Travel to Namibia by President Masisi

Last week, the President announced that he has decided to take responsibility for the coordination of all activities related to prevention measures against corona infection, which included a call for all Batswana to avoid unnecessary travel.  As the official opposition we stated our support for the decision by the President to take command of the troops guarding against possible infections and putting in place measures for a rapid response to the possible outbreak of the pandemic in Botswana.

The decision by President Masisi to undertake an unnecessary trip to a country grappling with the outbreak of the corona virus was blatantly irresponsible and reckless.  Having cautioned the nation against travelling outside the country, the President should have known that he will have to lead by example.  His appetite for international travel cannot take priority over the nation’s health concern.  The President has behaved in a hypocritical manner and lost the moral authority to marshal the troops against corona.