Africa-Press – Botswana. The Director General of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Brigadier Peter Magosi has confirmed that Tautona Lodge was government property acquired for operational and intelligence purposes.
“What you were being told in Parliament is the truth and it is not by any chance distinct to what I am stating now. What you were told by ministers in Parliament was in line with security and intelligence measures. All the answers were true, they were dealing with property bought for strategic operations of the DIS and national interest,” Brigadier Magosi said, appearing before the 61st meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in Gaborone yesterday.
Before the acquisition, Brigadier Magosi said validation of the property was done and its validation, lease and acquisition documents would be provided to the committee. He said the acquisition of the lodge was motivated by the DIS’ interest on the property as the lodge was not advertised by the owner for sale.
“We have procured yet another farm, which was also done looking at the strategic and operational interests of the DIS through the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture. We were doing so to address any discomforts associated with the acquisition of Tautona Lodge,” he said.
He further appealed for the establishment of a Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence to allow the intelligence agency to produce reports that would be shared with the public. He said a detailed report on the lodge was not part of the public report shared with the PAC as it contained confidential details.
Brigadier Magosi said some of such details would only be released through the Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence, which was currently not operational. He said the DIS was an intelligence and security organ and did not operate like any other government department. He said the DIS was open for audits to prove that it was accountable and was solely focusing on its mandate and was doing all to regain public confidence.
“I agree that in the past, we have in some instances done wrong and we are working on remedies to right all our wrongs. We are a government organ mandated with the security of the country. DIS used to cause terror, but it is now operating orderly as measures were put in place to address challenges,” he said.
Brigadier Magosi said under the DIS, the nation was in good hands, adding that the security and the intelligence agency was changing with time to improve on the security of the country. He said some accusations levelled against the DIS were unfounded perceptions. He said their operations observed and were aligned to government vision as human rights were inscribed in their culture and operations.
When asked by Maun East legislator, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile to explain the role DIS played in the recruitment of senior government officials, Brigadier Magosi pointed out that the DIS provided profiles of the said officers and the reports were then sent to the requesting ministries for vetting and appointments.
Mr Kekgonegile also said it appeared that recruitment processes of intelligence and security officers were never publicised. He further said the DIS, though a security organ, was turned into a terror organ that no one wanted to associate with and that its expenditure was never questioned.
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