10 Mar 2015

Former cabinet minister, Dr Gaositwe Chiepe, says Commonwealth has immensely assisted Botswana in the growth of its economy as it was one of the poorest when it attained independence.

Giving a keynote address at the Commonwealth Day Celebration in Gaborone on March 9, Dr Chiepe said when they realised that the new nation was rooted in a lack of systems and structures across sectors, young men left for South African gold mines to find work to provide for their families as there was nothing of economic nature locally. 

She told attendants, among them the former president Sir Ketumile Masire, that it was against this backdrop that the relationship with the Commonwealth was formed, noting that in the five years following independence, the country continued to rely on grant-in-aid from Britain to meet its budget deficit.

Dr Chiepe said through consultation with local leaders, the Commonwealth Secretariat prioritised the education, agriculture and tourism sectors and this was followed by Member States experts that were lent to the public administration and rail sectors. 

The secretariat, she said, commissioned studies and advised the government of Botswana of the need to establish its own currency separate from South African Rand. 

With the discovery of diamonds in Orapa in 1967, she said the country’s economic outlook changed for the better, still with the assistance of the Secretariat. She said it wanted to ensure that Botswana was treated fairly and would gain the maximum advantage derived from sound management of its mineral deposits, particularly diamonds. 

Recently, she said, Botswana and The Commonwealth have enjoyed a good working relationship, noting that in 2013 the Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Centre was established in Gaborone. The centre, is a partnership with Botswana’s Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and the Association of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa, she added.

In addition, she said, in 2014 Botswana successfully hosted the Commonwealth Law Minister’s Meeting, which was chaired by Ms Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, who was the host for this Commonwealth Day celebration. In June this year, Gaborone will host the 20th Commonwealth Local Government Conference.

“On personal note my direct involvement with the Commonwealth dates back to the 1970s, while I was still Botswana’s High Commissioner to the UK. Amongst my most profound memories was shortly after taking my post. Britain was toying with the idea of joining the European Community and members of the Commonwealth were adamant that we wanted to reap similar benefits of association. 

It was out of these dialogues that we formed the platform for the ACP- Africa, Caribbean and Pacific association and later the signing of the Lome Convention that promoted trade agreements between the ACP and European Community, to which I was a signatory,” she said.

For her part, Ms Masire-Mwamba, who has just completed her second term as deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth and is now vying for the position of Secretary General billed for November 2015, thanked the government for the support.

The day, she said was organised for people to have a better understanding of the Commonwealth and what it does for member states.  She said through partnership with the Commonwealth, the country stands a better place to grow socially and economically. She however said she hoped the event would be much bigger and better next year.

At the event, Gabane Primary School students were able to elaborate on different member states particularly on their physical features, achievements and the time they joined the organisation. ENDS