Political party whips want constitutional review
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday June 25, 2021 15:42
“Winter Parliament will be mostly dealing with Bills. I strongly believe that the Constitutional review should be given priority in the coming Parliament. I hope the Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Kabo Morwaeng will be able to brief Parliament on the issue and progress on the matter. The issue is long overdue and our constituents are asking about it whenever we address Kgotla meetings. People are calling for it and they seem to be very serious about the issue. It is time amendments to the Constitution are done,” the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) chief whip MP Liakat Kablay said in an interview on Tuesday.
He said consultation should start so that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) could begin adjusting and preparing for elections in time if other changes are going to affect the Electoral Act.
The chief whip said changes within the Electoral Act would also force the IEC to teach its stakeholders and the electorate about the new amendments, which process also requires time and money.
Furthermore, Kablay said the new amendments in the Constitution should be aligned with the new norm that is the COVID-19 protocols.
On other issues, the government whip said the winter Parliament should discuss the issue of the high numbers of COVID-19 cases in schools, on how best it could be done because teachers are dying.
“This issue is very serious because teachers are dying week in and out in schools. Cases of COVID-19 are very high because students test positive and some deliberately spread the virus. Something needs to be done in schools and we need to be strategic it,” said Kablay. He added that what is currently happening in schools would also give Parliament a clue on whether to call for a lockdown or not.
He said the high numbers of registered COVID-19 cases are not reflecting well for the country and this calls for the Ministry of Health and Wellness to look for other strategies that could work in the villages.
In addition, Kablay said there is a need for Parliament to extend the State of Public Emergency because COVID-19 is still a threat to the lives of the people.
The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) chief whip, MP Motsamai Motsamai also emphasised that there is a need for the winter Parliament to discuss the review of the Constitution and the responsible ministry must brief people on the progress it has made on the matter.
“Constitutional review is going to be one of the burning issues at the coming Parliament sitting. People have been calling for its review and they want answers from us as their representatives on what could be delaying the process to start. The other issue that needs to be discussed is the penalty given to criminals for stocktheft. As farmers, we believe that the government must introduce severe penalties for stocktheft,” Motsamai said.
On the issue of COVID-19, he said Parliament must ask the President to disband the presidential task team since it is consuming a lot of money while doing the same job that the Ministry of Health and Wellness could be doing.
He said the task team has failed to control the spread of the virus, including the execution and management of the vaccine roll-out plan.
He added: “Cases of COVID-19 are still high and on the other hand elderly people are still not vaccinated. We need explanations on why people are not vaccinated. What the task team is doing could be managed by the Ministry of Health unless some still want tenders to be given to them. The hospitals still have a shortage of oxygen and ventilators. The task team has not done anything extraordinary.”
On the issues of schools and teachers, he said he hopes that Parliament will request the Ministry of Basic Education to test students who are boarders and teachers when schools close so that they do not go to their homes to spread the virus.
The opposition whip also called upon the Ministry of Health and Wellness to consider vaccinating teachers, something he believes Parliament should look into.
Last year, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gaborone Central, Tumisang Healy asked the Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Kabo Morwaeng when the process to undertake a comprehensive Constitutional review will begin.
Morwaeng said then when answering the question: “Process to review the Constitution will depend on consultations with Batswana. The government envisages that such consultation will be undertaken through a Presidential Commission of Inquiry, which government is in the process of setting up. A Bill on the review of the Constitution will then be brought before this Honourable House for debate as soon as the President receives the Commission’s Report.”
He said, as President Mokgweetsi Masisi had said in his State of the Nation Address on November 18, 2019, the government intends to conduct a comprehensive review of the Constitution of Botswana.
“This critical exercise aims to remove any provisions that may be deemed discriminatory as well as strengthen the functions of oversight institutions thus improving Botswana’s functional democracy. The envisaged review will be conducted under one of our fundamental national principles of consultation for inclusiveness. To achieve transformation and meet the expectations of Batswana, the Constitution and legal framework will be reviewed and reformed.”