Dramatic session of the 11th Parliament
Dithapelo Keorapetse | Friday December 19, 2014 10:47
It was a hectic sitting for Members of Parliament who started work almost straight from the campaigns. Most MPs have now acclimatised to the new conditions including the decorum in the house, rules and procedures.
The 11th Parliament is somewhat different from previous ones in its demographics. It is relatively youthful with young MPs from both sides of the aisle, the youngest being 32-years- old. It also has elders including the Mother of the House and a few others. Furthermore, while the previous one only had a woman opposition MP towards the end of its life, this Parliament started with a woman MP in the opposition. Women are still not adequately represented in the house. Research has shown that Parliament of Botswana is one of the few that changes MPs after every election.
The 11th Parliament’s nomenclature is instructive; it has many new MPs especially on the opposition side. Moreover, this parliament is relatively educated with some MPs with PhDs, Masters Degrees, diplomas and certificates and with experiences in civil society, media, academia, law, engineering and agriculture among others. The ruling party has a fairly strong front bench and a very weak backbench in terms of, profundity and or comprehension and articulation of issues. There is and will be little assistance from the backbench to the opposition in holding the government accountable. The few good ruling party MPs who are better, are stifled by the tones set by the front bench, party caucus and maybe the hope of graduating to the front bench as ministers or assistants.
Parliamentary Committees were selected and the ruling party got the lion share in terms of representation and chairmanship of committees. Out of 23 committees, the ruling party is set to chair 21 and the opposition a paltry 2 committees including the Public Accounts Committee and Health. BDP MPs are the majority in all the committees notwithstanding their low numbers in the backbench, the only ones eligible for selection into committees. The committees’ debacle continues with the hope of amicably resolving the issue. The reasons advanced that the ruling party is the majority and therefore should dominate committees is illogical for several reasons. For MPs eligible for selection into committees the ruling party is in the minority.
Secondly, the ruling party has lost the popular vote, having secured about 47% only. Moreover, parliamentary oversight of the executive requires equitable selection into committees and that opposition MPs chair strategic and or important committees to hold the ruling party and government accountable. As Junenal has asked “Quis custodiet ipsos custodies” or “who will guard the guardians” if the ruling party insists on its purported right to dominate committees.
There won’t be effective and adequate oversight of Parliament on the executive arm if nothing changes. The opposition walk out of the General Assembly and not Parliament as some have misinterpreting sought to send a message to ruling party that it is not business as usual for them. Even assuming that opposition MPs walked out of Parliament in protest, it is normal in the Westminster type of system where in some countries there is even a door used for the purpose.
It has been a productive 1st session; with two Bills passed-Botswana Stock Exchange (Transition) Bill 2014 (Bill No. 25 of 2014) and Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2014 (Bill No.24 of 2014). The later Bill is important in that some basic commodities will be VAT exempted and ideally consumers stand to benefit when buying basic items.
The list of exempted items, it has been argued in the house, has to be periodically reviewed and extensive consultation of key stakeholders like trade unions, BOCCIM, NGOs etc has to be done. It has also been contended that there is a need to review and remove hidden taxes which further erode the purchasing power of Batswana.
The Societies Amendment Bill has been deferred by the Labour and Home Affairs Minister. Parliament has also approved the Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure from the Consolidated and Development Funds contained in Financial Paper No.2 of 2014/2015. The motion on the Extension of the National Development Plan 10 by one year was adopted. Three themes were discussed and numerous motions deferred. It is obvious that this is going to be an interesting Parliament for the next five years. I wish the reader a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2015. May the God Almighty richly bless you.