Phenyo Butale

Phenyo Butale is a Motswana politician who serves as a member of parliament for Gaborone Central. He is a member of Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). Mr Butale is a Minister of International Relations. Quotes “This civil imprisonment is a stupid remedy for debtors,” “I believe that the government should abolish it because it abuses people who are already suffering economically." “How can we imprison a person who has already shown that they are struggling financially and are genuinely failing to pay?" “Why are we imprisoning impoverished people yet on the other hand are dragging our feet to prosecute those who swindled the government?” “The government is already struggling to take care of its people, yet we are increasing its responsibility by imprisoning defaulters,” “It seems, in our country, poverty is a gateway to prison. This civil imprisonment should totally be scrapped from our judiciary.” “This lack of regulation of deputy sheriffs should be looked into because people who have civil cases are always harassed by these officials,” “In most cases, on Fridays, deputy sheriffs target those with civil cases. They harass and threaten them just because they need money for the weekend.” “Any judiciary process that does not work or serve the people should be transformed,” Dr Butale Calls For Scrapping Civil Imprisonment 16 March 2025 “The EU’s unwavering support and partnership not only enhance bilateral relations, but also contributes to regional stability and prosperity,” “The recent launch of the EU support to digital transformation strategy underscores our shared dedication to transform Botswana as a digital economic hub, as well as enhance our technological capabilities to create opportunities for our youth and entrepreneurs,” EU and Botswana ties key to economic growth - Minister 4 June 2025 "I found the meeting very progressive and the reports very encouraging because they are indicative of China's commitment to a win-win situation in terms of the relations with Africa," "The last 50 years of bilateral relationship were characterized by vast cooperation in many areas, such as human resource development, health, defense, trade and cultural exchanges," "China has indeed made immense contributions to our developmental agenda," "We need to engage in massive infrastructure development and upgrade. So the framework allows us to come up with the infrastructure networks that link us with our neighboring countries and link our cities," "We believe these infrastructure upgrades are necessary for the future." "We need partners like China who do not only theorize about (development) but have walked that route. They know the pitfalls and how not to fail. So we are really optimistic that the next 50 years bring more good deeds forward," "they are properly conceptualized to do that". "We just need countries like Botswana and China to join hands in ensuring that indeed the situation moves in the direction of multilateralism. In the end, it's justice and fairness that prevail." "We can leverage on China's technological advancement to digitize our economy and to ensure that most of the services we provide to our people are provided expeditiously through the technology," Botswana eyes deep, beneficial ties with China 18 June 2025