General Khama must declare a state of emergency in the south

Richard Moleofe | Friday April 22, 2016 10:11

A state of emergency is inseparable with restrictions in freedom of movement and worse of all curfews may be applied. Former President Ketumile Masire almost declared one in 1987 during the Bontleng riots that sought the return of little Malebogo. The situation that the southern part of the country is facing demands that the president declares a state of emergency. Southerners are not used to any such inconveniences when it comes to movement of livestock.  In fact this is the first time that the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) has restricted movement and the slaughter of cloven hoofed animals since 1948. That year there was an outbreak of rinderpest.

The colonial government through the DVS of the time ordered all able bodied men to take part in erecting a thorn bush fence (legora) that literally separated Gaborone Block commercial farms from the rest of the tribal areas. The best action by the State President is to declare a state of emergency to help prevent what I would term a catastrophe. We need a complete lockdown in this part of the country in order to prevent the spread of any Foot and Mouth Disease if there be any.  The current scare originates from the discovery of a buffalo in the environs of Kanye.  The origins of this buffalo still remains a mystery. There are two theories regarding where the buffalo might have come from. The first one points to game farms in neighbouring South Africa while the other points to the wildlife parks in the north of the country.

DVS has not done enough to determine where this buffalo may have come from. The animal was found and samples were taken after it was put down. It was later destroyed.

They actually were following laid out procedures. The undoing thing in their actions was that in the process of destroying the carcass, they possibly have destroyed critical microchip information on the animal if it originated from South Africa. It is mandatory to microchip all game in captivity in that country.  The chip is either placed in the neck or in the tail. Actually DVS panicked in their quest to destroy an animal which was potentially an FMD carrier. It is also possible that this animal came from the north. Botswana has a large population of the Cape buffalo and the current drought could have triggered a migration in the path of well watered routes. In the past, an elephant was reportedly sighted in the Boatlaname areas north of Molepolole. This country has always taken animal health very seriously because agriculture is still the backbone of the economy.

Agriculture provides the highest in terms of employment. This calls for more stringent bio-security measures. Bio-security is a strategic and integrated approach that encompasses the policy and regulatory frameworks that analyse and manage risks in the sectors that include animal health; according to experts in the field. This is one field that has been left only to those with background training in the area of animal health and public health. For our country, this is not viewed as a security threat that calls for the involvement of all security organs in the country including BDF and the intelligence.   Biological risk management in modern times calls for close collaboration of all stakeholders. Botswana needs to develop capacity building in bio-security and this country has great potential in developing bio-technology because of the existing infrastructure.  The National Veterinary Laboratory in Sebele remains to be a state of the art facility and at the moment it is still under utilised .  Furthermore, Botswana has developed capacity in vaccine production and that forms the basis for a more advanced bio-safety network in this country.

The reason why intelligence organs need to be involved at every stage of the development of a national bio-safety regulatory framework is for purposes of equally monitoring possible threats in the area of something known as bio-terrorism.  There is always a direct link between bio-security and public health.

This form of terrorism is something that Western countries are already prepared to deal with and as things, we are in no way immune to this form of vice. The military and intelligence have very important contributions and roles to play in developing strategies and policies around this area.  Therefore they become key in advising decision makers and politicians.   There is an upcoming Bio-defence World Summit in June 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland.  The purpose of this event is to discuss communication methods and challenges for decision makers, the media and the public in dealing with bio-security issues. Out of this summit, our intelligence officials will be able to get in touch with those in the business of bio-security.  They will become exposed to the latest equipment and technologies in the industry. This involves tools in bio-detection and bio-surveillance technologies.

Americans and Israelis are decades ahead of many of us and we surely can take a leaf from their branch in forging and developing our own security infrastructure in the area of bio-technologies. It is not by coincidence that Americans are hosting the upcoming international summit. They are leaders in the industry.  Individuals must consider their country first and not what their personal interests are when it comes to this subject matter.  If we do not cooperate as southerners, we may live to regret it if Zone 11 is turned into what Ngamiland has come to be. As a parting note; we as a nation cannot afford to keep a blind eye to the very security issues that are a hot topic in the rest of the world.  We must be seen to participate as citizens of the global village that is the world.