Botswana: Preparing for War?

8 February 2016

The allocation of the highest share in the 2016/17 development budget at 24% to the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security has created an outrage from the business community and other stakeholders with leader of opposition Duma Boko accusing government of having a 'security neurosis'. Addressing a press briefing Boko said that the current government is creating an arms race within the region as other Southern African countries will feel threatened by the huge spending by a rather peaceful country. "We are invoking an arms race within the region and increasingly becoming a security threat," said the MP for Gaborone Bonnington North.

Taking a jab at President Ian Khama whose brothers have been associated with Botswana Defence Force (BDF) multimillion tenders Boko said that the huge military spending was part of looting the state its money through companies owned by relatives and friends of the current leaders. President Khama's twin brothers Tshekedi and Anthony Khama are the directors of Seleka Springs - a company that used to win multimillion tenders at BDF. The company has raked in over P100 million from acting as agents for companies doing business with Botswana Defence Force (BDF) since 1989.

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