Last week Mabiletsa tabled a motion in Parliament on the establishment of public broadcasting in Botswana, looking at Botswana Television (Btv), RB1 and RB2, which seeks to explore the context of broadcasting service in the country. Outlining the motion, the Kgatleng legislator cited the United States of America (US) where he said public broadcasting is decentralised and is not government operated, but receives government support. Further the outspoken MP, who seems to have done his research well, said it strengthens democracy, the free flow of ideas and debate and helps in the participation in the political process of people as informed citizens.
He quoted a number of states with good public broadcasting policies and these included New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom (UK) as well as African states of Namibia, Kenya and South Africa. When giving an overview of public broadcasting in South Africa and Botswana, he argued that Batswana are being taken for granted. "We talk more of Vision 2016 which emphasizes on the society development. Why is government failing to empower Batswana through the airwaves?" he asked.
