BDF commander missed the point

| Thursday June 12, 2014 06:00

However, the commander missed the point in his response to a question from members of the committee who wanted him to explain why the BDF has been silent about media reports that the army top brass is not united. 

The commander stated that there is no disunity and everything is fine in the military. “We cannot waste our time responding to media reports when we should be focusing on our core business of defending the nation,” he told the committee. We want to put it to the commander that this is an unfortunate stance he has adopted. First, the army Public Relations Office has a bad reputation of ignoring media inquiries or giving shoddy answers.  

The unfortunate stance taken by the BDF commander that responding to press reports is a waste of time is highly regrettable. When the media wrote about the corruption at the Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) Fengyue Palapye Glass project, the reports were dismissed as lies. As you read this, the glass project is under liquidation and over P400 million of taxpayer’s money has been lost, including the job opportunities. 

The media reports about maladministration at Botswana Meat Commission led to the establishment of a Parliamentary Select Committee to investigate the matter. The findings were shocking. 

Unfortunately, we have observed that the commander’s attitude to press reports is shared by many senior civil servants, who view the press as intruders in their ‘private’ affairs. 

 We would like to remind General Galebotswe that his predecessor, Tebogo Masire believed in sharing information with the media and took every opportunity available to engage the press and set the record straight where he felt there was misinformation.  

We also would like to remind ‘GG’ that in the not-so-distant future, he will be out of office and the media will continue to report about the BDF. Like any other member of the public,  he will be interested in the other side of the story, in this case from the BDF authorities.  

In a nutshell, Mr ‘GG’ you are occupying that office on behalf of the public, and hence you are obliged to respond to media reports. It is therefore, our position that a hands-on commander can respond to media enquiries or reports even whilst he is wearing his camouflage.

Today’s thought

The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a democracy should be the weapon of openness.

 

-Niels Bohr