11 May 2016

 French parliamentarians visiting Botswana have hailed the country for setting standards for her peers.

Speaking during a courtesy call to the Speaker of the National Assembly Ms Gladys Kokorwe on Tuesday, the chairperson of the Parliamentary France-Botswana Friendship Group Mr Jean-Marie Tertart said Botswana was an example in many ways.

Mr Tertart said Botswana had an effective and efficient legislation.

He praised Botswana saying the country had on numerous occasions performed well in world rankings, also saying that was a good achievement hence they had decided to visit to benchmark.

Mr Tertart mentioned that the relationship between his country and Botswana remained robust and had since grown over the years.

Briefing the delegation on the Botswana Parliament, Ms Kokorwe pointed out that it was charged with the responsibility of legislation and oversight.

She said the Parliament of Botswana consisted of 63 members of parliament, 57 elected and four specially elected, adding that the remaining two were the President and the Speaker.

Ms Kokorwe also told them that there also existed a body known as Ntlo ya Dikgosi which was an advisory body to Parliament.

She said the Parliament of Botswana continuously sought ways in which they could enhance their role in the society.

She however stated that they sometimes encountered a number of challenges, the majority of which pointed to issues of strengthening the institution of Parliament in terms  of among others, increasing public participation and involvement in the work of parliament, managing and retaining institutional knowledge and amplifying the role and status of Parliament.

She too stated that there was a lot to learn from the French National Assembly also adding that she strongly believed that the sharing of knowledge and experiences was one area where they could explore possibilities for cooperation between the two parliaments. ENDS