02 Jul 2019

Chairperson of Ntlo ya Dikgosi, Kgosi Puso Gaborone says the house has achieved a lot since it was convened after the 2014 general elections.

Kgosi Puso, who was addressing members of the media on June 28, attributed the achievements realised to a number of factors, among them a desire by members to deliver on their mandate, a good working relationship with government as well as positive and continuous engagements with key stakeholders.

He said because of such relationships, the house looked back with pride at having been able to deliver on its mandate of being an advisory body to government. He noted that they played the role through the formulation and crafting of laws.

Kgosi Puso said during the course of the tenure of its members, Ntlo ya Dikgosi had contributed to the formulation of several laws among them the Stock Theft Amendment Bill, Tribal Land Bill, Deeds Registry Amendment Bill, Married Persons Property Bill and the Constitutional Amendment Bill.

He also noted that the house engaged different ministries and parastatals on various topical issues.

The briefings, he said, were necessary as dikgosi being leaders, needed to be well-versed with what was happening in the country, particularly on issues that had a direct impact on the lives of the people.

In addition, Kgosi Puso said during their tenure, members embarked on several benchmarking visits to countries such as Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Zambia and the United Kingdom.

He said the visits afforded Ntlo ya Dikgosi an opportunity to learn best practices from similar institutions in the respective countries.

He said the house had also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Chinese Association for International Understanding, whose key objective was to drive issues of cultural exchange.

In addition to that, he said Ntlo ya Dikgosi entered into a relationship with Russia, in which the house benefited through mentorship and skills sharing on issues of management and leadership.

He said Ntlo ya Dikgosi also, for the first time in 50 years, established committees whose purpose was to help the chairperson in managing the affairs of the house.

Kgosi Puso indicated that Ntlo ya Dikgosi had also carried out countless charitable activities such as provision of housing for needy families, donations of toiletries, food hampers and also held an essay competition for primary schools in the Tutume area. ENDS