Khama spent P350 million on personal luxuries – Saleshando

At least P350 million has been spent on President Khama’s personal luxuries since 2008, enough to build 7000 Self Help Housing Agency (SHHA) houses for homeless citizens, Botswana Congress Party (BCP) President Dumelang Saleshando revealed over the weekend.
Speaking during the launch of Dr Habaudi Hobona, the BCP parliamentary candidate for the Francistown West Constituency, Saleshando spoke of how President Khama spent millions turning the State House used by previous presidents into a bespoke lair and surrounded himself with unnecessary luxuries such as the second private jet and a luxury caravan.
“When he assumed the presidency in 2008, Khama bought himself a caravan worth P15 million, he then constructed mini-barracks worth P15 million at the state house, refurbished the state house at P20 million, bought a presidential jet worth over P300 million while there was another one in good condition. All these millions wasted by Khama could have constructed at least 7 000 SHHA houses for the needy and such spending from government coffers should not be tolerated,” he said.
He also accused the BDP government of lavishing money on security organizations such as the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) at the expense of civilian welfare.
“Under President Ian Khama’s rule, education in the country has been declining and it is given less priority. As the BCP we believe that should we be given a chance to rule, every child would be entitled to pre-school education because it is not every parent who can send their child to pre-school. We also believe that every child should be taught in their mother tongue just like in Namibia and South Africa to enhance the quality of education. The United Nations even released a report indicating that every child has a right to be taught in their mother tongue,” he said.
Saleshando further added that unlike the BDP, his party is founded on democratic principles. He said that the recent drama of BDP being dragged to court by one of its members, Whyte Marobela is a sign that the party is not at peace with itself.
“The drama that is unfolding at the BDP should not be a concern to us because the BDP is a party that is run by the courts of law. The party is always engulfed in court matters. The events should not disturb us from wrestling the Francistown West Constituency from the BDP,” he said.
He urged residents of Francistown West Constituency to elect Dr Hobona in the coming bye elections in the constituency as she is a capable woman, who is educated and ready to represent them in parliament.
For her part, Dr Hobona said that she was ready to go to parliament and advocate for the welfare of Francistown West Constituency residents. She lamented the failure by the BDP to develop the constituency, adding that people in the constituency live in abject poverty.
“Although Francistown West Constituency is the oldest constituency in Francistown, there is nothing to show for it because it is riddled with problems such as poor infrastructure, unemployment, lack of facilities and even poverty. It clearly shows that the BDP government has failed to address the welfare of the people in this constituency. Should I be elected, I would take the government to task over all these problems,” she said.