After weeks of debate, the motion was unanimously adopted. However, before the adoption, Local Government Minister Margaret Nasha accused opposition MPs of trying to kill the motion at the initial stage, saying it contradicted their claims that "they speak for the poor".
She cited MP for Ngwaketse South Omphitlhetse Maswabi, saying he tried to block the motion by calling for a vote on it before other MPs could make comments. She said the opposition MPs did not make valuable contributions to the motion. Nasha said that her ministry had always fought for Basarwa to have ownership of land like other ethnic groups in Botswana and that was why government relocated them from the Central Kgalgadi Game Reserve (CKGR). She said that the National Parks Act does not allow any person to own land inside the reserve. She said that it is untrue that Basarwa are denied the right to hunt. Nasha conceded that there is need to improve the lives of Basarwa staying on the outskirts of major villages and is hopeful that the new policy will address issues such as supplying them with water and other social needs. She explained that children from Masope settlement who attend school in Motokwe village had hostels built for them so they can attend school conveniently. She said that the Kweneng District Council (KDC) built the hostels but there was no law forcing them (to reside there). This was in response to comments made by MP for Letlhakeng West Filbert Nagafela who complained that the children were regarded as Remote Area Dwellers (RADs) whilst their parents were left out.
