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Date
: 26/10/2005
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Pandor: Introduction of HE President Mogae at joint sitting
in Parliament
Introduction of HE President Mogae, joint sitting in
Parliament by Minister of Education, Ms Naledi Pandor, MP
Thank you Madam Speaker.
Molaodi Mogae, Tautona ya Botswana rea go amogela. Ke batla go
simulla ka go go leboga le go leboga Batswana botlhe, ka se le se
diretseng Afrika le batho ba Afrika. Botswana entse e ipusa ngwaga
tse masome a mararo le bohera bongwe.
Ka tshimologo ya boipuso babantsi ne ba sa tshepi gore Botswana e
tla tswelelapele. Ne bae tshega Botswana. Nne ba bona batho ba ba
humileng ba sa bone khumo le sithuba sa tswelelopelo.
Leithusitse Afrika ka go aga khumo ya Botswana, ka go aga Batswana,
ka go tshwara thipa ee bogaleya go netefatsa puso ka batho. Rea le
lebiga, rea le tlotla ka tiro ya lona ea bonatla.
My task is to introduce you to a man and his country in a few short
minutes. Not an easy task. Or rather I should say that the
introduction of the country is easier than the introduction of the
man.
By international acclaim Botswana is one of Africa’s success
stories. A leading news corporation describes Botswana simply as:
“Africa’s longest continuous multi-party democracy. It
is among the continent’s most stable countries, is relatively
free of corruption and has a good human rights record.”
The man is a little harder to define.
I first met the President a long time ago when he was studying in
England. Later, when I was a student in Botswana, I met him again.
He was a top civil servant, and his wife a senior officer in the
Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. His lovely wife then
became a colleague and close friend to my grandmother, Mrs
Matthews, and they worked together at the National Library.
President Mogae graduated from Oxford in the early
post-Independence period. He also studied development economics as
a postgraduate student at Sussex University. On his return to
Botswana he became Director of Economic Affairs, and then in 1975
moved up to become Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance
and Development Planning, then to Governor of the Bank of
Botswana.
He is one of a team of development economists in Botswana who put
paid to derision that accompanied Botswana’s achievement of
independence. He and the team he was part of shaped the economic
development of Botswana before the diamond discoveries in Orapa and
later in Jwaneng. At that time all Botswana seemed to have as an
economic prospect was the copper in Selibe-Pikwe. President Mogae
is thus very closely associated with Botswana’s economic
success.
He moved on from economic matters in 1982 when he was promoted to
the top post of the civil service, Secretary to the Cabinet and PS
to the President Masire. In 1989 Mr Mogae was appointed to the
Cabinet as Minister of Finance and Development Planning. In 1992
the task of Vice-President was added to his duties.
In early 1998 Vice-President Mogae succeeded to the Presidency when
President Masire retired. Facing an election in less than two
years, President Mogae demonstrated his political acumen by leading
his party to an increase in both the popular vote and the number of
seats in Parliament.
Madam Speaker, it is my great honour to have had the opportunity to
introduce His Excellency, President Mogae, economist, politician,
and statesman, a man who has played a leading role in the economic
transformation of one of Africa’s success stories. I now
leave it to you, Madam, to invite the President to address
us.
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