## 4.4 COLLABORATION WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS 

According to the report on the review of the FMD strategies in Botswana by the Department of Veterinary Services in collaboration with the Botswana National Vaccine Institute (June 2012), “There is a need to develop participatory diseases control guidelines, in order to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder. This will enhance and strengthen their contribution towards effective management of livestock diseases particularly FMD.” 

However, document review and interviews with staff revealed that the DVS had not developed a clear guide on how DVS personnel particularly at district level were to collaborate with important stakeholders in disease control. For instance, the Botswana Police Service and the Botswana Defence Force deployed officers to patrol fences along the Botswana Zimbabwe border line in the Zone 6 and 7 areas. Those fences doubled as disease control fences and border fence and were constructed by the DVS. However, there was no documentary evidence of a formal agreement for the two security organs to share information with the DVS especially that of disease control interest, such as damage to the fence and cattle incursions. There was also no documentary evidence of formal agreement for collaboration in resource utilisation, particularly transport, despite the DVS’ transport challenges at district level. Options like joint vehicle patrols between the DVS and the Security Officers deployed along the border fence as well as transporting of DVS fence maintenance personnel could be facilitated by such collaborative agreements. 

Furthermore, despite animals particularly elephants and buffaloes creating significant challenges in the control of FMD, it transpired from interviews with management that the Department had not yet devised formal inter-ministerial coordination structures for collaboration between the DVS and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) with an aim to ensure sustainable harmony of wildlife conservation with livestock production. In addition, it 

