Botswana Inaugurates New President as Ian Khama Steps Down

Botswana has inaugurated Mokgweetsi Masisi as its fifth president following the resignation of Ian Khama who stepped down after his 10 year term was reached.

The inauguration ceremony of Masisi which was held on Sunday highlighted a smooth transition of power in as far as democracy is concerned.

In his speech, the new president vowed to focus to end unemployment which stands at 20 percent in Botswana right now.

“Botswana faces a myriad of challenges, such as unemployment, poverty, crime, HIV/AIDs, alcohol and drug abuse, amongst others,” he said.

“Therefore, my top priorities as a president of this country will be to address the problem of unemployment, especially among the young people who constitute the majority of our population.”

Masisi has 18 months to assert his authority within the ruling Democratic Party before national elections in October 2019 which will define whether he will proceed to rule Botswana or not.

Botswana has enjoyed strong economic growth and a stable multi-party system since gaining independence from the UK just over 50 years ago.