{"id":18023,"date":"2022-12-04T08:39:46","date_gmt":"2022-12-04T08:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/controversy-hits-p10m-purchase-of-presidential-guesthouse"},"modified":"2022-12-04T08:39:46","modified_gmt":"2022-12-04T08:39:46","slug":"controversy-hits-p10m-purchase-of-presidential-guesthouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/controversy-hits-p10m-purchase-of-presidential-guesthouse","title":{"rendered":"Controversy hits P10m Purchase of Presidential Guesthouse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations has been accused of wasting public funds following its purchase of Plot 3125 Sweden House for P10 million only for the property to fall into disuse.<\/b><\/p>\n

Minister Lemogang Kwape confirmed in Parliament yesterday that the government purchased the property in December 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe property was put on offer in the open market and consequently purchased by the government in December 2019,\u201d Kwape told Parliament.<\/p>\n

Valuation<\/b><\/p>\n

The house, he added, was obtained with the idea of turning it into a government guesthouse for visiting presidents and heads of state.<\/p>\n

According to Minister Kwape, valuation of the property was conducted by the Ministry of Lands Management, Water and Sanitation Services.<\/p>\n

The property has reportedly never been occupied or otherwise used since it was obtained. \u201cThe property was purchased to be used as a government guesthouse for visiting heads of state and government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, since its acquisition, the property has not been utilised because it required some renovations that could not be undertaken because resources were directed to the fight against COVID-19. It was only this year that funds were secured for the (purpose).\u201d<\/p>\n

Minister Kwape was responding to questions from the MP for Maun West, Dumelang Saleshando, who wanted to know why the property was purchased and how much it cost.<\/p>\n

Speaking to The Botswana Gazette this week, Saleshando described purchasing the house as \u201cirrational\u201d because there are reports of another government guesthouse for use by VIPs.<\/p>\n

Another guesthouse<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIt does not make sense,\u201d the assertive said. \u201cWe hear that there is already another government guesthouse used for VIPs. Visiting heads of state have been using hotels.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Botswana Gazette is informed that the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Service (DISS) advised the government to buy the property as a part of bolstering the safety of President Mokgweetsi Masisi.<\/p>\n

It is understood that the secret service and other law enforcement agencies recommended the clearing of properties in the vicinage of State House by buying them in order to enhance the security of the President.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations has been accused of wasting public funds following its purchase of Plot 3125 Sweden House for P10 million only for the property to fall into disuse. Minister Lemogang Kwape confirmed in Parliament yesterday that the government purchased the property in December 2019. \u201cThe property […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":18022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-18023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nControversy hits P10m Purchase of Presidential Guesthouse - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/controversy-hits-p10m-purchase-of-presidential-guesthouse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Controversy hits P10m Purchase of Presidential Guesthouse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Botswana. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations has been accused of wasting public funds following its purchase of Plot 3125 Sweden House for P10 million only for the property to fall into disuse. 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