VZCZCXRO3472
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHOR #1017/01 3230955
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 180955Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY GABORONE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5388
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0371
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0198
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0093
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0173
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GABORONE 001017 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
ADDIS FOR USAU 
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
STATE FOR AF/S, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SOCI ZI BC
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S CALL ON MINISTER OF LABOR 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  Ambassador Nolan paid a courtesy call on 
Botswana's Minister of Labor and Home Affairs Peter 
Letlhogonolo Siele on November 7.  The Minister and 
Ambassador discussed the current situation in Botswana's 
prisons, a plan by President Khama to assist released 
prisoners in starting businesses, and the impact of the 
crisis in Zimbabwe on Botswana. END SUMMARY 
 
 
¶2. (U) Ambassador Nolan paid a courtesy call on Botswana's 
Minister of Labor and Home Affairs Peter Letlhogonolo Siele 
on November 7 in the Minister's Office.  Pol/Econ Officer 
attended as notetaker.  The Minister was accompanied by the 
Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Home 
Affairs Victor Rantshabeng, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of 
the Ministry of Labor and Home Affairs Lucky T. Moahi, and 
his private secretary McDonald Lashani.  The Minister 
congratulated the United States on the election of President 
Elect Obama, and discussed common "echoes" between President 
Khama's November 3 State of the Nation Address and 
President-elect Obama's November 5 acceptance speech. 
 
---------- 
Prisons 
---------- 
¶3.  (SBU) Ambassador Nolan asked about a report in the 
newspaper stating that 2800 prisoners will be released from 
prison in Botswana.  The Minister confirmed that this was 
correct and that 1031 have been released to date in an 
attempt to ease overcrowding.  Deputy Permanent Secretary 
Rantshabeng stated that there are currently "well above 6000" 
prisoners in Botswana prisons that were designed to hold 4900 
inmates.  He stated that the current number of prisoners is 
an estimate, as the final numbers for September have not yet 
come into his office. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Minister and Ambassador also discussed an issue 
Botswana is grappling with regarding prisoners and voting. 
Botswana law provides that prisoners with sentences of less 
than four months should be allowed to register to vote - 
raising the question of where they should be allowed to vote. 
 The Minister explained that declaring a prison a polling 
station is problematic. Polling stations in Botswana are open 
to anyone who wants to vote there - raising the specter of 
security problems if citizens are allowed to enter the 
prisons to cast their votes. The Minister stated that the GOB 
is continuing to work on this issue. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Vocational Training in Prisons 
------------------------------------- 
¶5. (SBU) The Minister discussed President Khama's plan to 
expand vocational opportunities from only current prisoners 
to include recently released prisoners.  The Minister 
explained that the plan would allow recently released 
prisoners to use prison facilities and equipment for a short 
time after their release while establishing their businesses. 
 President Khama wants the program to focus on items like 
carpentry, vegetable production, tailoring and upholstery. 
The Minister said that the idea is still in the planning 
stages and the length of time that released prisoners would 
be allowed to use the facilities has not yet determined, but 
he guessed it would be around three months.  A profit sharing 
system between the prison and the released prisoner would be 
implemented.  According to the Minister, this would allow the 
released prisoner to raise seed money for a new business and 
would allow the prison to recoup some of the cost incurred by 
the prisons for this program. 
 
¶6. (SBU) One current problem is the lack of room in the 
prisons for such activities.  The Minister said the plan 
calls for tents to be erected until prison facilities can be 
expanded.  The Minister thinks a program such as this could 
help recidivism rates by giving released prisoners a trade 
and the opportunity to start a business.  By way of 
background, the Minister explained that currently in Botswana 
prisoners can pursue trade certificates by taking classes and 
taking certification exams while incarcerated. 
 
 
GABORONE 00001017  002 OF 002 
 
 
----------------------------------- 
Effect of Crisis in Zimbabwe 
----------------------------------- 
¶7. (SBU) The Ambassador and the Minister discussed the impact 
on Botswana from the crisis in Zimbabwe.  Ambassador Nolan 
asked if the GOB had seen an increase in the number of forged 
documents coming out of Zimbabwe as Zimbabwean government 
employees are becoming increasingly desperate for income and 
more likely to accept bribes.  Deputy Permanent Secretary 
Lucky Moahi stated that he took a recent trip to the border 
with Zimbabwe.  During that trip Botswana border officials 
stated that they were seeing increases in fraudulent 
documents, including passports. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Deputy Permanent Secretary Rantshabeng added that 
Botswana is spending a lot to deal with the growing influx of 
Zimbabweans.  The GOB has been forced to increase the number 
of trucks taking migrants back to the border and is building 
an additional repatriation center to house the Zimbabweans 
prior to their repatriation.  The GOB plans to build the new 
repatriation center in Gaborone to add to the four that 
already exist in Molepolole, Gaborone Village, Selibe Phikwe 
and Francistown.  The Minister added that the electric fence 
between Botswana and Zimbabwe used to keep out animals with 
foot and mouth disease, which he says is widespread in 
animals in Zimbabwe, was still being crossed by many people 
desperate to leave Zimbabwe. 
 
NOLAN