♪ ♪ ♪ >> His Excellency, Kitso Mokaila, ambassador of Botswana to the United States, next on "The Chavis Chronicles."

>> Major funding for "The Chavis Chronicles" is provided by the following... At Wells Fargo, we are committed to diversity and understand our responsibility in supporting and empowering diverse communities.

Diversity and inclusion is integral to the way we work.

Supporting the financial health of our diverse customers and employees is one of the many ways we remain invested in inclusion for all, today, tomorrow, and in the future.

American Petroleum Institute -- through the core elements of API's Energy Excellence Program, our members are committed to accelerating safety, environmental and sustainability progress throughout the natural-gas and oil industry in the U.S. and around the world.

You can learn more at api.org/apiEnergyExcellence.

Reynolds American, dedicated to building a better tomorrow for our employees and communities.

Reynolds stands against racism and discrimination in all forms and is committed to building a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

At AARP, we are committed to empowering people to choose how they live as they age.

♪ ♪ >> We're very honored to have a very special guest, the honorable ambassador Mokaila from Botswana.

Ambassador, welcome to "The Chavis Chronicles."

>> Thank you very much.

Thank you for having me here.

>> Tell us something about your journey.

Before being ambassador, you were from Botswana.

And just tell us a little something about the country of Botswana.

>> This was the most unlikely journey.

Not planned by myself, just planned by fate.

I never saw myself being an ambassador.

I never saw myself being in cabinet.

I just wanted to be an engineer.

When I left high school, that's all I wanted to do.

So I was on the defense force who then created an engineer out of me.

>> Great.

>> And after the army, I find myself in the private sector.

And it was during that time when I was in the private sector that a local area MP, what they call a member of parliament, asked me to attend a meeting.

And in this meeting there was an election of the chairman of the particular constituency, and I won the election without even contesting.

So that set me into politics.

As soon as I got into politics in 2004, when I was elected to parliament, I became the Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism.

From then I moved on to the next portfolio, just minerals, energy and water.

And the final portfolio was transport and communication.

>> Very good.

>> Then I decided that it was time to retire from politics and to sit down.

And as I sat down to enjoy my freedom, I got a call from the president.

He said, "We can't let all that experience go to waste.

I'd like you to go to Washington."

>> Who's the current president of Botswana?

>> He is Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi.

He's the fifth president of the Republic of Botswana.

As you know, Botswana constitutionally holds elections every five years.

And since our independence, we have consistently held elections every five year.

>> First got your independence from Great Britain in the 1960s.

>> Yes.

>> From your perspective, what has been the strength of democracy in Botswana?

>> Our culture of consultation.

In Botswana, our best battles are discussed publicly.

And we solve all our problems through consultation, and therefore our system is exactly what created our democracy.

We have what we call the Kgotla.

The Kgotla is what you probably call your town hall.

>> Yes.

>> But this is where all people meet in a particular village and can have any opinion and share any opinion in that meeting, and every opinion will be accommodated.

At the end of the meeting, there will be consensus.

So that is the strength of our democracy.

That's how it was founded in making sure that we consulted each other and we resolved everything in peaceful means.

>> You mentioned that there are different tribes in Botswana as there are different tribes in many of the African nations.

So have you been able to have this solidarity in Botswana, even between different tribes?

>> I would say two things.

One, the way we were poor in the beginning brought us all together.

>> All together.

>> It brought us all together to survive.

The common cause was survival.

And the second thing is just culturally, as I said.

We believe in solving any disagreement through consultation.

>> So all tribes are -- nobody is prevented from going to the consultations because they're from a different tribe?

>> Not at all.

Not at all.

We are one.

We are truly one.

We are not homogeneous as a tribe, but we are one in terms of purpose for the country, Botswana.

>> Well, you know, having a strong democracy now has led to you having one of the strongest economies in the whole continent of Africa.

Talk to us about how you've been able to sustain a positive economy.

>> Ah, this one is an interesting one.

After independence, we are one of the 24 poorest countries in the world.

So everything that you see in Botswana today is because of the prudent way we used our diamond revenues for education, for infrastructure, for anything you see -- health is because of that, and because we are so few then, there was very little corruption.

The rule of law and the respect for human rights, that is what saw Botswana through.

>> Talk to us about how important the global diamond industry is to the present and to the future of Botswana.

>> I don't think people understand that Botswana's being was because of diamond.

If you take diamonds out of our economy, Botswana is a very, very poor country.

But because of the foresight of our forefathers, diamond revenues were the driver of our economy.

Every walk of Botswana's life has been touched by diamonds -- natural diamonds, for that matter.

>> Yes.

>> The localities where they have been found or mined, all those villages have been transformed into hubs of activity, economic activity.

Lives have been transformed.

So our diamonds for us are the most precious thing to the economy of Botswana.

>> I think it was in 2007, I had a talk with the honorable Nelson Mandela, and he talked about how important it was for the rest of the world to know about the good that diamonds do in Botswana and South Africa and Angola, all the diamond producing countries.

What do you see how diamonds have helped, say, health care in Botswana?

>> Botswana is the size of Texas, with a population of 2.3 million people.

And therefore we are generally widely dispersed.

>> So you don't have a population problem?

>> No, not -- no.

We need to grow it.

But because of our ability to put clinics, health posts everywhere in the country within reach of every citizen of the country, that, to me, demonstrates what diamond has done for our people.

Health is one of the most critical things for any growing economy.

A healthy society then breeds a healthy economy, I would say.

Then an educated society breeds a healthy economy as well.

And therefore our diamonds are used for health care, used for education, used for structure, developed the Botswana that you see today.

>> Well, I've been to your capital city, and I was very impressed.

It's a very modern city -- infrastructure, hospitality.

When I was there, I visited the University of Botswana, and I was very pleased you had one of the largest libraries in the whole continent of Africa.

So tell me how you put a priority on education in Botswana.

>> Education from the beginning in Botswana was free to all.

Funded by diamonds.

I'll keep -- >> Free education?

>> Free education.

Remember I told you, we are one of the poorest countries in the world.

There were only four graduates at independence.

Therefore, government prioritized educating its people because this is an inheritance that nobody can take from you, being educated.

>> Yes.

>> Therefore, government invested in schools, in the university.

And the story of the University of Botswana is a very interesting one because Botswana initially had a tripartite agreement with Lesotho and Swaziland to have a university that was shared with different campuses in the three countries called University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.

>> Interesting.

>> That was the original part of -- that's how the Botswana University started.

Then, with time, the government decided that it's time to have our own university and asked every Botswanan to donate a beast, a cow.

So every Botswanan donated.

And that started the University of Botswana out of the people, the citizens donating to government because it was a poor government as you -- to invest in education because we understood that education is fundamental to economic prosperity.

>> Talk about the growing financial services sector in Botswana.

>> Yes, and you come from -- you know a lot about diamonds.

Some time back, I think it was in 2014 thereabout, we caused for diamond sales to be made all from Botswana, of our diamonds.

>> So De Beers moved its headquarters from London -- >> To Botswana.

>> To Botswana.

That's a major -- Was a global, one of the largest global companies in the world moved its corporate headquarters from Europe to Africa.

>> And as it should have been from the beginning, you know.

That I think triggered something within the financial services, because now all these mining companies, all these diamondtiers traveling to Botswana started to excite the economy.

People started to see Africa in a different light, that actually it can happen and can be done with absolute honesty, transparency.

And it is normal.

It is just like being in Europe.

And it also helped our tourism sector because all these diamondtiers that come to Botswana also started to see the delta.

They started to visit places, so it triggered a buoyancy within the economy.

So our financial services are backed on the fact that Botswana is now seen to be a safe place to invest in, stable government, transparent government.

Low corruption.

All these things have triggered what you're talking about.

>> Tell us about the performing arts and your national or international troupe that travels and performs throughout the world.

>> You know, performing arts tell a story about the culture of a country.

Those performances are based on telling storytelling, and every culture in Botswana, because we have different tribes, therefore different cultures, have their own special dance that we put on stage.

So what we believe in sharing the Botswana story is allowing these different troupes to travel the world, to share the Botswana story in the best way they know, which is dance and song.

>> But Botswana is also known for its tourism.

>> Yes.

>> Talk about that.

>> After minerals, the tourism sector is the second largest revenue for the economy.

It's a wildlife-based tourism.

And we are blessed to have the Okavango Delta, the 1,000th UNESCO Heritage Site.

It's an Eden of beauty when it comes to fauna and flora.

It just -- >> Just natural beauty.

>> Absolute natural beauty, free-ranging wildlife.

No fences.

They are there in their natural habitat.

And that, I think, is a big attraction.

Secondly, because our people know how to coexist with the environment, our policy of low volume, high value.

We found that to be more sustainable.

It means that we first make sure that our ecology can continue to sustainably exist, and our people then also can sustainably exist from their natural resources.

>> This debate about climate change, this debate about the relationship between climate change and the economies, world economies -- you know, there are some who deny science, who deny empirical data.

And sometimes geopolitics affords countries not to make the best decisions because it's not based on science.

>> That is the sadness of life today.

But I can assure you that in the Republic of Botswana, we take climate change very seriously.

We are affected by climate change already.

You'll know that temperatures and seasons have changed in Botswana to the detriment of the economy, i.e.

our harvesting seasons have moved, our plowing seasons have shortened, and therefore we have had to rely on science in terms of what to plant when, to ensure that, within the little window we have, we can produce food for our people.

So we are great believers in climate change.

We are great believers in science.

>> Is your currency still referred to as "puri"?

>> Pula.

>> Pula.

>> Yes.

>> And it means "raindrop"?

>> Yeah.

Rain.

>> Explain how vital rain is to Botswana.

>> Botswana is a water-scarce country, largely a desert with very minimal rainfall, especially in the larger part of the country down the south.

And therefore, water is life for us.

Water means agriculture.

Water means livestock.

Water means people living.

It means life.

Therefore, Pula just keeps reminding us what we require to ensure that we sustain our economy, we sustain our people.

>> All right, so you have -- compared to the dollar, the Pula is very strong.

>> Well, not compared to the dollar.

We are, I think 1 to 10 or 1 to 11 right now.

But it's one of the better currencies on the continent of Africa, yes.

>> And let's just talk about how the government invested in the people when it was a very poor country, and as a country that is generating wealth, how is that distributed to the youngest member of the Botswana population?

>> Well, because Botswana is a very small economy, we are unable to create all the jobs that we should to accommodate our young people.

But what we decided is that when the digital transformation direction -- We've got a very educated workforce.

Our youth are educated.

Botswana government, the Botswana country has a literacy rate of 88%.

>> That's very high.

88%?

>> 88%, and our population is a very young one.

So what government is doing is seeing how we can ensure that it is the youth that are driving economic growth so that the exploitation of 4IR, fourth industrial revolution, converting all government systems into digital, into electronic is giving opportunity to the youth.

And this is why, as ambassador sitting in Washington, these are the opportunities I am looking for, for our youth to get employed, whether in Botswana or whether we export them anywhere else, is an option.

>> I know that you have certain scholarship programs -- I've seen Botswana's students in some of the major universities all over the world -- on the condition that they come back to the economy.

As you know, in some African nations, there is what's called a brain drain, where the most gifted, the most talented leave the continent and go to other places.

How are you able to retain the genius that's so natural to Botswana?

>> It's a challenge.

Let me first admit it's a challenge.

But because Botswana are so loyal to their country, they do come back.

And I can prove that as many Botswana have gone abroad on government scholarships and have come back.

But obviously, as time passes, you learn that they may be more productive elsewhere and still have an impact on the economy.

You know, so part of the strategy going forward is how do we place Botswana everywhere in the world.

The remittances they send home themselves make a large difference.

And secondly, eventually, with all the experience that they gain abroad, they come home.

They set up specialist businesses to help the economy grow.

>> So there's an entrepreneurial spirit among the youth of Botswana.

>> Absolutely.

They are very enterprising, and they are fearless.

>> How do you see the future of Africa?

>> I see the future of Africa in us doing some serious introspection.

I think COVID has demonstrated that globalization is probably not the best remedy for all our problems.

The war in Ukraine has also demonstrated that food shortages because of what is happening there, fuel prices.

And therefore, when I call for introspection, it's about having all the minerals on the continent of Africa.

What is it that we can do together as a continent to better our lives or for the lives of Africans?

So I see a future where there is more discussion amongst African countries about collaborations and working together.

The Africa Trade Week Agreement that this is coming off -- taking off right now is a very good start to that.

I think in itself -- >> And that's an African initiative.

>> That's an African initiative.

In itself it's going to generate a lot of business for Africa amongst Africans, because I think that is what has been lacking.

>> Right.

You know, under the prior Trump administration, he had some very negative, disparaging comments about African nations.

Do you see the current administration at least contributing to the development?

>> You talked earlier about climate change.

You know that Africa is generally not an emitter.

>> Right.

>> We are probably a net sink compared to the developed world.

>> Right.

You're not contributing to the -- >> To the pollution.

>> To the emissions.

>> Yes.

And, therefore, what is fundamental is that adapting to the climate change itself comes at a great cost.

While we accept that climate change exists, it means we should shift our national priorities to deal with the effects of climate change that we did not cause.

Where I see the world's or the developed world's role to play is in mitigating this cost for us so that our development trajectory is not stunted.

Because obviously we have other national priorities.

We have infrastructure shortages, we have school shortages, we've got health shortages, but now with this added responsibility, it detracts from what we would otherwise be doing to develop our economies.

So this is why we always talk about how do we help each other.

Because you have got to have a point in life where your economies are solid in the running.

We are still trying to get there.

So what the role I see the world playing is assisting countries deal with the consequences of climate change.

>> What is your parting message to the American public about what the Republic of Botswana has to offer, not only to Africa, but for the entire world?

>> Botswana, at least that I can talk with absolute authority, has a lot to offer to the American population.

And America has a lot to offer to Botswana.

Just to make a point -- for our people to co-exist with wildlife, they must make sacrifices.

So every tourist that actually comes to Botswana, it means it improves the lives of these people that make these sacrifices.

So I would want to encourage the American society to travel to Botswana, to go see the rule of law, to see our values, the values that we share with America -- governance, rule of law, freedom of speech, human rights, all in action.

Life on the African continent.

>> The honorable ambassador of Botswana to the United States.

Thank you so much for joining "The Chavis Chronicles."

>> Thank you very much for having me here.

>> For more information about "The Chavis Chronicles" and our guests, please visit our website at TheChavisChronicles.com.

Also, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Major funding for "The Chavis Chronicles" is provided by the following... At Wells Fargo, we are committed to diversity and understand our responsibility in supporting and empowering diverse communities.

Diversity and inclusion is integral to the way we work.

Supporting the financial health of our diverse customers and employees is one of the many ways we remain invested in inclusion for all, today, tomorrow, and in the future.

American Petroleum Institute -- through the core elements of API's Energy Excellence Program, our members are committed to accelerating safety, environmental and sustainability progress throughout the natural-gas and oil industry in the U.S. and around the world.

You can learn more at api.org/apiEnergyExcellence.

Reynolds American, dedicated to building a better tomorrow for our employees and communities.

Reynolds stands against racism and discrimination in all forms and is committed to building a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

At AARP, we are committed to empowering people to choose how they live as they age.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪