Shame of the honourables
Mmegi Editor | Thursday April 10, 2014 10:49
Only five MPs briefly debated the bill. This lot either expressed ignorance on what the bill is about or sought to be enlightened about it at some obscure point in future. And yet they still passed it into law! One legislator was quoted as saying the average MP would have difficulty understanding the issues in the bill. While he did not disagree with the minister moving the bill, he was constrained from making a meaningful contribution to the debate. For the record, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Bill Number 25 of 2013 was meant to provide legal recognition of already existing electronic transactions which last year were measured at P73 billion, from one avenue alone.
Essentially, the law gives legislative support for transactions such as Electronic Fund Transfers, which have become the main settlement system for government, corporates and individuals in the paperless financial era. Think swiping and bank transfers. Through the law, electronic information is given the same evidentiary weight as written information, which is essential for certain legal processes and for the support of commercial practices. More critically for Batswana, the law provides for consumer protection, online marketing and the liability of service providers, together with provisos such as offences, penalties and others.
It is thus an essential piece of legislation in an era in which the financial system and the economy as a whole is increasingly becoming paperless. It will make the economy integrate better into the regional and global financial systems, ensuring efficiency, accountability and transparency.
No one expects our legislators to be Jacks-of-all-Trades. They are not even expected to be financially literate. Their constitutional role is to fully represent their electorate at national governance level to the best of their ability for the protection of basic rights and furtherance of human aspiration.
It is in recognition of this that the National Assembly has a carefully detailed process for the enactment of laws. Ministers do not simply walk in on a particular day and bamboozle the House into approving something whose meaning or impact they do not know. From its first tabling to first reading, MPs had ample time to request the minister to explain to them what it is they were being asked to consider. Even at Tuesday’s second and third reading, they had the option of deferring their vote and asking for experts to be brought in to explain the bill to them.
Instead, all 47 clauses of the bill sailed through without amendments during all readings and it now awaits the President’s signature to become law. It is a sad irony that this faux pas is quite timely as it will give voters a glimpse into the calibre of the characters they are entrusting their livelihoods with. It is also a window of enlightenment into the difference between what an elected representative says at the Freedom Square and what they actually do when in the National Assembly.
Today’s thought
“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”
-Abraham Lincoln