02 Jul 2019

The third meeting of the fifth session of the 11^th Parliament is scheduled to resume July 3 with the tabling of the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Bill.

Parliament has over the years rejected or deferred the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Bill. However, following extensive consultations cabinet has finally approved the drafting of the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Bill hence it was published in the June 21, 2019  Vol LVII, No 42  edition of the government gazette.

The bill is expected to among others, provide for the submission of declarations by politicians, director general, Speaker of the National Assembly, Permanent Secretary to the President and all permanent secretaries, with the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime been identified as the custodian of the declarations.

The bill, which is expected to be tabled by Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, has been viewed as one of government efforts to root out corruption, particularly within legislatures and government accounting officers.

Political commenter, Mr Lawrence Ookeditse is of the view that the proposed bill will improve investor confidence and enhance transparency and accountability.

“The bill is a sign that the country is on the verge of change particularly within the ruling party looking at the fact that the bill has previously been rejected or delayed. Therefore, it is worth noting that the bill is seeing the light of day, and it is a sign that the current government is willing to go on a liberation path,” he said.

Government, he said, was moving towards ethical conduct and accountability in terms of fighting corruption.  

He applauded government for the prospect of adopting ethics and anti-corruption laws that required public officials to declare their assets and income before or after taking government positions.

He said it was worth noting that assets declarations by public officials was a powerful tool to prevent corruption, detect illicit enrichment, and that the public disclosure of assets of public officials and family members did not clash with the rights to privacy and data protection. 

Prevention of corruption and exposing unexplained wealth of officials are serious and legitimate public interests hence, he said, the bill was expected to assist in terms of ensuring that politicians and senior government officials did not milk the country’s economy by engaging in politics with the aim to economically benefit.

The bill, he said, was aligned to President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s vow to lead Botswana in the fight to combat all acts of corruption. “President Masisi made the pronouncement during the High Level Consultative Council, saying corruption remains one of the evils that stand in Botswana’s way to achieve National Vision 2036 aspirations, and if left unchecked, could destroy the country’s economy,” he said.

Another bill, which has been published in the government gazette, is the Capital Transfer Act (Amendement Bill) 2019. 

The bill seeks to amend the Capital Transfer Tax Act to align it with the Transfer Duty Act. According to the bill, the amendments will include, among others, removing the P15 000 from exempting property consisting of household goods and personal belongings. 

Also to be amended is the increase of value of gifts that are exempted from tax from P5 000 to P25 000 as well as exempting transfer of immovable property which is exempted under the Transfer Duty Act.

The winter Parliament is scheduled to end on August 16 and is the last session before the general elections anticipated in October. ENDS