Our proposed Masisi roadmap

Mmegi Editor | Friday June 22, 2018 11:40

It now seems the man is lost. Eighty-three days later there is still no roadmap. This is discouraging looking at the fact that Masisi has been Vice President for four years. When former president, Ian Khama was out of the country he acted as the President on several occasions.

It seems nothing has changed since Masisi became the First Citizen and we believe that he is set for the same trap that engulfed Khama. We cannot allow that to happen to him and throw this great Republic into an abyss of darkness. This is our unsolicited advice to His Excellency Masisi.

We have a suggestion of what Masisi needs to do if he truly wants to change things. He should as a matter of urgency amend the Constitution to align it with contemporary trends of the people. He should amend labour laws and also enact the Freedom of Information law.

If he wants to be taken seriously he should accord independence to the Independent Electoral Commission, Ombudsman, Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime and Financial Intelligence Agency and let them account to Parliament not the Office of the President (OP).

He should also amend the DIS Act and reform the spy agency. We suggest that its name should change, its enabling law, personnel, appointing authority and appointment process. There should be some level of checks and balances on this spy agency.

Currently the DIS is a law unto itself. The President replaced the former Director General of the DIS with his preferred spy chief. Nothing has changed save only faces. This is not enough, because the DIS still remains the same.

Masisi should be an agent of change by bringing political funding and stop the use of Electronic Voting Machines during the 2019 general elections. We know bringing political party funding is a tall order for him since he enjoys funding from the Asian community. He should also foster localisation and citizen economic empowerment.

He should also make sure that Parliament is independent from the Executive. Currently, the Executive is bloated and is calling the shots in Parliament, and Members of Parliament even from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party are eunuchs. The list is endless and we will not tire from giving him our genuine advice. The President should listen to us if he wants to succeed.

 

Today’s thought 

“Leadership is not about the next election, it’s about the next generation.” 

- Simon Sinek