20 Dec 2020

Parliament has adopted six bills that will later be signed by President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi into law.

On December 17, Parliament commenced with the debate of the second reading of two bills namely Judicial Services (amendment) Bill and the Specified Offices (salaries and allowances) amendment bill. The former is an Act to amend the Judicial Services Act.

Presenting the Specified Offices (Salaries and Allowances) Amendment Bill, Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration Mr Kabo Morwaeng said its objective was to amend the Specified Offices Salaries and Allowances Act by increasing salaries of holders of specified offices by four per cent and that the enactment be deemed to have effected from the 1st of April 2020. He said the holders of specified offices as indicated in the schedule was chairperson and other members of the Public Service Commission, Attorney General, Auditor General, Secretary of the Independent Electoral Commission and lastly Director of Public Prosecutions.

Parliament also passed three other bills which were already at the committee stage with no amendments noticed. The bills include the Constitution (Amendment) Bill No. 14 of 2020, Local Government (Amendment) Bill No. 24 of 2020 and the Ntlo Ya Dikgosi (Salaries and Allowances) (Amendment) Bill No. 28 of 2020. Amendments were noticed at the Sexual Offenders Registry Bill clause two substituting for the definition of the targeted institution and vulnerable persons. 

The amendments moved by Kanye North MP Mr Thapelo Letsholo introduced targeted institution to mean a person, health facility including hospital, business, entity or trade which had a vulnerable person in his, her or its care or provided a service to a vulnerable person. 

It suggested a vulnerable person to mean a child, person with disability, a hospitalised person, or person who had attained the age of 60 and above.

Mr Letsholo introduced a new subsection to the effect that a person who had been convicted of a sexual offence in Botswana or outside Botswana shall disclose such conviction to a prospective or existing employer in an institution, entity or trade that had vulnerable persons in its care or that provided services to such persons, upon applying for employment or within seven days or within a reasonable time after his or her application for employment.

Minister of Defence, Justice and Security Mr Kagiso Mmusi moved an amendment at clause six of the Sexual Offenders Registry bill introducing new subsection that a person who had been convicted of a sexual offence outside Botswana and whose particulars appeared in an official sexual offender’s registry in any foreign jurisdiction shall disclose such conviction to an authorized officer upon entry into Botswana. 

He said an authorised authority shall immediately alert the Court Clerk or Registrar of the High Court through a system, established and maintained by the minister in consultation with the minister responsible for immigration, for informing the relevant authorities about a sexual offender entering Botswana. 

He said the Court Clerk or Registrar shall immediately forward particulars of such person to the Commissioner of police who shall enter the particulars in the Register. He said a person who contravened the section,  committed an offence was liable to a fine not exceeding P200 000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or both. ends