Tautona Lodge owned by DIS – Magosi

Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Wednesday May 14, 2025 06:00

Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday, Magosi revealed that the DIS procured Tautona Lodge for its operational purposes. Earlier in the day, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for State President, Goitsemang Morekisi, had told the 61st PAC meeting that the ministry was not involved in the procurement of the property as it was done through the DIS and Office of the President. This is despite the two departments falling under the ministry’s portfolio. Morekisi said she could not answer questions relating to Tautona Lodge because the decision to acquire the tourism facility “didn’t come to my desk”.

However, Magosi told the committee that they acquired Tautona Farm, which consists of the lodge due to operational requirements. “I’m setting the record straight for Batswana to understand. Tautona Farm is owned by the DIS on behalf of government. “We acquired it for operational purposes. Our duty is to keep the country safe,” said Magosi when responding to questions from members of the PAC yesterday. In trying to justify why they acquired the land, Magosi pointed out that other security organs in the country such as the Botswana Defence Force also own land for operational purposes. “Less than five kilometres from Tautona Farm, there is a BDF farm which was purchased at a much higher price than this 4,000 hectare farm. This farm had wild animals, cattle, and three boreholes. We need it for operational purposes of state security,” he added.

When prodded further what exactly they use the lodge for, Magosi said he is forced to disclose classified state security operations, which is not the norm. He said Botswana is the only country in the world which is expected to do its covert operations in the open. Furthermore, Magosi explained that the DIS made a deliberate decision to acquire the land for strategic decisions as an intelligence organ. Asked if indeed the lodge will be used for residential purposes by Gantsi residents as previously revealed by ministers for State President, Magosi stated that they were also looking at the next 10 to 15 years and the growth of the area. “Gantsi is surrounded by farms. In the next 10 to 15 years, you ask yourself where these people will be allocated residential plots. So it was a strategic decision to say, let's plan ahead to avoid conflicts. Government will not have to buy land for residential when that time arrives; we will just hand over this land for such. It was a clandestine operation in line with exactly what we were doing as national security,” he added.

Additionally, Magosi also revealed that due to the expressed discomfort by Members of Parliament, they have since acquired another piece of land for their operational requirements. He said this land was acquired through the Lands ministry and has been handed over to the DIS. Asked by MP for Molepolole South, Shima Monageng, if the property was valued before purchase and indicated that the valuation was done by the Lands ministry, Magosi confirmed that there is a valuation report which he would submit to the committee. The committee was also uneasy when Magosi revealed that they use the money generated from the lodge for operational activities. The committee said this was abnormal as the revenue generated from the lodge must be taken into the Consolidated Fund. Meanwhile, the Accountant-General revealed that whilst they audited the acquisition of Tautona Farm, the property does not appear in Statement 18, which contains all of government’s assets.