Concord Times (Freetown)
10 October 2006
Freetown — The President, Alhaji Dr Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, returned to Freetown on Thursday, 5th October after ending official visits to Botswana and Lesotho.
In Botswana President Kabbah was the Guest of Honour at the 40th Independence Anniversary of Botswana.
On arrival at the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, the Vice President of Botswana and senior government officials received President Kabbah.
President Kabbah was later joined by President Festus Gontebanye Mogae at the Government guest house in Gaborone, were both Presidents held fruitful discussions on several issues of mutual benefit especially in the Mining and Tourism sectors.
While in Botswana, President Kabbah accompanied by senior government Ministers paid a visit to Kasane, a major tourist resort, which is one of Botswana's major income generating industries. In Kasane, President Kabbah was welcomed by senior government officials, local dignitaries and traditional dancers and later met Members of Parliament and Councillors of the Local council at the Chobe Game Lodge after which he proceeded on a game drive at the Chobe National Park were he saw elephants, lions, hippos, buffalos and many more in their natural habitat.
President Kabbah also visited Orapa and Letlhakane Mines in Orapa where he was welcomed at the airport by senior members of the mines and school children and people of the locality. Taking the President on a conducted tour of the mines, the Managing Director of the Orapa and Letlhakane mines said the Orapa pipe is the world's largest diamond producing kimberlite pipe by volume while the Jwaneng pipe in the west of Gaborone, is the world's leading producer of diamonds by value. He also stated that the mines provide 70% of foreign exchange earnings, 50% of government revenue, accounts for 30% of GDP and that they are the largest private sector employer in Botswana, employing some 6300 people, of whom over 93% are citizens of Botswana.
In his brief statement, President Kabbah said that Sierra Leone also has diamonds and that is why he and his entourage are there to know how they are managing their industry. President Kabbah recalled an earlier discussion with the President of Botswana when he enquired about how they have been so successful in managing their diamond deposits, and his response was that Botswana has Kimberlite mining, which is easier to police than the alluvial mining in Sierra Leone.
Alluvial mining is common in Sierra Leone as the diamonds can be found almost on the land surface area and on river beds, making it easier to mine and difficult to police, President Kabbah said.
He further said that though he was visiting Botswana for their Independence Anniversary he decided to visit the mines to see how they organized their diamond industry generally, from extraction to sales. "With what I have heard and seen not only in the diamond industry but also in the area of tourism has been impressive and we are going to fine tune our own polices so that we can get maximum benefit from the God-given resources that we have in our country, " President Kabbah stated.
Welcoming President Kabbah and entourage to Botswana, President Mogea expressed special appreciation to them for joining the people of Botswana in their celebrations, which demonstrates bonds of friendship and cooperation that exist between their two governments and peoples.
President Mogea pointed out that although the two countries established formal diplomatic relations only two years ago, their interactions go back much further. As governments they have been working together in many fora, including United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the African Union and the Commonwealth.
"Today our two countries also share a common commitment to democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights. That this is so in no small measure due to Your Excellency's own determined efforts to restore peace and good governance to your war ravaged country", President Mogea said.
As diamond producers, President Mogea said the two countries are also part of the Kimberley Process, and through this process they are working together with others around the world to ensure that the global diamond industry remains an engine for development, not conflict. He was also pleased to note that at a bilateral level, Botswana has offered training to Sierra Leone's law enforcement officials geared towards enhancing the security of the country's diamonds including the mining operations.
President Kabbah and his delegation left Botswana on Tuesday 3rd October for Lesotho where he also attended their 40th Independence Anniversary. The anniversary was climaxed by a lot of traditional events with hoisting of the new national flag at the Setsoto Stadium in Maseru . President Kabbah together with some South African leaders were at the Setsoto Stadium to grace the occasion. The King of Lesotho, His Majesty King Letsie III took the guard of honour, which was later followed by traditional display from the ten different tribes of Lesotho.
In his address, the Prime Minister of Lesotho Mr. Pakalitha Mossili commended the presence of various Heads of State and government which he described as a testimony of friendship, brotherhood and sisterhood and indeed their connection with the people of Lesotho and for that he said they were most grateful.
In his address at the State banquet, King Letsie III praised President Kabbah for all the good things that he did for his country while he was in Lesotho as UNDP Resident Representative in the early seventies. He further called on President Kabbah to maintain the good brotherliness between Lesotho and Sierra Leone and said that throughout the celebrations they have attempted to outline, with precision and brevity, the political, economic, social and cultural developments of their country since independence in 1966. He said that since their independence forty years ago, Lesotho has achieved a great deal in many spheres of their national endeavour. He emphasised that they were proud of these achievements and would like to thank those men and women, who have contributed and are continuing to contribute to their development efforts.
The King presented national awards to citizens for their outstanding contributions to their country's development while former Zambian President, Kenneth Kaunda, who was also present was honoured.
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