17 May 2017

The Speaker of the National Assembly has hailed the visit by the France Southern Africa Friendship Group as an opportunity that provided for an exchange of views on legislative matters and to explore possible areas of cooperation.

Addressing the visiting senates on May 16, Ms Gladys Kokorwe said France was one of the countries that established diplomatic relations with Botswana in 1976.

She noted that with five decades of uninterrupted friendship founded on a strong sense of mutual understanding and respect, the friendship between the two countries had remained robust and strong over the years.

She told the visiting French legislators that Botswana Parliament was charged with the responsibility of legislation and oversight adding that at the moment the composition of Parliament was made of 65 MPs, six specially elected members as well as the President and the Speaker who are ex-officio.

She said Parliament of Botswana continuously sought ways to enhance its role in the society, adding that in this regard they had increased public participation and involvement by establishing constituency offices.

Currently, she said they were implementing the initiative ‘taking Parliament to the people’ through which she visited villages around the country to explain the role of Parliament.

“We are also working on an initiative to increase public participation called ‘Botswana Speaks’. The public is able to access information from Parliament and constituency offices and make comments on it”, she said.

On other issues, Ms Kokorwe acknowledged that Botswana had over the years benefitted ‘immensely’ in terms of financial and technical assistance from France and also from the European Union (EU).

In addition Ms Kokorwe said the exchange of high-level visits between Botswana and France had also strengthened cooperation between the two countries.

She mentioned that in June 2015, President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama undertook a state visit to France and also attended the COP 21 Summit that was held in France in November 2016.

In August 2015, the French minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy paid an official visit to Botswana.

The French delegates in the meantime paid courtesy call on the chairperson of Ntlo ya Dikgosi, Kgosi Puso Gaborone who informed them that as traditional leaders, they were charged with duties among them advising the legislature as well as the executive.

He told the visitors that Ntlo ya Dikgosi was made of 35 members and their term of office was five years.

The French delegation heard that the House held three meetings of two weeks duration annually which preceded Parliamentary meetings.

For his part, the leader of the team who is also the chairperson of the group, Senator Antoine Lefevre said they would like to have strong relations with Botswana Parliament, noting that they would like to promote Botswana tourism abroad because it was one such area where the country could diversify the economy.

Mr Lefevre noted that through the French Embassy in Botswana and Alliance Française the two countries could deepen their relations in tourism exploitation. ENDS