Ndaba Urges Parliament To Have Draft Office
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Monday September 4, 2017 16:55
Addressing his constituents at Marulamantsi ward, Gaolathe said Botswana’s Constitution has been uniquely and continually designed. He said Parliament has been functioning without a parliamentary budget office.
“There is need to establish an office to assist draft private members’ Bills. The lack thereof has hindered private MPs from coming up with private members’ Bills. It is costly to come up with laws, but our Parliamentary system has flaws. A private members’ Bill could cost up to P100,000.” he said.
He said the office, if established, could assist MPs during budget presentations. “Then Parliament could come up with better Bills because MPs will be informed. That office will have experts to advise to assist MPs understand the budget clearly,” he said. Ndaba also used the opportunity to explain how the Botswana Parliament works. He said in the past Parliament he tabled a number of motions, which were rejected by the ruling party.
“Our Parliament uses a system whereby the majority qualifies to rule. So when we come up with laws, even if they are good, the ruling party could use their numerical advantage to reject them. That’s democracy. He said this has been a downfall to many MPs wishing to table many Bills in Parliament.”
He stated his experience in parliamentary committees has shown him that most government parastatals or departments do not follow the budget guidelines or systems. “There is too much budget expenditure, but there is nothing we can do about it because we are only allowed to go as far as just checking the books.” Gaolathe called for the introduction of performance audits within the government system. He said it will assist in accountability and performance enhancement.