BDP F/town region wants MPs, councillors to account
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday February 16, 2018 15:54
The region also proposed all regions across the country be given the powers to review and scrutinise the performance of legislators and councillors.
It is also of the view that should councillors and MPs be obliged to account, they will work hard, speak up and be noticed because they know that someone is closely monitoring them.
The proposal will form part of discussions at the region’s congress tomorrow. Should it be endorsed it will be submitted at the party’s national council billed for March, where it may possibly be fully adopted by the party.
According to the proposal, where performance results of the MPs and councillors are not satisfactory the regions should recommend remedial measures.
The thinking amongst some BDP members in the region is that as a last resort, non-improving MPs and councillors should be barred from contesting in future primaries that would subsequently grant them passage to stand for the general election.
The BDP Francistown region chairperson, Baemedi Medupi said the region believes that regions (because of their proximity to electorates) have an obligation to ensure and remind MPs as well as councillors, to account for their performance in Parliament and at the councils.
He said in the past, the region has received several complaints from electorates regarding some party MPs and councillors who have neglected their roles.
“The duty of councillors and MPs is to act as legislators, policy makers and strategists on behalf of their electorates. We have, however, realised that when some of the councillors and MPs are voted into office they pursue personal interests. That is why we want to be allowed to take them to task over their performance or lack thereof, in the August House,” Medupi said, when explaining the rationale behind the region’s proposal.
He further noted that the party already has examples of councillors and MPs who abandoned their duties immediately after they were voted into office.
He said some councillors abandon their wards and constituencies and only return towards the party primaries to launch another bid to remain in office.
Medupe added: “Some of them (MPs and councillors) do not even subscribe to general principles of good governance and do not act with integrity. This is another area we believe should be used to review the success of their terms should our proposal come to pass”.
Some political pundits and members of the community might see the proposal by the Francistown region as a very welcome development.
There has often been widespread perception that some councillors and MPs do not fully undertake their duties because there are no proper structures that oblige them to account.