21 Mar 2017

The process of appointing judges to the Industrial Court is transparent, says the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development, Mr Nonofo Molefhi.

Answering a question in Parliamet on behalf of the Minister of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development, Mr Molefhi said the appointment of judges involves open advertisements and interviews by a panel of judges appointed by the judge president.

He pointed out that subsequently the judge president makes recommendations for appointment to the President of Botswana.

Furthermore, the minister said there were currently no plans to restructure the ministry, hence no plans to also hand over the Industrial Court to the Administration of Justice.

Minister Molefhi told the House that relocation of departments and agencies of government were dependent on restructuring and rationalisation of government functions. 

MP for Gabane-Mankgodi, Major General Pius Mokgware had asked the minister if he had any plans to handover the administration of the Industrial Court to the Administration of Justice and thus the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security which has a mandate to administer other courts.

MP Mokgware also wanted to know whether that would ensure that the appointment of judges was done by an independent panel like the Judicial Service Commission and avoid the current secretive selection and appointment of the judges. ENDS