12 Aug 2020

The National Assembly on August 11 passed a motion tabled by Tonota MP, Mr Pono Moatlhodi, for government to call on faith-based organisations and the nation to use September as a month of prayer against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although during the debate some MPs questioned if the motion was necessary since September was already observed as a month of prayer against HIV/AIDS, the motion was passed without objection.

In motivating this motion, Mr Moatllhodi said Botswana was largely a God fearing nation and should respond through prayer during perilous times.

Mr Moatlhodi said in the past when the country was devastated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Batswana turned to prayer as a means of seeking a spiritual solution to the problem.

He said now that the COVID-19 pandemic had caused a disturbance to every fibre of the country’s way of living, including how church services and funerals were conducted, Batswana needed to once more turn to God through prayer.

Vice President, Mr Slumber Tsogwane, said he supported the motion, stating that government had always worked with the religious community for the provision of spiritual support and moral guidance to society amid challenges such as COVID-19.

He said when times were hard, such as the current climate where companies were under financial strain and people scared of losing their jobs, there was need for faith based community to come together in prayer.

Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Kabo Morwaeng, said cautioned that faith based organisations were already used September as a month of prayer.

Mr Morwaeng said the Botswana Christian Council (BCC), Organisation of African Independent Churches (OAIC), the Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana (EFB) as well as the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) churched took part in September prayers against HIV/AIDS and other social ills.

He, therefore, advised that the motion could be a calling for a duplication of what already existed.

Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs and, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Dumezweni Mthimkhulu rose to support the motion, but cautioned that while Botswana was a nation of people who largely professed the Christian faith, it was always important to be mindful that the country was a secular state that protected the liberty of all religious practices.  

Ngami legislator, Mr Carter Hikuama said while he was not a member of any church, he supported the motion since he believed in religious freedom and that the constitution provided for the liberty of different faiths.

He added that what Parliament was requesting could augment, not replace the existing annual plans for churches to have a national prayer programme in September. ENDS