01 Dec 2019

Serowe South Member of Parliament, Mr Leepetswe Lesedi has challenged government to review the statutory instrument that bestows the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development the powers to nominate specially elected councillors.

Mr Lesedi made the plea when debating the State-of-Nation-Address on November 27, contending that the current specially elected councillors’ process was anti-democratic as it appeared to reward some individuals.

He said the practise should be urgently reviewed or abolished as it now rewarded those who did not possess any special attributes, but lost in the past general election.

Mr Lesedi said the powers vested on the minister had been in practice post-independence, but no longer served the current political landscape.

The system at the time, he said, served its purpose as local administration had a shortage of candidates who possessed special expertise.  

He recommended that councillors should, therefore, be nominated on the basis of merit but not on partisan basis, adding that there should also be a quota set aside for the disabled and women representatives.

 Mr Lesedi complained of the absence of guidelines for the minister on how such power of appointing specially elected councillors was to be exercised. 

“There is nothing in the law that guides the minister as to what considerations he has to take into account when making such appointments. There is nothing that says he should take into account issues of gender balance, youth, disabled persons, special skills or popular vote of political parties,” he said.

Contributing to the debate, Shashe West MP, Mr Fidelis Molao applauded government for the commitment of provision of Early Childhood Education (ECE) in public schools to improve learners’ readiness for school.

Mr Molao, who is also Minister of Basic Education, highlighted that early childhood education was a cost-effective strategy that could mitigate childhood disadvantage and produce higher rates of economic return for an individual.

He noted the importance of the Ministry of Basic Education to invest in young children so as to maximise their future well-being.

 Furthermore, Mr Molao took the opportunity to commend President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi for committing to improve education and training to create innovative systems in order to yield innovative young minds. 

He said an overhaul of the way the education system had been running, and replacing it with more market-specific was important in the country’s mission to transform to a knowledge-based economy.ENDS