Tiger gets new face
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Almost three years after ascending to the highest office in the land, President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s portrait was on Monday finally featured on the new P10 note.
Masisi becomes the eighth Motswana to appear on the Botswana banknotes since the Pula Day, August 23, 1976 when the country finally introduced its own currency. Other figures that have graced the Pula banknotes include all the former presidents namely: Sir Seretse Khama, who used to appear on all the notes until 1998, but currently features only on the P50 note, President Sir Ketumile Masire, President Festus Mogae and President Ian Khama. Other figures featured on the banknotes are the composer of the national anthem, Kgalemang Tumediso Motsete whose portrait appears on the P20 note and the three dikgosi,, Kgosi Bathoen I, Kgosi Sebele and Kgosi Khama III, all on the P100 note.
The rise in defilement and missing persons cases, particularly over the recent festive period, points not merely to a failure of policing, but to a profound and widespread societal crisis. Whilst the Police chief’s plea is rightly directed at parents, the root of this emergency runs deeper, demanding a collective response from every corner of our community. Marathe’s observations paint a picture of neglect with children left alone for...