Nationwide tour for PAC after snub in Parliament

BAME PIET
Staff Writer | Wednesday August 25, 2010 00:00

 

Among others, they will visit Gantsi, Charleshill, Kang, Hukuntsi, Tshabong, Khakhea, Jwaneng, Mabutsane, Maun, Seronga, Shakawe, Gumare, Sehithwa, Makalamabedi, Nata and  Phuduhudu where they will address civil servants in government offices and hold kgotla meetings.

The PAC is one of 16 Committees of Parliament charged with overseeing the activities of the Executive. PAC is specifically responsible for overseeing government expenditure through calling ministries and parastatals to appear and account in accordance with Section 95(3) of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly of Botswana.

The purpose of the tour is to engage with various stakeholders, such as government employees, civic leaders, civil society organisations and the general public on government finances and budgeting, financial management and prudence, and explain its own role, says a statement from the National Assembly.  The tour comes a few weeks after Members of Parliament (MP) of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party rejected a report the committee made in which it found that the government misappropriated money from the National Disaster Fund to establish the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS).

At least P16 million is reportedly missing from this Fund. Unconfirmed reports say there are plans to dissolve the committee in November because like other parliamentary committees, PAC was established before the break-up of the BDP when the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) was formed.

Meanwhile, a statement from the Office of the President says the Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Lesego Motsumi, will also go on a countrywide tour to brief the nation on 'Botswana's Excellence Strategy for Economic Diversification and Sustainable Growth.' Motsumi's month-long tour will take her to the country's eight major districts before addressing urban councils.

The statement says the Strategy for Excellence, which was approved in November 2008, lies at the centre of government's efforts 'to create an enabling framework for Botswana's transformation into a higher income economy that provides for the wellbeing of all our citizens'. It is thus an instrument for the eradication of poverty, as well as (the) promotion of sustainable growth through economic diversification from its current dependence on diamond mining.

The strategy entails a wide range of actions and instruments to, among other things, promote effective education and skills development, address bureaucratic inefficiencies, roll back the culture of entitlement, and improve the work ethic while reinforcing society's commitment to zero tolerance of corruption.

'Recognising that our domestic economy is too small to thrive on its own, the strategy emphasizes the need for Batswana to empower themselves, to increasingly take advantage of opportunities to compete in regional and global markets,' the statement continues. 'This calls for an approach to citizen empowerment that places a greater emphasis on private sector wealth creation through individual self-empowerment and collective self-reliance.'

Motsumi will also explain the specialist hubs that the government wants to use as focused drivers of the economy.