Diplomat denies Botswana -China sour relations
Baboki Kayawe | Tuesday May 31, 2016 15:38
Deputy permanent secretary in the foreign affairs ministry, responsible for International Relations, Thuso Ramodimoosi said that some Chinese contractors performing poorly must not result in generalisation of Sino contractors. He said painting all of them with the same brush would be wrong. Ramodimoosi maintained that no diplomatic tiff existed between Gaborone and Beijing consequent to poor project execution.
“There are some Chinese companies that are doing well, and others are not doing well. But we cannot say diplomatic relations with China are at a low,” he said.
Ramodimoosi was responding to PAC member Ndaba Gaolathe’s enquiry on the impression that the two parties are having soiled relations. Corroborating this thought was legislator, Samson Moyo Guma, who just returned from Beijing.
He said both government and individuals are concerned about the bad performance of some Chinese companies working on Botswana projects.
“We want to know how we are dealing with poor performance of Chinese contractors because the two countries cannot enjoy good relations when there are issues of poor performance that have led to sour relations,” he said.
To iron things between the two parties, Ramodimoosi said the foreign affairs ministry was part of a mission led by then Minister of Infrastructure, Science and Technology, Johnnie Swartz. This was motivated by concerns by cabinet with the quality of projects by Chinese contractors, he reported to the PAC.
“The intent of the mission was to inspect these projects with the view to engage the resident ambassador of China to Botswana that some of their contractors are not performing well,” Ramodimoosi explained.
He further said Minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi’s visit to Beijing last year to engage on a number of issues among others the quality of projects by Chinese contractors illustrated what foreign affairs is doing about the issue.
At the beginning of March, a Presidential Task Team led by former vice president, Ponatshego Kedikilwe was appointed to undertake periodic inspections of government programmes and projects as shall be directed by the President, to advise Khama on matters relating to the successful implementation of programmes and projects as well as to undertake risk assessment and propose mitigation strategies for programmes and projects that have been inspected inter alia.
Among the major projects executed by Chinese companies found to be wanting in workmanship is the expansion of Morupule B power station that is having inordinate delays in bringing the power plant into service, hence prolonged and widespread load shedding.
Meanwhile, Ramodimoosi said Botswana’s foreign policy posture towards African countries is the same as that of any other country in the world. The diplomat was responding to Gaolathe’s question on whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’s approach to African missions has an equal emphasis as elsewhere on the globe. To date, the country does not have a diplomatic presence in Angola and Tanzania. Given the strategic positioning of the former, Gaolathe queried why a diplomatic mission did not exist in the oil-rich country.
“Any country’s foreign policy is anchored primarily through peaceful coexistence with neighbours, the region and the continent,” Ramodimoosi responded.
“It is not like African missions are not given much attention and resources as others elsewhere in the world,” Ramodimoosi said.
However, there are disparities in foreign service allowances with employees in African missions receiving less than those placed elsewhere in the world. Ramodimoosi said the issue is being addressed in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.