We have always been critical of the Executive and the ruling party - which are often difficult to tell apart in our country - for keeping Parliament at arms' length. The Executive has tended to treat Parliament as nothing more than a department under its wing and thumb, reducing it to a mere rubberstamp. However, a few years ago, Parliament began to assert itself by moving to hold the Executive to account, at least within the narrow framework prescribed by the Constitution of the Republic. MPs such as Nehemiah Modubule, Dumelang Saleshando, Botsalo Ntuane, Kentse Rammidi and Wynter Mmolotsi have been advocates of a much more robust Parliament, making it possible for us to note the fruits of that struggle today. No example is more concrete than the hearings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that are being held in public for the first time. MPs Guma Moyo, Modubule, Fidelis Molao, Master Goya, Rammidi, Olebile Gaborone and Kagiso Molatlhegi make up the trailblazing PAC that is examining the prudence or otherwise of the way government uses public finances. It is not a small task, and the MPs have themselves explained this to Batswana. But however courageous a journey it has been to where we are now, we must caution against the temptation of laxity that is forever just a step away from the honourable.
We say this because we learn that this august body failed to form a quorum yesterday morning, prompting frantic calls to remind the truant MPs of their duty. We were sadly reminded that our MPs could be said to have invited the disrespect of the Executive because they often lack the probity that must characterise elected representatives. Of course, we are aware that MPs have more than just parliamentary committees to attend to.
