incumbent Laurent Gbagbo was detained on April 11, 2011 by forces backing rival Alassane Ouattara, who was recognised internationally as the winner of Ivory Coast's October 2010 presidential election. Gbagbo had refused to stand down and some 3,000 people died in the post-election unrest. He...
(Reuters (Eng) 09/21/16)
Zimbabwe's 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe should step aside without delay and allow new leadership of a country whose political and economic implosion since 2000 is dragging down the whole of southern Africa, Botswana President Ian Khama said. Despite his reputation as one of Africa's most outspoken figures, Khama's remarks are certain to raise hackles in Harare, where factions of Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party are locked in a bitter struggle to succeed the only leader Zimbabwe has known. Asked by Reuters...
(AfricaNews 09/20/16)
The European Union (EU) has announced a €44 billion ($50 billion) investment proposal for Africa and the Mediterranean as part of the European investment plan aimed at helping fight migration. The plan according to the EU foreign affairs chief, Frederica Mogherini, is ‘‘an innovative new youth investment plan for Africa and the Mediterranean, mobilizing EU funds and we plan to mobilize up to 44 billion euros to have investments in Africa. ‘’(It) is the biggest investment plan ever proposed for...
(AFP (eng) 09/04/16)
As Gabon is rocked by violence following the contested re-election of President Ali Bongo, experts says electoral fraud in Africa is becoming harder, thanks to civil society vigilance and spread of mobile technology. Opposition leader Jean Ping on Friday declared himself the rightful president of Gabon and called for a recount, following Bongo’s claim of victory with a razor-thin margin of just under 6,000 votes in the August 27 election. But recent elections in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Benin and Burkina Faso have all been held largely without dispute, overseen by engaged citizens who assured careful monitoring of the process, said Mathias Hounkpe...
(APA 08/05/16)
The opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and Botswana Congress Party (BCP) on Friday accused the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) of abusing state media to serve its own interests. UDC spokesperson Wynter Mmolotsi said the opposition was worried that the state-run BTv is being used to discredit President Ian Khama's critics by airing untruths about them. According to Mmolotsi, Presidential Affairs Minister Eric Molale recently told the electorate in Ghantsi town in western Botswana that a knife that was recently seized by security officers in Parliament belongs to one the opposition Members of Parliament (MP). He informed the electorate that the opposition cannot be trusted because we bring dangerous objects
(APA 08/05/16)
The administrative officer of the Electoral Commission of Namibia, Thomas Shapi said they were honoured to share their experiences with Botswana. According to the state-run DailyNews, Shapi told a workshop to raise awareness on proposed electronic voting machine in Jwaneng town that Botswana's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and other stakeholders had an opportunity to observe the machine in use during the elections in Namibia last year. Namibia is the first country in Africa to use the machine and we are...
(APA 08/05/16)
The opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) is concerned about the dominance of foreigners in Botswana's tourism, Yarona FM radio station reported Friday. UDC secretary general Ndaba Gaolathe is quoted as saying that foreign supremacy hurts Botswana in that revenue is repatriated beyond the country's borders. The official said other African countries like Namibia and Kenya have overtaken Botswana in ensuring that their tourism sectors benefit their people. He said Botswana has not been able to find its feet strategically...
(Voice of America 08/04/16)
On the eve of President Barack Obama’s 55th birthday, he was greeted in song with "Happy Birthday" Wednesday by about a thousand participants at this year’s Young African Leaders summit in Washington. Obama launched the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) six years ago to support an emerging generation of young African entrepreneurs, activists and public officials. Its flagship program, the Mandela Washington Fellowship, began two years ago with the goal of empowering young Africans through academic coursework, leadership training and...
(Nehanda radio 07/29/16)
A Botswana coalition of civil society organisations has condemned police brutality in Zimbabwe and urged Ian Khama, the Southern African Development Community chairperson, to intervene. Khama is also the president of Botswana and has in the past broken ranks with the majority of the SADC membership to openly criticise President Robert Mugabe’s rule. “The Botswana Civil Society Solidarity Coalition for Zimbabwe (BOCISCOZ)… is concerned about the police brutality, in response to the ongoing civil protests in Zimbabwe,” said the coalition...