Defence spending

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One of the most difficult decisions Seretse Khama made as president was around the establishment of the Botswana Defence Force. The idea of developing an army of our own was for some time being towed by the leader of the opposition, Phillip Matante who by nature of coming from the North East had first-hand experience of the havoc Rhodesian forces were causing on the borders of our country.


Ultimately, when Ian Smith intensified the military incursions into Botswana, Seretse had to succumb to the idea of creating an army for Botswana. In April 1977, Botswana Defence Force was established through an act of parliament and Seretse was in great pain seeing this idea materialise but could do very little to change the circumstances.

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...

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