25 Feb 2025

High levels of corruption in Botswana has deprived the country an opportunity to transform into a regional economic hub with world class infrastructure.

Speaking at the colloquim for judicial officers on combating money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing in Gaborone yesterday, President Advocate Duma Boko therefore said government had taken a decision to conduct a reasonably priced forensic audit to determine how state resources had been deployed.

He said the move would demonstrate to the nation the seriousness of combating corruption and financial crime.

President Boko said the audit would be of international standard, professional with an element of cutting edge capabilities for assets pricing and recovery. “We count on the judiciary to ensure that the cases are heard. We are not saying violate anybody’s rights, we are a human rights based regime,” he said.

Furthermore, President Boko appreciated that tasks carried by judges were huge.

 “I task people to investigate and let the rest of the institution do their work, then it will fall on the lap of the judicial system to deal with these issues and resolve them,” he said.

President Boko said the effort would help the country to safe guard resources needed for development.

“The naysayers are saying it is a political gimmick, and when we say we are not joking, a lot of people think it is a political witch hunt while it is not,” he said.

President Boko said the forensic audit was not all about individuals but principle, adding that when they conducted the audit, they wanted to establish the ethicacy of government institutions, where they failed and faltered.

“We also want to establish where can we correct, how can we make these institutions better and more robust, and establish the quantum of loss if there is any,” he said.

He then hailed Angola for an early lead in the campaign against corruption, with the country recovering at least US$30 billion (over P400 billion).

The president said the recoveries were important in transforming the country into a regional hub with world class infrastructure which could attract investment and create the much needed jobs. ENDS