02 Oct 2018

Member of Parliament for Boteti East Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe has updated residents of Mokubilo on bills passed during the last Parliament session.

Mr Lelatisitswe told a kgotla meeting in Mokubilo recently that Parliament has passed the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill of 2018 which seeks to amend the Penal Code to align it with the Children’s Act by raising the legal age of consent for sex from 16 to 18.

The objective of the bill, he said, was to address incidences of defilement and abuse of children, abduction, indecent assault as well as kidnapping of children.

He said Parliament had also addressed the Companies Amendment Bill  of 2018, saying the objective of the bill was to amend the Companies Act to facilitate the development of Online Business Name Registration System (OBNRS).

The proposed bill would also introduce, streamline and reduce processes which would improve turnaround times for business registration and enhance service delivery.

The companies’ re-registration bill would allow for existing companies to migrate accurate and reliable data to a new online system through a seamless and conjoined process.

The bill would amongst others facilitate the development of online business name registration.

The bills, he said, seek to enact the companies re-registration act to provide re-registration of existing companies under the companies act.

He further stated that the Matimela Bill of 2017 has also been passed with the objective to repeal and re-enact with amendments the Matimela Act Cap to improve the management of matimela by addressing bottlenecks and identified inefficiencies.

He stated that in an effort to promote efficiency in the management of matimela, the bill had shortened from 30 to 14 days the time for kgosi to relay to the council the presence of matimela reported to him or her.

He said the bill had also shortened from 30 days to 14 days the period within which council was mandated to collect reported matimela.

He further stated that the bill had reduction from 14 to five working days the period for matimela officers to notify council about matimela in their custody so that the public was notified.

In addition he indicated that the Arms and Ammunition Bill of 2017 seeks to repeal and re-enact with amendments, the arms and ammunition act cap 24:01.

The bill would also ensure conformity with international obligations at Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the United Nations by domesticating the SADC protocol on control of firearms, ammunition and other related materials as well as the United Nations Protocol against illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts, components and ammunition.

One of the residents, Mr Nonofo Dijeng expressed concern that Mokubilo water was not chlorinated.

Mr Dijeng also suggested that elephants should be kraaled, adding that government could boost the economy through selling of elephants tusks.

He also said he did not believe that a branded cow should be regarded as stray since the brand could easily be traced to its owner from the Department of Veterinary Services records system, emphasising that cattle were important assets in the lives of Batswana.

Whilst Ms Basinyi Baku said mentally disturbed people should also be catered for when making laws.

She also complained that health officers failed to respond to customer requests with the pretext that there was lack of transport.

Mr Godfrey Shabani said it was crucial to consult with members of society when making laws, adding that turn-around time for land allocation also needed to be enhanced.

In response, Mr Lelatisitswe said bills that had been passed by Parliament were those that had been enacted by SADC countries, and that Botswana was obligated to align with such laws as a SADC member state.

Consultation, he said, was carried out on bills proposed such as the alcohol and liquor trading hours act.

Mr Lelatisitswe said a team had been appointed to address issues of human/wildlife conflict, most importantly the elephant’s issue.

Water Utilities Corporation superintendent Mr Mmothi Segale said Mokubilo water was chlorinated and that samples were taken on a monthly basis. ENDS