Nasha takes swipe at Khama�s HIV policy
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Speaking at the just ended Eminent Women’s Dialogue gathering, Nasha, a senior member of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party, said Botswana is yet to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other communicable diseases, as it does not provide universal access to treatment. She said there are still groups in Botswana, such as homosexuals, foreign prisoners and refugees, who are unable to access HIV treatment.
The Speaker told the UNFPA hosted meeting, going under the theme ‘Building the Future- Accelerating Gender Equality for the Post-2015 Development’, that Botswana has been unable to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS. She said that this was due largely to the campaign against HIV losing its vigour. The country’s HIV prevalence rate currently stands at 17.6 percent.
While it is widely acknowledged that Khama holds the title of Kgosi, the government’s failure to properly gazette his recognition has raised serious concerns about adherence to legal procedures and the credibility of traditional leadership. (See a story elsewhere in this newspaper.) Recent court documents by the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Kgotla Autlwetse, shed light on the intricacies of Khama’s recognition process....