14 Jul 2022

Members of Parliament on Tuesday unanimously supported a bill to establish a standing committee on the remuneration of MPs, members of Ntlo ya Dikgosi, councillors and specified officers.

Contributing to the debate, the MP for Thamaga/Kumakwane, Mr Palelo Motaosane said the bill was long overdue since it sought to address conditions of service of MPs and councillors who had the responsibility to service communities with limited resources. 

He said shortage of resources such as transport hampered service delivery to their constituents.

“There is need for our constituency offices to be capacitated to ensure effective service delivery. Our constituents are lamenting lack of resources by government departments and capacitating and facilitating constituency offices can close this gap through resource sharing. As it is, we use our personal resources to help our communities,” he said.

He said the standing committee would also be expected to recommend for their conditions of service to be aligned with international standards. 

He added that it would go a long way in closing the disparities as well as improving service delivery to the people.

Mr Motaosane also said the standing committee would have to extensively consult councillors across the country in order to make informed recommendations concerning their scope of work and the challenges they faced. However, he said it was equally important to acknowledge that not all recommendations would be implemented.

The MP for Lerala/Maunatlala, Mr Setlhabelo Modukanele said the bill was a welcome development which sought to give concerned cohorts the opportunity to express concerns affecting service delivery.

“Where necessary, the committee would engage them on what their job entails and give them the opportunity to ventilate so that at the end of the day the committee makes recommendations from an informed point of view. All this borders on natural justice,” he said.

He also said the establishment of the committee would ensure an impartial and objective way of assessing the conditions of service for concerned parties. 

He urged MPs to trust existing procedures to implement the piece of legislature. 

“There are established procedures and institutions through which the government has always done things transparently,” he said.

For his part, the MP for Okavango, Mr Kenny Kapinga said the committee should aim to reduce the remuneration gap between the executive and the legislature to ensure that MPs were not enticed by executive positions.

He also said the bill should motivate politicians to be leaders of integrity who possess the skills, knowledge and attributes befitting their position. 

“The new generation of politicians must be different from the old generation,” he said.

He said politicians in their different capacities should have the necessary skills and experience to represent the country and be competitive internationally. 

He said they should desist from relying entirely on written speeches without the understanding and independent application of their minds as representatives.

Mr Kapinga further said it was imperative that the remuneration gap between members of Ntlo ya Dikgosi and other dikgosi who were engaged on daily basis at their villages be minimised. 

“There should not be a big gap between them to ensure that they do not all aspire to be members of Ntlo ya Dikgosi,” he said.

The MP for Serowe West, Mr Tshekedi Khama submitted that he supported the bill and called for more consultations with concerned parties. 

He said councillors worked under unfair conditions with no resources at their disposal. 

“Our councillors work under very difficult conditions and they have never had offices in their wards ever since independence. Communities expect them to assist in social events but they don’t have the necessary resources,” he said.

He said the role of dikgosi should be dignified since they were the backbone of the country. 

“They should be treated with respect because they built the foundation of this country,” he emphasised. Ends