The case for a keener look at our laws

| Friday June 14, 2013 00:00

Recent events in probing allegations of corruption at Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) and Botswana Meat Commission, among others, are a testimony that we have a determined parliament that does not condone abuse or mismanagement of public funds.

At the moment, the special select committee appointed to probe the collapse of the BMC and the beef industry is conducting interviews and visiting BMC facilities abroad to get first-hand information that will result in a report detailing what promises to be a pong in its totality.  Of course, the committee's travelling and accommodation expenses will be settled by the taxpayer.

The ongoing hearings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which are for the second time being held in public, are also a refreshing sign that our parliamentarians certainly want to see our nation embracing accountability and transparency as means to eradicating corruption.However, all these efforts will come to naught if these committees are not empowered to instruct prosecutors to take action within a prescribed timeframe.

Unlike here, in the United Kingdom, for instance, legislators were recently investigating what is now known as the 'hacking scandal'.  They were probing allegations that some news houses hacked the phones of certain private citizens in a bid to get news. As you read this piece, the culprits are appearing before courts to answer for their alleged wrongdoing.

In the United States, legislators investigated Lehman Brothers scandal of 2008 and Bernard Murdoff of the notorious Ponzi scheme that cost the public billions of dollars in investments and led to the global economic crisis.  There two legislators instructed the prosecutors to take action immediately and the law took its course.

The point is that these examples were not creations of God alone; humans also played a role.  Our legislators need to sit down and look at our country's current laws and determine if they still serve the purposes for which they were formulated 30 to 40 years ago.  It is also high time that our legislators amended their Standing Orders to make it lawful for their findings, in any investigation, to be used in court as evidence. Further, they should have powers to instruct prosecutors to take action within prescribed timeframes.

At the moment, our parliament is akin to toothless dog that may catch a thief but cannot take action unless its master - the Executive - is so inclined. This is unhealthy for our democracy.We need to move with the times and benchmark against international best practices to enhance oversight, good governance and transparency. We should not rely on invisible cheerleaders who constantly tell us how transparent we are and how well managed our country is when we do not know their agendas.  Most importantly, when we know that there are weaknesses and loopholes in our laws, remedial action must not be delayed.

                                                                      Today's thought

          'Democracy goes on, sometimes slowly, but it does.  It is a very important step.'

                                                                   - Romano Prodi