Interview of Inspector Goitsemang (Botswana)

Please say a few words about “who you were” in your professional life before joining the JIU?

I think it would be apt to say that I am a ‘career diplomat’, having served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Botswana for a continuous period of 25 years. I have held various leadership positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, five years of which I was the Executive Head (Permanent Secretary) of the Ministry. As a diplomat, I have had an opportunity to serve abroad at the Botswana Diplomatic Missions in Sweden, Zambia and Nigeria. I am also well versed with the workings of the United Nations, having attended the UN General Assembly Sessions on various occasions. Some of the special assignments I have undertaken, include the setting-up of the Botswana Diplomatic Missions in Nigeria (2007) and Kuwait (2010), as well as the setting-up of the new Ministry of Justice in May 2022.

In April 2021, I was redeployed to the Ministry of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development as the Executive Head of the Ministry. In May 2022, following the rationalization of the Government Portfolios, I was transferred to the new Ministry of Justice as the first Executive Head of the Ministry. The various positions I have held over the years, coupled with my academic qualifications have equipped me with vast experience and knowledge in diplomacy and international relations, international law, employment and labour issues, strategic management, issues of productivity and work ethics, governance, and financial and human resource management, as well as leadership.

What about the JIU do you find most attractive in terms of its role in the UN system and the value it can add?

I find the JIU most attractive as it occupies a unique position in the United Nations system as the only independent external oversight body tasked with a huge responsibility of conducting evaluations, inspection and investigations system wide. Given its unique mandate, JIU is therefore strategically positioned to play a vanguard role in promoting efficiency, effectiveness, accountability and prudent utilizations of financial and human resource within the United Nations system. In a nutshell, the JIU can directly address cross-cutting issues and effect positive and productive change in the UN system.

Given my wealth of experience, I am therefore pleased that my appointment as an Inspector will enable me to contribute meaningfully to the advancement of the global agenda for sustainable development through my JIU reports and the recommendations elicited therein.

When the opportunity arises, what subjects would you like to work on during your tenure at the JIU?

The issues that are closest to my heart are those aimed at enhancing efficiency and effectiveness, effective coordination and collaboration, management and administration, and promoting governance principles. I subscribe to the philosophy that it is only through effective institutional framework founded on governance ethos and inter-agency coordination that organizations can effectively deliver on their set mandate. Essentially, I am ready to work on the management and administration reviews of single mandate organizations and system wide reviews.

Let me take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to the JIU Secretariat and fellow Inspectors for the warm reception they have extended to me as well as the detailed and informative briefing they have given me about the mandate of JIU and its operations.