Botswana - The African Mirror

Mar

2021

Botswana’s Kearoma sets her sights on fashion with Che’ri

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER BOTSWANA jazz songbird Kearoma Rantao has made her move into the fashion world. Rantao sat down with The African Mirror on her new venture while managing her successful career during the coronavirus pandemic. She told us that her country going into lockdown along with other Southern African countries is what inspired her to start moving with her new brand Che’ri. “Covid-19 basically stopped all music performances because our lockdown didn’t allow for social gatherings at live performances, so I had to come up with another stream of income, and decided to push up my dream of starting…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Botswana gives AstraZeneca the nod

COVID-19

BOTSWANA will move ahead with plans to use AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, the southern African country's health minister said yesterday, despite neighbour South Africa pausing the rollout of the shots. South Africa's decision to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine was based on preliminary data showing it offered minimal protection against mild to moderate illness caused by the dominant coronavirus variant there. That more contagious variant - called 501Y.V2 - has been detected in Botswana too. Asked whether Botswana would be using the AstraZeneca vaccine, Health Minister Edwin Dikoloti said in parliament: "Our intended outcome is well-covered by what AstraZeneca offers."…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Botswana investigates 11 new elephant deaths

NEWS

BRIAN BENZA BOTSWANA is investigating the deaths of 11 elephants at one of its game reserves, months after hundreds of elephants died from ingesting toxic microorganisms. The latest deaths occurred in the Moremi Game Reserve, a statement from the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, Conservation and Tourism said, ruling out suspicions of poaching as the tusks of the elephants were found intact. The Moremi reserve lies about 100 kilometres east of Seronga, where last year's deaths were reported. Over a period of several weeks starting in May, 330 elephants were found dead under mysterious circumstances near the fringes of the…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Botswana sets up gender violence courts to tackle pandemic backlog

NEWS

KELETSO THOBEGA BOTSWANA will launch 25 gender violence courts this week following a rise in cases during the coronavirus pandemic - a measure women's campaigners hope will bring swifter justice to victims of sexual and domestic abuse. The government of the southern African country moved to establish the courts after women's rights advocates warned that lockdown curbs were exacerbating high rates of gender-based violence by trapping many women at home with abusers. "(Bringing a case to court) can be a long, tedious process, and this frustrates many victims," said Kgomotso Kelaotswe, a counselor supervisor from the Botswana Gender Based Violence…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Botswana signs agreement with global vaccine scheme for 20% of population

COVID-19

BOTSWANA has signed an agreement with the global vaccine distribution scheme co-led by the World Health Organization, giving it the option to buy coronavirus vaccines for 20% of its population, a senior health official told Reuters. The southern African country has registered a relatively low number of coronavirus cases, around 7,800 with 27 deaths, but its economy has been dealt a severe blow by the pandemic. Unlike many other African countries, Botswana does not qualify for subsidised vaccines under the COVAX scheme because it is classified as an upper middle income country like neighbours Namibia and South Africa. Botswana made…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Botswana sees 7.7 % growth in 2021 on diamond industry recovery

BUSINESS

BOTSWANA’S economy will rebound and grow 7.7% in 2021 from an 8.9% contraction forecast this year, on the back of improved sentiment in the global diamond industry, according to the finance minister. Botswana's economy shrank by 24% in the second quarter of 2020 as coronavirus lockdowns at home and abroad slowed domestic economic activity and severely constrained diamond sales. Buyers of the precious gem were locked out of the capital Gaborone, where they come to purchase diamonds from De Beers. Mining is the sparsely populated southern African country's biggest revenue earner and accounts for just under 20% of total gross…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Happy 54th Birthday, Botswana

NEWS

REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA MESSAGE BY HIS EXCELLENCY DR. MOKGWEETSI E. K. MASISI THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA ON THE OCCASION OF THE 2020 BOTSWANA DAY, 30th SEPTEMBER 2020 Bagaetsho, a ke le dumedise ka Pula! 1. I am delighted to address you today as we celebrate our 54th Anniversary of Independence. This is the first Independence celebration since the General Elections that were held in October 2019. I therefore wish to thank you once again, for your participation in this important National Exercise during which you chose your political leadership which will take our country to the next…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Botswana says toxins in water cause of mysterious elephant deaths

NEWS

THE deaths of hundreds of elephants in Botswana this year which had baffled and alarmed conservationists were caused by toxins produced by cyanobacteria in water, officials said on Monday. Cyril Taolo, deputy director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, told a news conference that the number of dead elephants had risen to 330, from 281 last reported in July. The department's principal veterinary officer Mmadi Reuben told the same conference that there were, however, still many unanswered questions. "Our latest tests have detected cyanobacterial neurotoxins to be the cause of deaths. These are bacteria found in water," Reuben…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

U.N. to train Botswana traditional leaders to fight gender-based abuse

NEWS

KELETSO THOBEGA DOZENS of traditional leaders in Botswana will take part in a U.N. training programme that aims to help them tackle high rates of gender-based violence in the country, officials and leaders said on Friday. Nearly 70% of women in the southern African nation have experienced physical or sexual abuse - more than double the global average, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF). As women's rights campaigners warn of a spike in domestic abuse due to coronavirus restrictions that have trapped women indoors with their abusers, traditional leaders welcomed the initiative and the opportunity to help. "No…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Botswana says natural toxin could be behind elephant deaths

NEWS

BRIAN BENZA PRELIMINARY tests to explain the reason for hundreds of mysterious elephant deaths in Botswana point to a naturally occurring toxin as a probable cause, a senior wildlife official told Reuters. It was highly unlikely that an infectious disease was behind the shocking deaths of at least 281 elephants, added Cyril Taolo, acting director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. Officials had been struggling to establish the cause of death more than two months after the first carcasses were spotted in the Okavango Panhandle region. Initial investigations appeared to rule out common causes like poaching and anthrax.…