Don’t contradict God’s will on Botswana – Kauandenge

“God, in His own wisdom, did not give Botswana any river or sea, so who are we to interfere with God’s will?”These were the startling words of National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) secretary-general Josef Kauandenge, who asked Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila why Namibia donated a piece of land at the port of Walvis Bay to Botswana to construct a dry port facility, making that country sea-linked.In September, President Hage Geingob said the donation was not only a gesture of goodwill, but would also facilitate the import and export of goods and services.“President [Mokgweetsi] Masisi informed me when we met in Rwanda that Botswana intended to increase its volumes of imports and exports through the port of Walvis Bay,” Geingob said, according to The Namibian.In questions filed in the National Assembly this week, for the attention of the prime minister, Kauandenge said: “Botswana has been abundantly blessed with diamonds by God and we don’t have any qualms about that”.He added: “There is no miscarriage of understanding that the Swapo-led government has been voted into power by the majority of Namibians, and that through that they must govern this country.“However, what must be made clear is that despite this mandate by the Namibian people giving the Swapo Party a proxy to lead on their behalf, the Swapo Party government cannot take arbitrary decisions that will have far-reaching consequences for future generations, such as the issue of media reports of donating a piece of land at the port of Walvis Bay to Botswana”.Unheard ofAccording to him, it is “unheard of” for a sovereign country to donate a piece of land to another sovereign country without the terms of such an agreement being availed to the public for scrutiny.“I have always wondered what is this sudden ‘bromance’ between the Namibian head of state and his Botswana counterpart, [and] now it seems the answer is a marriage of convenience entered into between the two countries’ leaders without any input whatsoever from the Namibian people,” Kauandenge said.Geingob had previously said the donation would mean Namibia and Botswana must jointly and speedily work together to expand transport infrastructure to accommodate increased trade volumes between the countries.Billion-dollar exportsIn recent years, Namibia’s merchandise trade with Botswana has increased, with the overall exports to that country amounting to N$8.6 billion in 2021. This compared to the export value of N$7.5 billion recorded in 2020.On the other hand, the value of imports from Botswana stood at N$752 million after recording N$978 million the previous year.

Don’t contradict God’s will on Botswana – Kauandenge

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-11

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Don’t contradict God’s will on Botswana – Kauandenge

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-11

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