NDP 11: same old same old...
Friday, October 28, 2016
The NDP 11 session is a special one because the development plan wasn’t discussed during the Winter Parliament. It wasn’t unanticipated by many, but it didn’t come as a surprise. At the end of the discussions predicted to be December 1, the Sovereign will present to the country the State of the Nation Address after he prorogues Parliament and issues a proclamation to begin a new meeting of the Assembly.
The government’s plan was to have this session as entirely a special one with no other business other than NDP 11. The opposition insisted on having a normal session, arguing that the Sovereign, or anyone for that matter, cannot direct Parliament on what to do. The argument was that NDP 11 can dominate the business, but with no departure from the normal procedures. A compromise position was that there be questions for 45 minutes everyday. Once again, it’s clear that government business will dominate the Order Paper. The government assumes that it can use Parliament as it pleases in terms of passing stuff through it in a manner suggesting disregard for its role.
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...