Politicians From Botswana

"The project is at the preparation stage and is planned to be completed by 2025/2026."

"Some technical challenges were experienced in one of the boiler components and the deficiency in the design is being corrected after a root cause analysis was conducted to determine the root cause."

"The remaining villages in the area will be connected once the 66kv substation and lines from Lobatse are constructed."

"The new generation capacity will be provided by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) selling power to BPC and it is expected that 300MW of coal-based new generation would be on the grid by the end of 2026 while 235MW of solar PV generation will be commissioned between 2024 and 2026."

"The plan is to include them in the 2024/2025 financial year."

"We are making headway. We are very optimistic. We are fully aware what it means for Botswana, for De Beers and what it means to the diamond industry. We will gravitate towards something that will be a shared win, if not a win-win for all of us."

"President Mokgweetsi Masisi say in his last State of the Nation Address that his government intends to decentralise some of the powers to local authorities because programmes are crowded under the central government."

"But we need to be careful when talking about giving councils independence or autonomy. We need to be certain that they have the right capacity and personnel to carry out such a big mandate. The government should conduct a proper and thorough research before it can carry out such an exercise. Yes, we want service delivery to improve, but this should be done in a right and proper manner."

"News of the passing on of many people while I was quarantined did not make it easier. It was a serious setback to me. Writing messages of condolences to some of their families while knowing that they have succumbed to the same virus that kept me in quarantine was even more heart breaking."

"This day should not just be another day presenting an opportunity for relaxation, but a day to reflect where we come from as a people, the challenges we had to endure to get where we are today and where we want to go."

"Cabinet is not run like that I do not know if it's Masisi who told people that he was not advised but I know for a fact that he has not said so and we too did not say that."

"People who are saying we did not advise the president, you are not doing well by him and he is the only one who can say that. So you are being unfair to my former boss."

"Batswana of Namibian descent who have approached the government for assistance on the issue of reparations for the genocide, while their specific numbers are unknown as they are represented by a committee, are accordingly receiving assistance arranged by Botswana under a process that has been established by the government of Namibia for a negotiated settlement."

"I will fight for reconciliation. I will facilitate this process and rebuild the BDP. Let’s assume we have lost this election and that Batswana didn’t vote for us, there is still a lot to do. As BDP members we should forgive each other because congresses and primary elections had divided us."

"I believe that with all those people on board including former MPs, ministers, councillors, the BDP can return to power in 2029. We had the popular vote in October and we are practically the largest party in terms of popular vote. UDC is made up of three parties, but we are far ahead of them."

"I will be in breach of party procedures if I am to divulge the reasons for my protest to the media."

"This strategy focuses on stemming the financial losses, lessening operational inefficiencies through the improved logistics of acquiring raw material or throughput, as well as addressing plant and process maintenance more cost effectively."

"BMC continues to record positive revenues and improved throughput levels, and is gaining access to fast growing lucrative markets such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE)."

"The performance of the BMC has improved since the implementation of the 2022/25 turnaround strategy effective January 2022. The improvement is expected to continue in the current financial year (2024) and beyond. The improvement will further be boosted by the recent penetration of the AUE market."

"This is a risk-minimisation intervention aimed at improving product distribution turnaround times. Payments from customers will be quicker. This will go a long way in facilitating the realisation of the standard set for farmer’s payments."

"If we give you a loan, we expect you to cover the loan, a soft loan which is covered by insurance."

"We want sustainable enterprises built out of farming."

"There was an appeal before the court and it was received, we are waiting for the date of the appeal hearing date. We last checked on Molapisi in December, she was in good health but she indicated that she was afraid."

"We want to take the issue at a political and diplomatic level and our President Duma Boko has also committed to making sure that Bangladesh forgives Molapisi."

"One of the issues that agitated us to leave the BDP to form the BMD was after party chairmanship was reserved for a certain individual and that no one should challenge that particular person. We left because we believed that the setup was unacceptable in a democracy and thus any one who so wishes to contest for the chairmanship had the right to do so."

"This is exactly the same situation we find ourselves in at the BMD. The leader has taken a decision to surround himself with the group that lost at last year’s congress and vowed to frustrate the elected. What is the difference between that and what President Khama did at the BDP?"

"Instead of accepting defeat and acting like democracy, they vowed publicly that they will not accept the current NEC and will thus make it a point to frustrate it in executing it mandate. And this is what they are doing today."

"it is Gantsi bitter losers who have retained their bitterness and Facebook politicians who have no idea what is happening on the ground and have lost touch with reality with the functions of BMD membership who are busy attacking me."

"This is very disappointing. I have tried to engage the President, the Attorney General and ministry officials to no avail. Clearly they don’t want the council to succeed under my tenure. I am now denied access to the Office of the President."

"Whenever there is a problem the people look at the mayor and the councillors. They hold the people that they elected accountable. They want answers from us when in fact we are just ceremonial figures."

"I really don’t have input on the way the council is run. The resolutions made by council are just a waste of time because management is not bound to implement any of them."

"It is our believe as Gaborone City Council Councillors that due to the fact that the city is growing and we are challenged with shortages of land, there is need to properly and efficiently utilise the little land in our possession."

"We cannot have older men who continue sleeping with children. Ba tshwanetse go fag*****."

"Those wanting me to remain in the UDC fold should know that I will still be serving and representing them at the Gaborone North constituency without any fear or favouritism. My political affiliation will not change who I am."

"But unfortunately we have a situation where most of the contractors doing projects in Gaborone are not Batswana. You will find that Asian contractors have taken all the jobs and this does not help in citizen empowerment."

"What we need to ask ourselves is are we ready for climate change and how can we adapt to it so as to reduce the effects of it in our country."

"We can create green jobs as one way of beating unemployment."

"For the ESP to work, these are some of the core issues that the government needs to handle."

"The policy should be clear about the foreigners. They should hire and rent not to own land and homes as a requirement. They have their land and homes in their original countries."

"I am very disappointed on you honorable MPs at how you continue to intentionally break the quorum on Fridays. After registering you just disappear. I thought that as the whole Parliament business closes you were going to cooperate so that we wrap up everything before the July session. This conduct should end because it means like that is all about the seating allowance."

"A portion of the budget for the project has been provided in the 2023/2024 and the rest will be provided in the 2024/2025 budget."

"The current provision towards the village electrification project is only P50 million and unfortunately has not catered for these villages."

"Civil servants have a duty to uphold the government’s policies, regardless of their personal political beliefs. It is only through loyalty to government that we can ensure that our nation continues to progress."

"If you want to push production because there is money that is being dangled, you start compromising on how you legislate, how you do your environmental permitting, how you consult your communities."

"When there is a rush, people come in, take whatever they want to take, and go, leaving gaping holes in Africa."

"There is a great danger there that Africa must watch out for."

"To keep the energy transition going, an increased amount of copper wiring will be required to strengthen the world’s power grids and to build wind and solar farms. Electric vehicles, which are now a rapidly rising source of demand use over twice as much copper as gasoline-powered vehicles."

"As it has been said the road to reducing net zero begins and ends with copper."

"I approved the acquisition of Khoemacau Copper Mining by MMG Group, which has committed to expanding the mine production and creating 1000 more jobs in addition to the 1700 currently supported by the mine."

"While we have a window for coal, we can push it out, and help arrest the energy crisis within the region."