Inside the script
Staff Writer | Friday July 11, 2014 14:26
Answer: OK - alright
Question: Okay General, just a few formalities well I might just start by saying that time is approximately 1205 .................. and there is nobody else in the room except yourself and myself .
Answer: Yah
Question: I might just start by getting your full names
Answer: Ooh My names are ...
Question: and aah current business address what is the convenient address we can just identify you?
Question: There are a number of allegations I am going to take you through them, some of the allegations are that you have received benefits or improper benefits, other allegations are that you have a conflict of interest so a lot of questions will have been of a personal nature, it’s not something that we are particularly comfortable with doing but we have to do a job and we will do a job. I just want to start by getting your work history, you are the...king
Answer: Well would I be able to get a questionnaire of what you are saying now on the allegations and everything
Answer: No we will interview you and we will put allegations to you at appropriate times for the purposes of our investigations
Answer: Okay because I will prefer to have those allegation:, eeh in writing so that I too have exactly the same copy as you have...I don’t know where the allegations come from and secondly where they may be allegations of things which have been distorted so that in future also I would want to take action against whoever put up those allegations.
Question: Right, Well we will be putting the allegations to you during the interview and you will have a copy of the record of the interview but it’s not our intention to give a list of the allegations to start with. That is our intention to ask questions that’s what we normally do.
Answer: No I meant for record purposes because in future then someone again may come and say hey there is this and this and that but let’s go on anyway
Question: We do recognise that a person in your position can be something of a occupational hazard to attract the allegations when you do the work that you do and please don’t you know we are interdicting this and we are trying to do it in as subjective way as possible. It is not easy because we know you and we also know your circumstances and the difficult circumstances that you are dealing with and we also realise that if some of these allegations or all of these allegations are false its a very unfair thing for you to have to deal with but we have to deal with it properly and so as I said some of the allegations are that you have received benefits and consequently we have to make enquiries in relation to your current financial circumstances. And so as I said there is somewhat of a personal name, it is not easy for us to ask, it is not easy for you to answer all I can say is the information is going to be wholly confidential but what we are interested in, we need to identify your sources of income and as part of identifying your sources of income we are interested in your work history and the income history that has existed around that work history. So my understanding is that you joined the military at a reasonably young age.
Answer: Yep
Question: Was that essentially your first employment?
Answer: Uuuhm basically I would say proper employment, yes was my third employment? But it wasn’t
Question: Right, so you worked previously?
Answer: Yes I worked previously it was for a short time I was doing internship after I had completed my technical education but then I decided that I should cut it and then start my career in the police?
Question: And how old were you when that happened? Approximately ?
Answer: Was about what? About 20 years
Question:And you were in the military until when?
Answer: Well even now I would say I am still in the military because I haven’t written any retirement letter from the military.
Question:So essentially your career in the military has extended until now and just for the record how old are you now?
Answer: I am now 57
Question: Snd so from your commencement in the military you have been receiving a wage as an employee of the Botswana Defence Force? And that wage is now paid directly into your bank account?
Answer: Yes it is I think the best thing for me to correct is that let me say from the military was until I was Senior Private Secretary and thereafter it was coming from one source, it is coming from Governnent, and I take it that having been promoted then it came from Ministry of Finance directly to my bank account?
Question: Right so the payment arrangement changed at a particular stage?
Answer: Technically I would say so, but I don’t know if it has I am not sure if it is still coming from the military budget or it’s coming from Ministry of Finance directly because no one has informed me about it but I am still earning my salary. I haven’t had any pay cut or been told that no we have not put any salary in your account.
Question: At the moment your salary goes directly into your bank account. How long has that been happening for?
Answer: Since I joined the military
Question: Always Barclays Bank. Now during that time have you had other sources of income?
Answer: No until recently when I bought some shares in a private company. It’s now a listed company but that doesn’t go into my private account it goes into the company account?
Question: You are telling me that your sole source of income has been your wage, your military wage until recently and recently you purchased shares in a private company, and the income generated from that goes into the private company not into your personal wage.
Answer: Not into my personal wage and that income is coming from my dividends
Question: Are they generating any income for you
Answer: No, nothing
Question: Right now can I just ask about the private company that you have shares in, what would you say private company?
Answer: I hope you don’t ask the name. Oh my I would have to do the thing I can’t remember the name
Question: Now when you said it’s a private company, is it your own company?
Answer: Yes. What happened is that I bought it, when I started buying shares from the secretary. My company Secretary said rather than opening the account in my name open the account in the company name.
Question: Right and is that a business owned by you?
Answer: We are three in it
Question: So that when you said tourism company you were referring to ....
Answer: But we haven’t generated any funding nor had we received any dividends from that company.
Question: So it hasn’t generated any income at this stage. Is it the plan that it would generate income through tourism work.
Answer: Yah through tourism work by only earning dividends not us having people working for us and so forth.
Question: And then another one is a quarry company, where they crush stones.
Answer: And do you know the name of that?
Answer: Again that’s a good one because I don’t keep thinking all these but the parent company is ...... but I would give you all details. I am not sure if its loop and hoop or something like that and again with that one I was buying shares and then I wanted the thing and rather than being; a personal thing I preferred it to be a company and any dividends in that one same thing not yet. So it’s not generating income
Question: Now I think .... what’s the nature, that is a quarry company
To continue next Friday