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 The Botswana National Front (BNF) MP said Khama gets a salary of about P35,000 and a pension package from his former army job and must not joke over serious issues. "Khama who has access to all the state resources does not have any experience of how we suffer to access the villages in our constituencies," said Mabiletsa. He added that MPs get low salaries from which they have to pay for fuel and all they need to effectively discharge their duties. "We literally have to go around calling people for Kgotla meetings when the VP does nothing," he pointed out. Mabiletsa asserted that councillors are paid peanuts. "Out there, they act like ambulances and do everything to help the electorate while they earn as little as P6,000," he said. He said in 1998, a salaries commission chaired by cabinet Minister Mompati Merafhe was set up to look into the pay of politicians. Its findings among others were that politicians in Botswana are poorly remunerated. "Politicians do not want to enrich themselves. All they want is to have the ability to serve people who elected them effectively and efficiently." He said Parliament should not only attract retirees but professionals. He said this can be done by improving the conditions of MPs. He emphasised that MPs have power to swing things in their favour in the salaries controversy, but they will settle for an independent body to look into their conditions of service with a view to enhancing them. Mabiletsa's BNF colleague, Calvin Batsile of Kanye North echoed similar sentiments. "The truth is that the salary that I get is not comparable to what I do as an MP. By the way, I was once a councillor and I know the pains of having to traverse the length and breath of a constituency," he said. He argued that his constituency allowance is too little given the challenges he faces. "Fuel prices are on the rise and everything else while our salaries are expected to remain stagnant. Otherwise, we will fail to deliver and we will be ditched by the constituents." He said his pay package as an MP is not comparable with his other colleagues from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. "Even in the poorest of the poor countries like Zambia, legislators are well remunerated." He said what the VP said in Parliament was totally out of line. He said Khama is trying to present himself as a better politician before the civil servants. He said that since he was elected in 2004, it was his first time to hear Khama speak in Parliament. "Our constituents want to see their leaders with beaming faces rather than sad faces. Ke mang yoo ka batlang moemedi yoo wetseng ditlhaa (Who would vote for a very thin MP)," he joked. Batsile called for a total restructuring of salaries for politicians, which he suggests should be done by an independent body from Parliament. "Other MPs are saying that previous research reflects that the salaries for legislators in Botswana are low," Botswana Congress Party (BCP) MP for Gaborone Central, Dumelang Saleshando told Mmegi yesterday. Saleshando who treaded carefully pointed out that other sectors also need their salaries to be restructured, like the medical profession. "The situation could be that may be the entire workforce is lowly paid. I am also asking myself if we really have powers to adjudicate over an issue that we have vested interests in. Instead, there should be a body to look into this issue independently," said Saleshando. Labour and Home Affairs Minister, Moeng Pheto said it is never good for one to speak for himself/herself, as it may not reflect a person in good light. He however agreed that it is a fact in the region that Botswana legislators are poorly remunerated. "An ordinary MP in South Africa is paid almost like a Botswana minister. Their travel allowance is a bit more than what the locals are given as it accommodates even the spouses. I agree with modesty, but it should be done to a certain level." He acknowledged that at the end of the day, they try hard to survive to serve their constituents at a higher cost. In the rural constituencies, he said, everybody looks up to the area MP for assistance. He doubted if the public has really been informed that the issue under discussion is the eight percent salary adjustment that has been awarded to the civil servants. "We have already recommended the salary increases for the civil servants. In future, it will not send a wrong message by recommending that the salaries and allowances of politicians be done at the same time with the civil servants." Mahalapye East MP and ruling Botswana Democratic Party Chief Whip, Botlogile Tshireletso said as a member of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, she has consulted and found out that Botswana MPs are poorly paid. She differed with Khama and said that there is a need to make proper adjustments. "Even a small country like Swaziland has been rewarding MPs accordingly. Something has got to be done," said Tshireletso. She promised that she would not keep silent about the issue when it is debated in Parliament. "It will be an opportunity for us to talk this issue. If Parliament pays MPs well, it will attract the best brains to articulate issues better than the current crop." She said Khama was just commenting as a Serowe North West MP and that was not the final position of government. "We will have to speak for ourselves as there is no one who can speak on our behalf. We will merely be articulating our needs and nothing else." She stressed that if Parliament pays peanuts, it will attract monkeys. Francistown South MP, Khumongwana Maoto said that what they are saying is that the eight percent salary increase for MPs is low. He said the life former MPs are leading proves that parliamentarians are lowly paid. He said politicians must be well paid so that they can stay away from corrupt practices like it is common in other countries. "They must live exemplary lives as they do not have a pension package at the end of their term in office." He said the status of an MP must be elevated so that Parliament can attract better brains. Botswana Federation of Secondary School Teachers (BOFESETE) president, Eric Ditau has a different view altogether. What he reads from Khama's statement is that the VP is a man bent on stopping selfishness from the MPs. "It is a pity that the legislators want to serve their interests and forget about the interests of the nation. When it comes to their interests, they don't look at the performance of the economy," said Ditau. He said legislators were supposed to be the custodians of the national cake and now they serve their interests. "They better leave this issue to the people who understand their needs." Nursing Association of Botswana (NAB) president, Joyce Tamocha hailed Khama as a fair leader. "We will be happy if there could be a salaries review commission that is generally encompassing and not only targeting politicians. Right now, we are grappling with the exodus of nurses in search of greener pastures abroad as their local conditions of services are not conducive." Tamocha wondered why MPs should be given priority over nurses who provide an essential service to the nation.
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