Ntlo ya Dikgosi should be our House of Lords

Kgosi Khama draping Kgosi Kgafela with a legendary leopard skin
Kgosi Khama draping Kgosi Kgafela with a legendary leopard skin

When Botswana gained independence in 1966, after close to century of British colonisation, not only did she inherit the Colonial laws, it also adopted Westminster political system. The system Botswana is still clinging to today. Isn’t it time, half a century after independence, that we upgrade our laws and institutions the Westminster way? Wonders BAME PIET

We use the First-Past-the-Post electoral system, which allows the party with majority elected members to automatically take  government. Assuming power is irrespective of the percentage of voters the majority party gets, as all it needs is 50 percent of the seats in Parliament.

The Westminster system has the House of Commons, an equivalent of Botswana’s House of National Assembly, or Parliament. Our colonial masters also have the House of Lords, which in our case, could be the Ntlo ya Dikgosi, which was for a long time before indigenising the name in the early 2000s  was known as House of Chiefs.

Editor's Comment
FMD crisis: We must fight as one

That should concern every Motswana. The implications extend far beyond cattle and farmers. Botswana’s beef industry is a critical pillar of the economy, supporting thousands of households and sustaining businesses along the value chain.The loss of access to lucrative export markets has already demonstrated how quickly an animal-health crisis can become an economic crisis.This is, therefore, not the time for complacency, blame, or political...

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