swaziland times

Mbabane – There is a proposal currently underway to hire former Botswana minister Tshekedi Khama as the country’s tourism consultant.

Our investigation revealed that for Chekedi, the younger brother of former Botswana President Ian Khama, the contract was not easy to come by. This is because, reportedly, there is strong opposition to Tshekedi being a consultant to the Swaziland Tourism Authority (ETA), which is a public corporation or parastatal. In short, ETA is a government company. According to reliable sources, there are concerns that Tshekedi’s status “may” make him eligible for the salary and benefits of a Cabinet minister if the contract is eventually signed.
Tshekedi, former Botswana Minister of Environment, Conservation, Natural Resources and Tourism, could receive a monthly salary of €72,398 if it is tied to the ministerial benefits contract. But it’s worth stressing that no final conclusion has been reached yet as negotiations are reportedly still ongoing.

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Constance Vilakati, acting chief secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, said a proposal was being discussed by the committee. She said the proposal was, so far, beyond the remit of the ministry/directorate and the Attorney General’s Office. The acting PS said ETA would advise the minister on the terms of employment once an agreement was reached. Vilakati said negotiations were ongoing and addressed all issues raised by this newspaper, including the job description or terms of reference (TOR).

Efforts to contact Tshekedi were unsuccessful. During the official opening of the first session of the 12th Parliament, His Majesty the King said the country recognises the contribution of tourism to economic recovery and growth potential. As such, the King said the government is engaging with stakeholders to fully understand their contributions to the tourism value chain – from travel agents to frontline workers. The head of state said that great efforts are needed to increase the number of tourists and tourism spending and promote the country as a preferred tourist destination.

expected

His Majesty said the country needed to spread its attractions geographically to attract all types of tourists. Ingwenyama encouraged the industry to provide tourists with a royal experience in Swaziland. He expected the government to expedite the merger of five wildlife parks in Lubombo to provide more services to tourists. Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg said in his 2024 budget speech that the government will continue to promote “Destination Swaziland” as a promotional strategy to ensure Swaziland continues to be recognized as a preferred tourist destination locally and internationally. Rijkenberg said the number of international tourists increased by 77% from January to October 2023 compared to 2022.

The finance minister said that while the growth in tourism was encouraging, the country had not yet reached pre-COVID-19 tourism levels. He said the government will work towards making the International Convention Centre (ICC) operational by 2024/25. The minister said the ICC had the prospect of greatly boosting the tourism industry.
He therefore announced that the government would allocate 1.1 billion euros in this year’s budget for the final completion of the conference center. He said the project, which will be completed by 2024, would increase the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.25 percent and 0.75 percent by 2025 if managed well.

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The finance minister said the government remains committed to the construction and development of the five national parks. Rijkenberg said the project will also bring a large number of jobs, both directly and indirectly. He said it would increase tourist numbers and that for the first time the country would see free-roaming predators in a protected park. He said if the project went ahead, GDP growth could reach 0.25% in 2027 and 2028. He mentioned that Swaziland is taking the lead in promoting the global concept of Other Effective Conservation Measures (OECM) to increase the country’s protected areas.

The minister said the five national parks project had great potential not only to increase the country’s protected area but also to contribute to global conservation efforts while implementing the global biodiversity framework. He said the project, which has been fully funded by the government so far, demonstrates the country’s commitment to implementing the global biodiversity framework and increasing protected areas to 10 percent of the country’s total area.

Mr. Rickenberg said extreme weather and climate events were becoming more frequent, costing the Swaziland economy millions of limanes. While accelerating efforts to mobilize external resources to address climate change-related challenges, he said the Swaziland government had also responded to the UN Secretary-General’s call to proactively contribute to improving the country’s early warning systems, cooperation and coordination among sectors.

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This is done to issue effective and targeted warning information and develop early warning and risk management plans and strategies. He said that as adaptation remained critical, it was necessary to mobilize resources to further mitigate climate change. It is learnt that Tshekedi was elected as a member of the National Assembly for Serowe North in the 2008 by-election as a member of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). He was subsequently re-elected in 2009 and 2014. From 2012 to 2018, he served as Minister of Environment, Conservation, Natural Resources and Tourism.

Sources told The Times on Sunday that much or part of the interest in him stems from the numerous awards and honours Botswana has received during his tenure.
It is therefore understood that his success and experience in the tourism industry will be beneficial to Swaziland in attracting tourists.

motivation

The motivation to bring him to the table stems from his involvement with high-profile conservation groups, primarily the Giant Club Summit and Botswana Rhino Conservation. His wife, Thea, and his brother are also patrons of global marches for the protection of elephants, lions, rhinos and pangolins. His brother Ian is a member of the board of directors of Conservation International. In an interview with We Are Africa, an NGO, Tshekedi said: “We have made a deliberate decision to develop tourism in this country and to develop it in an imaginative way. I believe we are probably the best ecotourism destination in the world.” It’s a bold claim, but the data doesn’t lie.

Beyond

Indonesia’s tourism industry attracts up to 2.7 million tourists each year (far more than its population of 2 million) and accounts for 14% of the country’s GDP, 5% of which is driven by ecotourism. In 2022, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) detained Tshekedi’s wife Thea, an action condemned by Ian. He (Tshekedi) was also detained with his wife, and Ian witnessed first-hand the persecution of his family by the Botswana government. Former Botswana President Ian has claimed that the government ordered the National Security Service to detain his twin brothers Tshekedi and Anthony.

custody

Khama claimed that his brother has been detained by the Botswana Intelligence and Security Service. “Fellow citizens, I have just received news that my twin brothers, Tshekedi Khama and Anthony Khama, have been detained by the DIS and are being held at the DIS office in Sebele,” Ian said. He said he was unaware that his brothers were detained along with Tshekedi’s wife.