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Botswana: Cabinet Divided Over Zimbabwe?
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
17 March 2008
Posted to the web 17 March 2008
Bame Piet
First it was the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) backbenchers who voiced their concerns on the government's silent diplomacy on President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
On Tuesday, perhaps after suppressing the feelings for quite some time, the Minister of Sports, Youth and Culture, Major General Moeng Pheto, broke the silence and spoke loudly against Mugabe. He told the House that Zimbabwe was a stumbling block to regional development and urged the Botswana government to do more to help resolve the political and economic problems in the country.
Pheto was contributing to the debate on the budget for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Foreign Affairs Minister Mompati Merafhe responded that there is nothing much that Botswana can do on Zimbabwe apart from approaching the matter in a friendly way.
Sources say Pheto is not the only minister who is unhappy with the government's handling of the Zimbabwe issue. "There are many ministers who are not happy at all and the government is totally divided over the Zimbabwe issue," said an MP who preferred not to be mentioned by name.
Press Secretary at Office of the President Jeff Ramsay said the government stand on Zimbabwe has not changed and that he is not aware of any cabinet divisions.
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Meanwhile, Merafhe told Parliament that the government is investigating allegations that sexual harassment is rife at Botswana's diplomatic missions. He regretted that the investigations have taken too long. Maun East MP, Ronald Ridge, expressed his unhappiness with the huge amount of money owed to government by employees of Botswana missions in private telephone bills. He said that P500,000 was too much to be owed by less than 10 missions. He wondered why the staff could not use their allowances to make private telephone calls.
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