The recent tussle in Parliament between the Honourable Dr. Butale and the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Kagiso Molatlhegi, points to a dire need to deepen our society’s democratic culture, starting with Parliament. The need for collective self- governance remains high in a time of several unfortunate crises. The power and water crisis hasn’t been different, looking at how Batswana were so accommodative, as if it’s a normal thing to accept and move on. Dr. Butale, whether he was acting within the limits of procedure or not, brought a glimmer of hope in changing that perception.
In fact, levels of public interest are now sufficiently high, exemplifed by how media publications and social media have been running endless threads on the issue. We know the facts as they happen. We now tune into Parliament with the reporters who have been seconded there. In that kind of context, it is the search for meaning, or backstories to surprising or interesting events, like the Butale incident, that become more important reading, listening or viewing within minutes of it happening. I guess that’s our version ‘Parliament live’.
