26 Jun 2013

The Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Mr Edwin Batshu has acknowledged that the current Societies Act is inadequate.

Responding to a motion during Ntlo ya Dikgosi sitting, Mr Batshu said the inadequacy led to the act not being able to sufficiently regulate religious organisations. For that reason, he said his ministry found it fit to review and amend the Societies Act.

Among the amendments were the number of people that were required to form a religious organisation. “The number of people required to form a religious organisation would move from 10 to 250,” Minister Batshu said. Mr Batshu said this came after a concern on the mushrooming of religious organisations around the country, some of which did not comply with the act.

He said he was aware of the recommendations of the report of the Joint Advisory Committee of Ntlo ya Dikgosi and Botswana Council of Churches on societal values, which stated that registration of religious bodies should have stricter requirements for registration.

Minister Batshu told the house that he would present the amendment of the act to the next cabinet sitting upon which he would then present it to Parliament as a bill.

He highlighted that the act would also give the minister the power to formulate regulations that would guide the operation of these religious organisation, a move which he said came as a way of assuring that peace and tranquility prevailed in these organisations.

Apart from the review of the Societies Act, Minister Batshu said his ministry had also amended the Immigration Act, which called for a firm scrutiny of people who entered the country in pursuit of forming religious organisations in Botswana.

He said there was no way Botswana could do away with religious groups in the country especially that the Constitution allowed for the freedom of worship. “It is rather appropriate that these organisations are strictly regulated and their operations monitored, including a follow up on their payments of returns to the relevant authorities,” he said.

Mr Batshu was responding to a motion that was presented by Kgosi Lotlaamoreng II of Barolong, which requested government to enact a law that regulated religion, as the Societies Act did not adequately address issues of religion.

Kgosi Lotlaamoreng II said the Societies Act collectively addressed all societies operating in the country yet religious organisations practices were at times an eye sore. He said the breakup of churches and the mushrooming of many others were quite a concern as some of the churches were not complying with the Societies Act.  ENDS