16 Aug 2020

Government is committed to a review of the Constitution, says Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Kabo Morwaeng. 

Responding to a question in Parliament on August 14, he said the commitment appears in documents such as the Botswana Democratic Party’s 2019 election manifesto and President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi’s State-Of-Nation Address in November 2018 and Botswana’s vision 2036. Furthermore, he said the review process would be determined by the outcome of the consultations with Batswana. 

He said government envisaged that such consultation would be undertaken through a Presidential Commission of Inquiry which was being considered. 

“It must be appreciated that after the current government was elected into power in November 2019, the High Court became inundated with election petitions challenging election results in 22 constituencies. Immediately after their completion in February 2020, Botswana, and indeed many countries of the world, was hit by an outbreak of COVID 19, which the World Health Organisation declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020,” he said. 

Furthermore, Mr Morwaeng said the COVID-19 outbreak had led to a state of public emergency being declared in Botswana for a period of six months, effective April 2,  with intermittent lockdowns and restrictions on movement and public gatherings. 

As a result, he said the consultation process on the review of the Constitution would be affected, adding that despite the unfortunate circumstances, government would ensure that promises made to Batswana during elections to review constitution were fulfilled. 

Mr Morwaeng said consultations within government, including all preliminary work necessary to kick start the process had started. 

He said the issuance of a commission of inquiry with clearly defined terms of reference were being considered by government and that a decision would then be made within the confines of the law. 

Gaborone Central MP, Mr Tumisang Healy, had asked the minister as to when the comprehensive constitutional review would take place. Ends