Staff Reporter<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Security, which assessed the security situation along the border of Namibia and Botswana, has released a report today in which it found that Namibians in the Zambezi region live in fear and intimidation from the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), with a total of 37 Namibians killed by BDF soldiers since 1990.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report further found that villagers in the area find it too risky to do activities such as fishing, grazing their livestock, and reed cutting due to intimidation from the BDF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to this, the parliamentary committee discovered that the Boundary Treaty of 2018 signed between Botswana and Namibia is yet to be formalized. The committee said this is due to the fact that the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation has not yet deposited the instruments of ratification to the UN, required for the treaty to become enforceable, whereas Botswana seems to have started with the implementation of the treaty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, the delimitation and demarcation of the Kazungula Tri-Point for the two countries, including Zambia (Namibia, Botswana), is also not yet done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was said by the Chairperson of the Defense and Security Committee, Leevi Katoma, who said that harassment and shootings of the communities living along the Chobe River have reached a critical stage where intervention to find a lasting solution is paramount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The shooting of the three Nchindo brothers and their Zambian cousin on 5 November 2020, suspected to be poachers, attracted a public outcry for the government to address the situation to avoid further loss of lives. Since independence, cases of such incidents have been experienced on many occasions despite Namibia and Botswana having signed a Boundary Treaty in 2018. The Treaty, however, is being disputed by all four Traditional Authorities in the region, who claim to have not been consulted prior to signing the Treaty,” Katoma said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chairperson also said that it was briefed by members of the Namibia Defence Force on the security situation in the region. He noted that the Commanding Officer of Battalion 262 informed the Committee that the Namibia Defence Force (NDF) enjoys a calm and monitored relationship with neighbouring Botswana. “Apart from a minimal number of poaching incidents recorded, only theft cases are on the rampage from neighbouring Zambia,” the NDF commander said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Parliamentary Committee chairperson, Katoma, however, added that despite claims from the NDF, soldiers are not deployed among the community but in areas identified by Traditional Leaders and dictated by the terrain. “According to international laws, deployment of soldiers along a border is a declaration of war. Since Namibia is not at war with Botswana, soldiers cannot be deployed along the river, contrary to what Botswana is doing. Botswana, having deployed their soldiers along the river, is in violation of international laws,” Katoma said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Giving recommendations on the matter, he said that the head of State is being implored to address the Zambezi security issue through the Namibia-Botswana Joint Commission to alleviate security fears of residents living along the borderline. He also advised the Office of the Surveyor General under the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform to ensure that all fading and non-existent beacons are replaced to ensure visibility and limit illegal border crossings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As community lives in fear of border treaty with Botswana not legally enforced Staff Reporter THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Security, which assessed the security situation along the border of Namibia and Botswana, has released a report today in which it found that Namibians in the Zambezi region live in fear …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":352788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-352787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n