I do not have any worries at all - Kereng

Former Environment and Tourism Minister, Philda Kereng this week disassociated herself from widespread speculation that her redeployment to Nigeria as High Commissioner had anything to do with her wish to contest the Botswana Democratic Party’s (BDP) primary elections.

Instead Kereng sees her new portfolio as a platform to serve the country at a much broader level as she will be serving the continent and the world unlike when she was confined to a ministry.

Speaking to Botswana Guardian in an interview, Kereng said, “For me it’s an opportunity for growth, expansion, as well as a challenge.' She said it was never her intention to contest the primary elections nor the general election. Secondly, this is an opportunity that she negotiated with president Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi. Among others, her keen interest to serve the country at a higher level was motivated by the fact that Botswana has been hosting a lot of events.

'I have been travelling around the world seeing opportunities for intra-Africa connections building from Africa’s biggest trade giants. I have found opportunities through the AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area) for Botswana to leverage on.'

'We have a lot of potential for our creatives that can get a lot of development capacitation from Nollywood and those connections will build the film industry in Botswana, which also will be able to help market Botswana as a tourism destination using our creatives in music, filming, content building, packaging monuments and destinations capturing stories in such a way that they can sell at global level, as well as help build young people to a level where they can be competitive in the global film platform and space,' Kereng said.

She added that the Tourism Policy clearly spells out that one of the objectives is to have locals market Botswana through stories.

'If you take the legendary folk musician Ratsie Setlhako as an example, it needs a Motswana who has lived in the area to narrate that story. This is what we have started with the Nkashi films where Batswana are narrating how they live around the Okavango Delta. They express themselves in their own language with subtitles in English in the National Geographic channel.'

Kereng acknowledged that local creatives still need to be capacitated and given an opportunity to grow as businesspeople. She said the respective ministries of entrepreneurship, trade, tourism, among others, will do their bit to help build a capable community of people who are able to tell a story including cultural exchanges that are being prioritised through the AfCFTA and African Union.

Botswana has been hosting events like US- Africa Summit and Forbes Under 30, and the hope is that the events are not an end in themselves, but a means to an end. 'I am trying to drive this further so that at the end we make

connections, meet investors and people who can help us to grow.'

As for the agriculture sector, Kereng said her new portfolio will further open up new opportunities in the beef industry, adding that they have been exploring the Caribbean market in countries like the Bahamas and Jamaica.

The hope is to find alternatives routes of transporting goods, for example from Ghana or Nigeria to Walvis Bay in order to maximise the utilisation of the dry port in Namibia.

Responding to allegations that she has been made the BDP’s sacrificial lamb, Kereng retorted that no one is ever certain about votes when it comes to elections.

'I mean if you have an opportunity to serve the country will it not be better for one to opt for this opportunity than say they will bank on the unknown of elections?

“Personally, even if I had a constituency, I would still weigh if the assignment is about serving. Even if I could contest the elections and win, it would still mean that I get to a point where I was as minister. I will still be dealing at the same level that I have. But the appointment allows me to serve at a better level,' she said.

According to Kereng, President Masisi approached her for the first time in 2019 asking and directing her on what he would want the minister to do.

“If he did not see the value in this, he would have said wait, I want you to go for Bulela Ditswe, I want you to get an opportunity. Masisi believes that I can do what I have been telling you that I want to do and I will go that way,” she said emphatically.

The country was ablaze with speculation that Kereng has been sacrificed to pave way for Minister of Energy and Minerals, Lefhoko Moagi at their home constituency of Ramotswa.

Talk is that the BDP could not afford to distract Moagi in his ministerial work as he is currently in the MPC team which is spending sleepless nights to oppose the G7 countries’ move to have all diamond producing countries certify their diamonds in Antwerp, Belgium.

Some even claim that Kereng was given an opportunity to contest for the primary elections at Gaborone North, but she declined as this was before the incumbent MP and former Party Secretary, Mpho Balopi announced that he will not contest.

Kereng who is now an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will depart for Abuja in two months’ time where she will replace, Ambassador Pule Mphothwe who has completed his tour of duty.