Khama Would Add No Value To MPs' Questions - Rammidi

ISAIAH MOREWAGAE
Staff Writer | Monday July 12, 2010 00:00

 

BDP members, especially cabinet ministers, came out firing on all cylinders to shoot down the idea of President Khama sitting through parliamentary debates, after the member for Francistown South, Wynter Mmolotsi of the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), had spent a considerable length of time motivating the House for the presence of Khama for parliamentary business.

Truman had a sign inscribed 'The Buck Stops Here' on his White House desk during his presidency (1945 to 1953) to indicate that rather than 'pass buck the buck' to someone else, he accepted full responsibility for the way the country was governed. 

But the idea proved detestable to many on Government Enclave last Thursday, who would have none of it regardless of Mmolotsi's cogent argument that certain issues can only be tackled by the President as the ultimate authority in the country.

'We always hear cabinet ministers addressing kgotla meetings saying, 'Mananeo a ga Rraetsho ke a, a re a soleng molemo,'' Mmolotsi said. 'So what we want is for Rraetsho to explain to the nation how did some of those policies come about.'

Mmolotsi said he was also concerned that the distance that exists between the President and MPs, especially opposition MPs, deny Batswana a chance to hear their elected representatives address their grievances to the leader of the nation.

'Currently there are critical issues that some political parties have tried to raise with relevant authorities, but nothing is coming of it,' he pointed out.

He cited the example of the current debate surrounding the purchase of a minister's refrigerator for P46,000, allegations of corruption regarding certain ministers, and why a company owned by a certain minister is continuously winning government tenders.

Another opposition MP, Isaac Mabiletsa (Kgatleng East) of the Botswana National Front (BNF) was at a loss trying to understand why ministers - or anyone for that matter - could be so opposed to the presence of the President in Parliament so he could field questions from MPs.

Mabiletsa sought to express the pain of an MP being unable to meet with the President. 'I have long sent a letter asking to meet with the President, but to no avail,' he said. 'How do you explain that to the electorate?'

The member for Kanye North, Kentse Rammidi, who is also the Assistant Minister of Local Government, had the answer: ministers and civil servants are currently doing a good job of answering parliamentary questions; there would therefore be no value added if President Khama answered the questions himself, he said.

'I could only agree with the proposed amendments if what the Honourable members were seeking would add value to what cabinet ministers and other civil servants have already done,' Rammidi said.

He told the House that the same people who were calling for the President to answer questions would ultimately accuse him of failure to delegate.

More MPs of the ruling party took turns to oppose the amendments to the standing orders of Parliament. The debate raged on until the Speaker of National Assembly, Margaret Nasha, intervened by calling for caucus meetings.

The caucusing is scheduled for tomorrow and will be followed by a resumption of the debate.