29 Sep 2020

Instead of extending the of State of Public Emergency, the government should rather use existing legislation to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and revive the economy, the Leader of Opposition, Mr Dumelang Saleshando has said.

Giving his response to the motion for the extension of the State of Public Emergency at the National Assembly, Monday, Mr Saleshando said the official opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) struggled to understand the explanation afforded for this extension.

Mr Saleshando said the reasons advanced when Parliament was first presented with a request for the State of Emergency had not proved credible, and the constitution already provides the President and the Director of Health Services with adequate powers to deal with health emergencies.

The past six months had afforded the national leadership sufficient time to deal with any inadequacies in the Public Health Act, including using the instrument of Parliament to extend the period of time a Director of Health Services could call for a lockdown beyond the current seven days, Mr Saleshando said.

The Maun West legislator further said Botswana had been the only country in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region which had a State of Emergency, which he said only served to suppress investor confidence.

Mr Saleshando said over the first State of Emergency, the government had not invested visibly in the purchase of crucial health goods such as ventilators or in extending health facilities such as the hospitals’ intensive care units.

Rather, the effect of the State of Emergency regulations had led to a suppression in economic activity, with various sectors including tourism struggling, Mr Saleshando said.

He further said, instead of being protected by law, some workers had been laid off their jobs, and households were running short of basic items including food.

Mr Saleshando said price of commodities including fuel and electricity were rising, which further increased the burden on the poor.

As such, Mr Saleshando said the UDC rejected the proposal of the further extension of the State of Emergency. ENDS