22 Nov 2020

Parliament has rejected a motion by Maun West MP, Mr Dumelang Saleshando calling for the reversal of appointed individuals who were politically active in the five years preceding their appointment to the land board.

A total of 32 MPs voted against the motion while 16 supported and one abstained from voting.

When presenting the motion, Mr Saleshando had highlighted that it was important for Parliament to reverse such appointments and replace the appointees with young unemployed people with tertiary qualifications. 

 He cited of lack of transparency in appointing the board members saying the minister misused the powers vested upon him as he used his discretion which was unjustifiable.

 He said it was disappointing that the appointments were not done on merit but were used to reward the ruling party loyalist.

In his debate, Good Hope/Mabule MP Mr Eric Molale dismissed the motion and characterised it as discriminatory, saying it was tabled to gain political mileage.

Mr Molale indicated that the appointments were made open to all Batswana as all were illegible to apply irrespective of political affiliation. 

He said the contract was clear that the appointees should not be active in politics while serving in the land board.

Mochudi West MP, Mr Mmusi Kgafela also spoke against the motion, highlighting that the selection committee which comprised of district leadership was apolitical hence could not influence the selection based on party lines.

He said it was highly impossible for the appointing authority to establish the activeness of the applicants since the appointees were recommended by the selection committee.

Mogoditshane MP, Mr Tumiso Rakgare said the motion should rather be calling for the appointment policy to be reviewed. 

 He said the mover of the motion should be advocating for equal representation of the youth and women in land boards.

“We should instead be debating for revision of requirements for appointment to land boards to avoid a similar situation in the future,” he said.

Contributing to the debate, Shashe West MP, Mr Fedelis Molao argued that the motion needed to be amended as it sought to deny individuals with a political background to serve in the public service.

 He said the motion alleged incompetency in youth without tertiary qualification, implying they do not deserve to be enrolled in the public service.

Meanwhile, Mahalapye East MP, Mr Yandani Boko supported the motion, saying it is disappointing that the appointments were not done on merit but solely on political grounds.

Mr Boko said it was important for the appointing authority to practice meritocracy to ensure effective service delivery.

Also in support of the motion was Selebi Phikwe West MP Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse who dismissed any fairness in appointing the land board members. He argued that the appointing authority misused his powers by overruling basic recruitment requirements.

Mr Keorapetse said the appointments were likely to degrade the effectiveness of land boards as some appointees had no experience in land management and administration.

In his response, the Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Mr Kefentse Mzwinila dismissed the motion saying all the appointed land board members met the requirements of the provisions of the Tribal Land Act and its regulations.

Mr Mzwinila explained that some of the appointed land board members were not shortlisted for interviews as the Statutory Instrument No 29 of 2017 allowed the minister to appoint to the land board a person who was not in the list of candidates submitted by land board selection committee.

ends