29 May 2017

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) members have questioned the rationale behind outsourcing the parliamentary counsel during Parliament sitting.

Speaking at the 55th PAC meeting recently, a member of the committee and MP for Selebi Phikwe West, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse said there had been traffic in the legal advisory chair during parliamentary meetings, saying it created a vacuum with regards to advising legislators.

Mr Keorapetse said there was no continuity regarding advise rendered because of lawyers alternating the chair.

“We need a permanent post for the parliamentary counsel and to stop depending from the Attorney Generals Chambers,’’ he said.

He said Parliament should have a permanent seat for the lawyer who would be free to render services and not protect the image of the employer as the case seemed to be at the moment.

Mr Keorapetse also questioned how much legislators were involved in the budgeting process as there were flaws emanating from improper budgetary processes.

Nata Gweta MP, Mr Polson Majaga complained that constituency offices were under staffed.

He also questioned why some executive cadre posts were acted for over a long time, saying it affected effectiveness and service delivery.

Gaborone Bonnington South MP, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe called for the resolution of issues pertaining to capacity building, saying drafting of capacity for Parliament function did not require any study.

He also concurred with his counterparts that it was worrisome for the entire arm of government to rely on the attorney general for staffing of parliamentary counsel.

Mr Gaolathe and specially elected MP, Ms Bogolo Kenewendo argued that IT infrastructure left a lot to be desired.

They were of the view that IT was fundamental to the functioning of parliamentary committees, adding that for the finance committee to evaluate requests for supplementary funding, IT infrastructure was a requisite.

Tati East MP, Mr Samson Guma asked why MPs were not billed for water and electricity, saying it should be looked into as a matter of urgency and that transporting MPs with official vehicles was not feasible because of the high expenditure in their up-keeping.

Meanwhile, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Ms Barbara Dithapo said the arrangement to transport legislators was made as per their conditions of service.

“We are currently looking at their conditions of service because they are also unhappy with the service of transporting them,’’ she said.

She said about P300 000 was spent on each vehicle being the cost of sourcing vehicles and drivers from CTO per sitting for a total of 20 MPs transported on a sharing basis because some use their private vehicles.

Ms Dithapo also said Parliament was working with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy to see how best to improve the effectiveness of Parliament and capacity building.

She added that four consultants visited Botswana from UK for analysis on how the Botswana Parliament operated, and that preliminary assessment of what needed to be done was on course.

She said lack of independence of Parliament was creating a problem because Parliament had unique job profiles.

She further said the two lines of reporting were a challenge when it came to resourcing for Parliament because of competing activities.

Ms Dithapo also said Parliament was working on the modalities of how best to engage the citizenry during the start of the anticipated Parliament live broadcast which had been budgeted for during NDP 11. ENDS