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Finance and Development Planning-Baledzi Gaolathe
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation-Mompati S. Merafhe
Environment, Wildlife and Tourism-Onkokame Kitso Mokaila
Communications, Science and Technology-Pelonomi Venson
Office of the President for Justice and Security-Phandu T.C. Skelemani
Office of the President for Public Administration-Daniel Kwelagobe
Trade and Industry-Daniel Neo Moroka
Minerals Resources and Water Affairs-Ponatshego Kedikilwe
Lands and Housing-Dikgakgamatso Seretse
Local Government-Margaret Nasha
Education-Jacob Nkate
Health-Sheila Tlou
Works and Transport-Lesego Motsumi
Labour and Home Affairs-Charlies Tibone
Sports, Youth, and Culture-Moeng Pheto
Agriculture-Johnnie Keemenao Swartz
Ambassador to the United States-L. Caesar Lekoa
Ambassador to the United Nations-Samuel Otsile Outlule
Botswana maintains an embassy at 1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036 (tel. [phone]; fax [phone]). Its mission to the United Nations is at 103 E. 37th Street, New York NY 10017 (tel. [phone]; fax [phone]).
ECONOMY
Since independence, Botswana has had the fastest growth in per capita income in the world. Economic growth averaged 9% per year from 1967-2005. The government has maintained a sound fiscal policy, despite three consecutive budget deficits in 2002-2004, and a negligible level of foreign debt. Foreign exchange reserves were $5 billion at the end of December 2005, equivalent to 22 months of imports of goods and services. Botswana's impressive economic record has been built on the foundation of wisely using revenue generated from diamond mining to fuel economic development through prudent fiscal policies and a cautious foreign policy. However, economic development spending was cut by 10% in 2004/2005 as a result of recurring budget deficits and rising expenditure on healthcare services. Development spending began to increase again in 2006/2007 and was budgeted to increase by 27% in the 2007/2008 fiscal year. Real GDP remained the same in 2005/2006, but the growth rate is expected to recover to around 5% in 2007/2008. The government recognizes that HIV/AIDS will continue to affect the economy and is providing leadership and programs to combat the epidemic, including free anti-retroviral treatment and a nationwide Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission program.
Mining
Debswana (formed by the government and South Africa's DeBeers in equal partnership) is the largest mining operation in Botswana. Several other mining operations exist in the country, including the Bamangwato Concessions, Ltd. (BCL, also with substantial government equity participation) and Tati Nickel.
Since the early 1980s, the country has been the world's largest producer of gem quality diamonds. Four large diamond mines have opened since independence. DeBeers prospectors discovered diamonds in northern Botswana in the late 1960s. The first mine began production at Orapa in 1972, followed by the smaller mines of Lethlakane and Damtshaa. What has become the single-richest diamond mine in the world opened in Jwaneng in 1982. The Orapa 2000 Expansion of the existing Orapa mine was opened in 2000. In December 2004, Debswana negotiated 25-year lease renewals for all four of its mines with the Government of Botswana. The Debswana carat output for 2006 was a record 34.3 million carats, making Debswana the world's leading diamond producer by value and volume. Exploration for other kimberlite pipes continues. In addition, as part of its drive to diversify and increase local value added within the mining sector, Botswana has announced plans to establish a joint venture company with De Beers, which will be Debswana's sorting and marketing arm.
BCL, which operates a copper-nickel mine at Selebi-Phikwe, has had a troubled financial history but remains an important employer, although the life of the mine is expected to end in the next 5 to 10 years. Other copper-nickel mines include Tati Nickel near Francistown. Botash, the sole producer of soda ash in the region and supported by substantial government investment, produced 265,000 tons of soda ash in 2005.
Coal bed methane gas has been discovered in the northeastern part of the country, estimated by the developers at a commercially viable quantity of 12 trillion cubic feet. Development of the gas fields has been slow, however.
Tourism
Tourism is an increasingly important industry in Botswana, accounting for approximately 10% of GDP in 2006. One of the world's unique ecosystems, the Okavango Delta, is located in Botswana. The country offers excellent game viewing and birding both in the Delta and in the Chobe Game Reserve-home to one of the largest herds of free-ranging elephants in the world. Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve also offers good game viewing and some of the most remote and unspoiled wilderness in southern Africa.
Agriculture
More than one-half of the population lives in rural areas and is largely dependent on subsistence crop and livestock farming. Agriculture meets only a small portion of food needs and contributes a very small amount to GDP-primarily through beef exports-but it remains a social and cultural touchstone. Cattle raising in particular dominated Botswana's social and economic life before independence. The national herd is estimated between 2 and 3 million head, but the cattle industry is experiencing a protracted decline.
Private Sector Development and Foreign Investment
Botswana seeks to further diversify its economy away from minerals, which account for 40% of GDP. Foreign investment and management are welcomed in Botswana. Botswana abolished foreign exchange controls in 1999, has a low corporate tax rate (15%), and no prohibitions on foreign ownership of companies. The country's inflation rate had remained stable and comparatively low over the 10 years preceding 2005. However, rising fuel and utility prices along with the government's 12.5% devaluation of the Pula in May 2005 resulted in a spike in inflation to 11.4% as of December 2005, which fell well outside the Bank of Botswana's target rate of between 4-7%. Inflation as of November 2007 was 7.7%. The Government of Botswana was considering additional policies to enhance competitiveness, including a new Foreign Direct Investment Strategy and National Export Development Strategy. Botswana's parliament adopted both a Privatization Master Plan and a new Competition Policy that were aimed at fostering economic diversification.
With its proven record of good economic governance, Botswana was ranked as Africa's least corrupt country by Transparency International in 2006, ahead of many European and Asian countries. The World Economic Forum rates Botswana as one of the two most economically competitive nations in Africa. In November 2005, Standard & Poor's once again assigned Botswana an "A" grade credit rating. This ranks Botswana as by far the best credit risk in Africa and puts it on par or above many countries in central Europe, East Asia, and Latin America.
U.S. investment in Botswana remains at relatively low levels. Major U.S. corporations, such as H.J. Heinz and AON Corporation, are present through direct investments, while others, such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and Remax, are present via franchise. The sovereign credit ratings by Moody's and Standard & Poor's clearly indicate that, despite continued challenges such as small market size, landlocked location, and cumbersome bureaucratic processes, Botswana remains one of the best investment opportunities in the developing world. Botswana has a 90-member American Business Council that accepts membership from American-affiliated companies.
Because of history and geography, Botswana has long had deep ties to the economy of South Africa. The Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU), comprised of Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, and South Africa, dates from 1910, and is the world's oldest customs union. Under this arrangement, South Africa has collected levies from customs, sales, and excise duties for all five members, sharing out proceeds based on each country's portion of imports. The exact formula for sharing revenues and the decision-making authority over duties-held exclusively by the Government of South Africa-became increasingly controversial, and the members renegotiated the arrangement in 2001. A new structure has now been formally ratified and a SACU Secretariat has been established in Windhoek, Namibia. Following South Africa's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO, of which Botswana also is a member), many of the SACU duties are declining, making American products more competitive in Botswana. Currently the SACU countries and the U.S. are negotiating a Trade, Investment and Development Cooperation Agreement, scheduled to be signed in 2008. Botswana signed an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union in December 2007, and, as a member of SACU, it signed a preferential trade agreement in 2004 with Mercosur. SACU also has plans to negotiate free trade agreements with China, India, Kenya, and Nigeria.
Botswana's currency-the Pula-is fully convertible and is valued against a basket of currencies heavily weighted toward the South African Rand. Profits and direct investment can be repatriated without restriction from Botswana. The Botswana Government eliminated all exchange controls in 1999. The Central Bank devalued the Pula by 12.5% in May 2005 in a bid to maintain export competitiveness against the real appreciation of the Pula and restructured the exchange rate mechanism to a crawling peg system to ensure against future large-scale devaluations.
Botswana is a member of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC), and Gaborone hosts the SADC Secretariat's headquarters. SADC replaced the Southern Africa Development Coordination Conference (SADCC-launched in 1980, which focused its efforts on freeing regional economic development from dependence on apartheid South Africa). SADC embraced the newly democratic South Africa as a member in 1994. It has a broad mandate to encourage growth, development, and economic integration in Southern Africa. SADC's Trade Protocol, which was launched on September 1, 2000, calls for the elimination of all tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade by 2008 among the 11 signatory countries. Zimbabwe's membership has limited SADC's opportunities for cooperation with the United States.
Transportation and Communications
A sparsely populated, semi-arid country about the size of Texas, Botswana has nonetheless managed to incorporate much of its interior into the national economy. An "inner circle" highway connecting all major towns and district capitals is completely paved, and the all-weather Trans-Kalahari Highway connects the country (and, through it, South Africa's commercially dominant Gauteng Province) to Walvis Bay in Namibia. A fiber-optic telecommunications network has been completed in Botswana connecting all major population centers. In November 2003, representatives of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa signed an MOU to simplify documentation to move cargoes to and from the Port of Walvis Bay in Namibia.
In addition to the government-owned newspaper and national radio network, there is an active, independent press (one daily and seven weekly newspapers). Two privately owned radio stations began operations in 1999, and a third began operations in 2008. In 2000, the government-owned Botswana Television (BTV) was launched, which is Botswana's first national television station. GBC is a commercially owned television station that broadcast programs to the Gaborone area only. Foreign publications are sold without restriction in Botswana, and there are 22 commercial Internet service providers. Two cellular phone providers cover most of the country.
DEFENSE
The president is commander in chief of the Botswana Defense Force (BDF). A defense council is appointed by the president. The BDF was formed in 1977 and has approximately 13,000 members.
The BDF is a capable and well-disciplined military force. Following positive political changes in South Africa and the region, the BDF's missions have increasingly focused on border control and anti-poaching activities. The United States has been the largest single contributor to the development of the BDF, and a large segment of its officer corps has received U.S. training. It is considered an apolitical and professional institution.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Botswana puts a premium on economic and political integration in Southern Africa. It seeks to make SADC a working vehicle for economic development, and promotes efforts to make the region self-policing in terms of preventative diplomacy, conflict resolution, and good governance. Botswana joins the African consensus on most major international matters and is a member of international organizations such as the United Nations and the African Union (AU).
U.S.-BOTSWANA RELATIONS
The United States considers Botswana an advocate of and a model for stability in Africa and has been a major partner in Botswana's development since its independence. The U.S. Peace Corps returned to Botswana in August 2002 with a focus on HIV/AIDS-related programs after concluding 30 years of more broadly targeted assistance in 1997. Similarly, the USAID phased out a longstanding bilateral partnership with Botswana in 1996, after successful programs emphasizing education, training, entrepreneurship, environmental management, and reproductive health. Botswana, however, continues to benefit along with its neighbors in the region from USAID's Initiative for Southern Africa, now based in Pretoria, and USAID's Southern Africa Global Competitiveness Hub, headquartered in Gaborone. The United States International Board of Broadcasters (IBB) operates a major Voice of America (VOA) relay station in Botswana serving most of the African continent.
In 1995, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) started the BOTUSA Project in collaboration with the Botswana Ministry of Health in order to generate information to improve TB control efforts in Botswana and elsewhere in the face of the TB and HIV/AIDS co-epidemics. Under the 1999 U.S. Government's Leadership and Investment in Fighting an Epidemic (LIFE) Initiative, CDC through the BOTUSA Project has undertaken many projects and has assisted many organizations in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Botswana. Botswana is one of the 15 focus countries for PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, and has received more that $230 million since the program began in January 2004 through September 2007. PEPFAR assistance to Botswana, which totaled $76.2 million in FY 2007, is contributing to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care interventions.
The Governments of Botswana and the United States entered into an agreement in July 2000 to establish an International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Gaborone. The academy, jointly financed, managed and staffed by the two nations, provides training to police and government officials from across the Sub-Saharan region. The academy's permanent campus, in Otse outside of Gaborone, opened March 2003. Over 3,000 law enforcement professionals from Sub-Saharan Africa have received training from ILEA since it began offering classes in 2001.
Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador-Katherine H. Canavan
Deputy Chief of Mission-Philip R. Drouin
Office of Defense Cooperation-LTC Daniel M. Jones
Centers for Disease Control-Dr. Margarett Davis
International Board of Broadcasters-George Miller
International Law Enforcement Agency-Stan Moran
Peace Corps-Peggy McClure
The U.S. Embassy is on Embassy Drive off Khama Crescent-P.O. Box 90, Gaborone (tel. [phone]; fax [phone]). ODC is located at the embassy. CDC is located on Ditlhakore Way in Gaborone. ILEA is located in Otse, about 30 minutes outside of Gaborone. The IBB station is located in Selebi-Phikwe, about 400 kilometers northeast of Gaborone.
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.
For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov , where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov . For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml .
The Department of State encourages all U.S citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778). Customer service representatives and operators for TDD/TTY are available Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight, Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A booklet entitled "Health Information for International Travel" (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. [phone].
HTS anpp 080121-1351517 H-PrakaPilla
Document INDFED0020080127e411000lc
News

BOUGHT FOR JUST £7000 ..FORCED TO HAVE SEX WITH 20 MEN PER DAY

By Tom Hamilton

996 words

27 December 2007

Scottish Daily Record

DRECRD

4

English

(c) 2007 Scottish Daily Record & Sunday Mail Ltd
EXCLUSIVE POLICE RAIDS REVEAL LIVING HELL OF THE WOMEN FORCED TO WORK IN VICE DENS Operation rescues 17 sex slaves
THREE women held as sex slaves in Scotland were bought for just £7000 - and forced to have sex with up to 20 men a day.
Human traffickers charged up to £60-a-time for sex with the victims, two Slovakians and a Lithuanian.
The women have now been freed thanks to a massive police operation.
They were among 17 sex slaves rescued during a series of raids across Scotland in the last few months.
Last night, one senior officer said the slaves were being treated like "used cars".
Strathclyde Assistant Chief Constable John Malcolm said: "Often, people are brought in to the country, sold on for a price and moved to another part of the country - much like selling on a car.
"And just as cars depreciate, the value of a person can depreciate.
"It's a horrible set of circumstances for people to find themselves in.
"This year is the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery and we are using that to draw attention to this problem.
"Someone is making money from all this misery. Our job is to take appropriate action."
Every police force in Scotland has been involved in the latest clampdown on human trafficking.
The recent raids took place as part of Operation Pentameter 2, a UK-wide effort to free women from the clutches of organised crime gangs who make millions from the sick trade every year.
For operational reasons, police are unable to reveal details of the raids or of any arrests made.
But they did confirm that cases of human trafficking are rising at a faster rate in Scotland than in the rest of the UK. Mr Malcolm said yesterday: "People who are trafficked are coerced or abducted or maybe conned here on the promise of employment.
"Usually, the first thing is their passport is taken off them and they are visited upon with violence. That violence can be sexual if people are going to be forced into prostitution."
The Glasgow sex industry alone is worth an estimated £7million a year, earned by women forced to work in saunas, in private flats and as escorts.
Many are regularly sold and re-sold between organised criminals working in all of the UK's major cities.
Last year, the original Operation Pentameter resulted in 515 raids and 84 suspected victims of human trafficking being identified.
A 14-year-old girl in Dumfries was the youngest person rescued.
Many of the victims are raped and beaten by their barbaric "owners" before they are put to work.
Those involved in the twisted trade face up to 14 years in jail.
Police usually calculate Scotland has a 10 per cent share of UK crime figures - but we now have an alarming 13.5 per cent of the human trafficking trade.
A drop-in centre for sex industry workers in Glasgow recently launched special clinics for women who sell their bodies in saunas. They have women from more than 30 countries on their books.
Inspector Arlene Smith said: "They are now running clinics for these women three days a week and have registered women of 34 different nationalities. From Asia,