Former SADC diplomat is Specially Elected MP
I did not see this nomination coming, I am honoured - Gofhamodimo
Parliament has endorsed former SADC diplomat and Sustainable Development Goals Project Manager at UNDP Botswana, Boitumelo Sendy Gofhamodimo as the new Specially- Elected Member of Parliament.
At the time of going to press and in line with Parliamentary procedures, Gofhamodimo was to be sworn in yesterday ( Thursday) where she would also be offered seating place after the Speaker has consulted with Parliament.
The towering Gof - hamodimo was the only nominee of President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi and his ruling Botswana Democratic Party ( BDP) since the Opposition did not submit a name.
In fact, as if it was arranged, the Botswana Congress Party duo of President Dumelang Saleshando, Secretary General, Goretetse Kekgonegile did not take part in the proceedings. Saleshando abstained, while Kekgonegile declined to take part.
Gofhamodimo came to Parliament accompanied by her elder sister Dintle Gofhamodimo, family friend Thabologo Nchinge and her two sisters- in- law who are siblings to her husband, Ambassador Thomas Dipowe. She was voted in by 34 Members, no one opposed. There were two spoiled votes, 11 absentees, while one Member declined to vote.
Gofhamodimo is a native of Kanye and Nata with her father coming from Kanye and mother from Nata. The emotional Gofhamodimo said she feels honoured because there are so many other deserving candidates or Batswana, women included.
“But I feel very honoured that it has been me that has been nominated,” she said, adding that the nomination is an expression of “confidence in me that I can deliver and contribute to the nation of Botswana.
“I think with the experience that I have acquired both in the civil service locally and also serving internationally, I can contribute much to the development of this country,” she said.
Gofhamodimo is an economist by training and has served in various capacities as an economist in government, in SADC and other institutions like the UNDP.
“I have acquired a lot of experience generally about development. I think what is really important is using my experience to help take this country forward looking at the goals and aspirations that are set out.”
Gofhamodimo has worked for the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Wildlife and Tourism ( Botswana) from May 1986 to March 2004, initially focusing on the development and promotion of small, medium and micro enterprises through entrepreneurship development, training, financial assistance, marketing and promotion of the Buy Botswana Campaign.
She rose to the position of Deputy Director in the Department of Industrial Affairs and later, Director in the Department of International Trade, at which levels, she focussed mainly on strategic management, planning and performance management; industrial and trade policy development, analysis and review as well as trade negotiations.
In 2002 Gofhamodimo joined the SADC Secretariat on secondment where she served as Chief Technical Advisor for the SADC – EU Economic Partnership Agreement ( EPA) negotiations.
She became the Director responsible for the Directorate of Trade Industry Finance and Investment ( TIFI) at the SADC Secretariat, where she provided advice on a wide variety of issues including regional and multilateral trade negotiations, implementation of the SADC Free Trade Area, the SADC Finance and Investment landscapes and spearheaded several initiatives pertaining to regional economic integration in SADC, including the operationalisation of the SADC Project Preparation and Development Facility; the SADC Integrated Regional Electronic Settlement System and the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap.
At some stage she was a freelance Consultant on international trade policy and Industrialisation, mainly at regional level, as well as affiliated to the Southern Africa Trust as a Research Fellow and a registered scholar on Global Value Chains with the Duke University Centre for Global Value Chains.
Gofhamodimo is well read with a Masters and Bachelor’s Degrees in Economics from the University of Botswana.
At UNDP Botswana she was SDGs project manager. Gofhamodimo also served on the SADCAS Board of Directors as the Director Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment ( TIFI) at the SADC Secretariat and was appointed to the Board in August 2012 to represent the SADC Secretariat.