CITES' dark underbelly surfaces in Geneva

Kitso Mokaila. PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Kitso Mokaila. PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

A dark picture of greed, corruption and betrayal is emerging behind the scenes, amidst the high tension at the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting underway in Geneva, Switzerland.

By press time yesterday, Botswana and neighbours, Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa were staring defeat in the face, in their proposal for future sales of their substantial ivory stocks.

Another proposal, for Zambia’s elephants to join those from Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa on Appendix II where trade is theoretically possible, was also looking impossible.

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...

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