15 Jul 2015

The National Assembly deputy speaker and also Gaborone South MP, Mr Kagiso Molatlhegi, on Tuesday, July 14 was forced to end Parliament proceedings due to lack of quorum.

A quorum for a sitting of the Parliament or a committee of the whole parliament is one-third of the number of seats in the parliament at the time. 

MPs failed to form a quorum and Mr Molatlhegi paused the proceedings to request party whips to look for their absent members, but the MPs never returned. 

Therefore, the National Assembly deputy speaker then resorted to ending the proceedings, as per Standing Oder 17. 2.

Earlier on, Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr Kenneth Matambo, had tabled the following papers; Performance Audit Report No. 1 of 2013 on the Boarding and Disposal of Government Boarded Vehicles/Mobile Plant by Central Transport Organisation (CTO). 

Mr Matambo also tabled the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants Annual Report, 2014 and Financial Paper No. 1 of 2015/2016: Supplementary estimates of Expenditure from the Consolidated and Development Funds. 

Contributing to the on-going debate on the Private Security Services Bill, 2015 (No.9 of 2015), before parliamentary proceedings ended, Gaborone North MP, Mr Haskins Nkaigwa said there were about 3 800 private security companies in Botswana, which he said was a sign that Batswana had ventured in the business in large numbers.

That, he said was also a sign that initially it was easy to register and operate those companies, adding that now there was need for either certification or grading of the private security companies.

He noted that companies that venture into the industry should be well resourced with infrastructure and manpower capacity for operating this business. 

Mr Nkaigwa also stressed that the private security services industry be reserved for Batswana only.

Currently, he said only a few Batswana acquired the skills relevant for the security services industry.

He advised that standards be set in terms of how Batswana could be trained in courses related to security services. 

If not, he said most Batswana would not be eligible to operate such companies. 

Francistown West MP, Mr Ignatius Moswaane also supported the Bill, saying it came at the right time with a clear and straight forward objective.

The Bill, Mr Moswaane said had clearly outlined the necessary steps to be taken in applying for the private security services license, which he said would help Batswana who were interested in venturing in such a business to acquire them. 

He stressed that no one should be allowed to practice without acquiring the valid license.

Private security companies, Francistown West MP said also needed to be charged with the responsibility of ensuring that they employed people with relevant or necessary qualifications and skills for the job by enrolling them for Security Management courses. 

Furthermore, he encouraged the minister to be strict on private security companies that hired foreigners who did not have work permits, adding that there was also a developing trend of unfair business practices in the industry which needed to be looked into and addressed. ENDS