Ditshwanelo

We, the Negotiating Team, representing the residents of The Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) and comprising members of the CKGR Committee, The First People of the Kalahari (FPK), Kuru Development Trust (KDT), The Working Group on Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA-Botswana), DITSHWANELO - The Botswana Centre for Human Rights and the Botswana Christian Council (BCC), met His Excellency, the President of Botswana, Sir Ketumile Masire, in Gaborone on 24 March 1998.

The meeting followed a request from The Negotiating Team to the President following a communique released after the workshop held at D’Kar on 11-13 February 1998. Despite the tight schedule of the President, we were able to meet him for one (1) hour. As a result, the Negotiating Team sought to achieve an agreement which would establish a framework for negotiation which would lead to a settlement of the land claim by the residents of the CKGR.

The Negotiating Team recognised the symbolism of a meeting held one (1) week before the retirement of the President and a few days before he was due to meet the President of the United States of America, President Clinton. However, the Negotiating Team expressed the hope that the meeting would be more than symbolic in that agreement might be reached concerning the procedure for negotiations.

The Negotiating Team recorded the position of the Government of Botswana, namely; that it intended to relocate the Basarwa out of the CKGR to two (2) resettlement villages (Kaudwane and New Xade), and intended to set aside the CKGR for wildlife and tourism development.

The Negotiating Team also recorded the position of the CKGR residents, namely; that they claim as being of ancestral and legal right, the land within the CKGR which was set aside for them, and the recognition of their right to the ownership of that land. Consequently, the Negotiating Team requested that the President and the Government of Botswana agree on the following framework for negotiation:

that the Negotiating Team led by The First People of the Kalahari, is recognised as the legitimate and authentic representative body of the residents of the CKGR
that the Government of Botswana agree to direct its communications with the CKGR residents through the Negotiating Team through the First People of the Kalahari
that the Government of Botswana agree to give full disclosure of information to the Negotiating Team concerning its removal of residents from the CKGR and
that the parties agree to a timetable for future negotiations.

The President reserved the right of the Government of Botswana to challenge the mandate of the Negotiating Team.

The Negotiating Team believes that this mandate was clearly spelt out in the letter to the former Minister of Local Government, Lands and Housing, The Honourable Minister Balopi, on 8 July 1997. (See attached letter). We believe that the endorsement of the authority of the Negotiating Team by Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) who are the major role players in human and indigenous rights in Botswana, is an acknowledgment of the mandate enjoyed by the Negotiating Team.
The President directed the Negotiating Team to follow the correct procedures by approaching the Ministry of Local Government, Lands and Housing.

The Negotiating Team believes that we have followed these procedures correctly. Despite the Assistant Minister, The Honourable Minister Mokgothu acknowledging, at this meeting, that the Ministry of Local Government, Lands and Housing had received and discussed the letter of 8 July 1997, the Ministry of Local Government, Lands and Housing, has neither formally acknowledged nor responded to the letter. It was only after this Ministry had failed to respond that the Negotiating Team addressed a letter directly to the President on 10 October 1997.

The President nevertheless directed the Ministry to enter into dialogue with the Negotiating Team.
The President agreed with the Negotiating Team that a framework for negotiations ought to be established and a time-schedule during which these were to take place, agreed upon.

The Negotiating Team was greatly encouraged by the receptive audience granted to it. We hope that the meeting marks the beginning of a fruitful dialogue with the leadership of the Government of Botswana.

The Negotiating Team believes that with the correct attitude towards negotiations, a resolution of the land claim by the CKGR residents, for both their benefit and that of the Government of Botswana, may be found.