Keorapetse wants opposition to ditch Parley committees
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Wednesday March 22, 2017 15:24
The opposition caucus meets next Tuesday morning.
Keorapetse said this in Parliament during debates on the supplementary estimates of expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of 2016/17. He said since the 11th Parliament, all the committees have been dysfunctional.
“These committees are supposed to provide oversight on state enterprises and parastatals because they are focused.
But they have been dysfunctional because the BDP never wanted them to function. They are frustrating the committees, so we have to review our membership.
“I will propose to the opposition caucus that my fellow MPs resign from these committees,” he said.
In an interview following his comments in Parliament, Keorapetse said Parliament has 23 committees but the opposition chairs only three of these committees.
This, he said, is a hatched plan by the ruling party MPs to render the committees ineffective. He said that as the majority, it is only logical for the opposition to chair many committees.
“The opposition has 18 MPs, and this means we are in the majority but we are in the minority in all of these committees while the BDP MPs make the majority and they frustrate these committees.
They chair almost all the committees and decide on the agenda just to frustrate the voice of the opposition. They have discussed this at their caucus,” he added.
Keorapetse said that the criteria to choose MPs for chairmanship of committees should be considerate of one’s abilities and not done along party lines.
Keorapetse gave a case of the Finance and Estimates Committee chaired by Member of Parliament for Francistown West Ignatius Moswaane ahead of Ndaba Gaolathe whom he said is the more qualified.
He added that Gaolathe was snubbed because they felt that he would scrutinise the estimates. It is reported that Gaolathe has already resigned from the committee.
He said that the 11th Parliament has failed to debate the report of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) despite it being brought to the House twice, which has made it difficult for its findings to be enforced.
He further said many of the committees have not met during the 11th Parliament except for when they prepare for international trips. The PAC is one of the three committees chaired by the opposition.
“In terms of real Parliament work, the only ones that meet are the PAC and Parliamentary Committee on Statutory Bodies and State Enterprises,” he said.
Keorapetse said if the leadership of both Botswana Congress Party and Umbrella for Democratic Change agree to his plea, he will resign immediately.