Donors' Move Takes Its Toll On Red Cross

Briefing the media last week on recent developments and future plans in Gaborone, BRCS Programmes Director, Titus Makosha, said their international partners have only committed to help Botswana until this year. "They have consistently been clear on the position of graduating from Botswana because it is a middle-income country," Makosha said. He, however, expressed optimism that local resource mobilisation and development of sustainable projects should be the way to go, and any international funding should come as a bonus.

He said the decision by the international donors therefore, calls for deliberate strategies for partnerships with the private sector, locally based intergovernmental agencies as well as government agencies. The other challenge he outlined was the society's inability to retain staff and volunteers given BRCS's inability to adequately compete for the human resources in the market.