18 Dec 2019

Molepolole South MP, Mr Kabo Morwaeng says the review of the constitution will strengthen social cohesion and democracy in the country.

Commenting on the State-Of-Nation-Address recently, he said government valued consultation on varied national issues such as the impending constitutional review exercise.

He said public participation was central to an inclusive and consensus-oriented government.

“Since there are many actors in a society, there are equal divergent views which require mediation to reach a broad consensus on what is the best interest for the public good,” he said.

Mr Morwaeng further commended President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi for his unwavering commitment to upholding the rule of law, which he said demonstrated characteristics of a constitutional government.

“He has since amplified Botswana`s national principles of consultation with the wider members of the society including, Dikgosi, trade unions, business community, religious leaders and the media,” he said

He also said President Masisi had stepped up the fight against corruption as demonstrated by the introduction of the Ethics and Integrity Office, which would subsequently operationalise the law of declaration of Assets and Liabilities.

He said it was the government’s resolve to fight corruption so that government could be trusted with the goods and services of the nation adding that corruption was cancerous if not fought from a national perspective.

He also called on the government to expedite decentralisation as a way of fast-tracking service delivery so as to achieve the transformational agenda.

He said currently some councillors drove as far as Makalamabedi and Gweta to attend council meetings in Serowe, which he said was too costly and frustrated operational efficiency.

He said it was important to establish fully-fledged district councils in some of the regions.

With regards to education, he said it was worth noting that the government intended to transform the economy leveraging on skill-based (Out-come based education) in tandem with the global skill-sets.

In this regard, he said government’s approach to undertaking Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP) was in line with a current global approach to development, which reiterated that the genesis of human capital development and subsequent national development was by necessity premised in quality education.

He further noted that as Botswana worked towards a knowledge society, research and innovation should be central to the education system. He added that there should be efforts to produce postgraduate students explaining that while undergraduates applied knowledge, postgraduates created knowledge.

“Pursuant to this notion, the private sector and the government should partake to skill the nation to create economic knowledge and universities should focus on education for employment creation and increase their research output. This is in keeping with the dictates of a knowledge economy which we aspire to destine ourselves,” he said.

Mr Morwaeng, further, stated that the establishment of National Employment Policy which would interface with education reforms, particularly skills development was a progressive reform because paradoxically unemployment currently existed side by side with vacant posts as there were people without jobs and jobs without people.

“This raises issues about the appropriateness of the education system, whether it is producing the right skills for the right industry at the right time,” he said.

On other issues, the tourism industry should be developed beyond fauna and flora by exploring tourism subsectors such as game ranching, cultural tourism, and infrastructural tourism as well as sports tourism all embedded under community trusts, but for the good of the entire nation.

Mr Morwaeng said historic sites like Kobokwe hill which were potential tourism sites for Bakwena and the Dithubaruba Cultural Festival were initiatives that should be supported to improve eco-tourism in the Kweneng Region.

He said Molepolole South was continuously troubled by floods during each rainy season, so much that now these floods were predictable in Molepolole.

In this regard, he called for the construction of a robust storm drainage system to redirect the water flow in order to alleviate the floods which he said resulted in the loss of properties and lives.

Furthermore, he said Molepolole needed a new police station, adequate street lighting, internal roads and the development of a dual carriageway from Metsimotlhabe to Scottish Livingstone Hospital.

He also called on the government to consider investing in research on sustainable methods of securing adequate water in the whole country, adding that villages like Molepolole, Moshupa, and Thamaga experienced acute water shortage.

He also emphasized the need to engage advocacy groups, labour movements and churches on issues of national development.

Mr Morwaeng emphasized that the church should be given enough room to play a critical role in influencing policy direction because they are the custodian of morality, healing and nation-building. ENDS