Inspection of Embassy Gaborone, Botswana

Embassy Gaborone effectively manages bilateral relations between the United States and Botswana. One embassy focus is implementing the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); another is increasing U.S. trade and investment. The mission also successfully oversees a range of regional programs that have doubled the size of the U.S. government workforce in Botswana.

The relationship between the Ambassador and the deputy chief of mission (DCM) is collaborative but strained, and the embassy’s advocacy efforts with policymakers on issues other than PEPFAR and trade and investment are limited.

On a more positive note, political and economic reporting is insightful and well crafted, and policymakers and analysts would like to have more of this reporting. Interagency coordination to implement PEPFAR is also good and is overseen by the regional environment and health officer. However, the embassy should seek funding from the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator to establish a full-time PEPFAR coordinator position and fill it locally.

Other staffing-related matters included:

• Embassy Gaborone and the executive director of the Bureau of African Affairs are requesting new positions for an economic/commercial officer and a health practitioner. OIG supports the need for a commercial officer, but not for a health practitioner. Instead, OIG believes the embassy requires the services of a direct-hire office management specialist for the DCM.

• The Bureau of Consular Affairs is seeking establishment of a replacement position in Botswana for a consular section associate. If that position is established, the embassy could seek authorization to reprogram the existing consular position to cover the commercial function since the embassy needs only one consular officer.

The mission has proposed the implementation of shared services between the Department and the United States Agency for International Development, under the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services (ICASS) system. The embassy should also review with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ways to minimize duplication in services provided by CDC and ICASS.

The Republic of Botswana is located in the center of the southern African plateau, just north of South Africa. Botswana is about the size of Texas and its population was estimated at 1.7 million in the 1991 census, growing at a rate of approximately 2.9 percent per year. Its population is overwhelmingly Tswana, descendants of the Bantu peoples who migrated from West Africa centuries ago.

Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana gained independence in 1966. Since then, Botswana has been an oasis of political and economic stability in southern Africa and in the forefront of regional cooperation and integration. It is a member of the Southern African Customs Union and a founding member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). SADC is headquartered in Gaborone, and its mandate is the promotion of regional, economic, social and political integration.

The government of Botswana is a multi-party, constitutional democracy governed by a Britishstyle parliamentary system. The bicameral legislature consists of a National Assembly and an advisory House of Chiefs. As their first order of business after a parliamentary election, members of the parliament elect the president. The judicial system is separate and independent from the legislative and  executive branches. The 10,000-strong Botswana Defense Force and the National Police are under civilian control. The ruling Botswana Democratic Party secured an easy victory in the election of October 2004, and President Festus Mogae was reelected.

Four decades of uninterrupted civilian leadership, progressive social policies, and significant capital investment have made Botswana one of the most dynamic economies in Africa. Mineral extraction, principally diamond mining, dominates economic activity, although tourism is growing, due to the country's conservation practices and extensive nature preserves.

Relations between Botswana and the United States are cordial and based on shared values. Helping Botswana confront the HIV/AIDS challenge is a major focus of the relationship. The HIV/AIDS infection rate is 39 percent, one of the world’s highest, and almost half of all persons ages 25 to 29 are infected. The United States will provide over $40 million in FY 2005 to combat HIV/AIDS in Botswana. Other major goals of the United States in Botswana are to promote trade and investment between t he United States and Botswana/southern Africa and to strengthen Botswana’s ability to detect, prevent, and respond to terrorism.

September 21, 2005