REBUTTAL TO BOTSWANA GUARDIAN’S ARTICLE:“PRESIDENT BUILDS MOM STATE-OF-THE-ART- MANSION.”

The Office of the President wishes to rebut the spurious allegations peddled in the article: “President builds Mom State-of-the-art Mansion,” which appeared in Botswana Guardian issue of Friday 03, February 2023, on page 4.

The article’s insinuation that His Excellency President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, has engaged the Chinese company, Unik Construction Engineering, to build a magnificent house for his mother in Moshupa, by partly using tax payer’s money, is patently false. That this is so, is clearly reflected in the factual averments made by Mr Sasara George, Director of Communications for Unik Constructions Engineering, when contacted by the newspaper to respond to the allegations.

In essence, the allegations on which the sensational article is based have thus been put to rest. Therefore, there is no basis for believing otherwise given the juxtaposition of the allegations by unnamed sources with the facts stated by Mr George, as evidenced in the structure of the narrative by the journalist, Nicholas Mokwena.

Furthermore, the Office of the President wishes to underscore that the President plays no role whatsoever in the award of Government tenders. Hence, the claims about the Moshupa Sanitation Project having been awarded under dubious circumstances, such that it could be exploited by the President to use the company for the construction of the house for his mother, are baseless and unfounded. After all, tender documents are gazetted for all to examine and decisions on them are also made public in the interest of transparency.

John Thomas Dipowe
PERMANENT SECRETARY
BOTSWANA GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS