24 Jul 2022

A non-secretive national budget process that accounts to parliament and allows for citizen participation should be provided for in the constitution. 

A member of Motheo O Mosha, a pressure group for constitutional change, Ms Pusetso Morapedi said this when making submission submissions on behalf of her organization before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the review of the constitution of Botswana at Maruapula community centre in Gaborone on Friday. 

“The practice now is that the budget process is secretive and not transparent,” she submitted adding that the parliamentary oversight role that was dwarfed by the overbearing powers of the executive branch of government did not help the situation. 

The envisaged constitution according to her must capacitate parliamentarians with budget, research and law-making skills to enable lawmakers to draft bills. 

On separation of powers, Ms Morapedi advocated clear lines between the three arms of government namely, the executive, parliament and the judiciary. 

“Currently, the Executive arm of government has overbearing and dominant power over the legislature and the judiciary,” she said adding that undermined parliament’s independence. 

Ms Morapedi said there was need to establish constitutional supremacy over parliament’s domineering role particularly as Botswana was purported to be based on the former. 

She also said the constitution was too silent on second-generation rights. 

To this end, Ms Morapedi proposed that the new constitution’s bill of rights must protect not only basic rights but include socio-economic needs such as the right to work, quality education, access to quality health care, a living wage, internet, a clean environment and other basic needs. 

Ms Morapedi also called for establishment of a constitutional court, that would be devoted to the interpretation, protection and enforcement of the constitution. 

She proposed that under the new constitution, the appointment of members of the judiciary should be transparent and publicise the names of the people earmarked for the bench, their profiles, and that an independent body should preside over pre-appointment interviews. 

“Public hearings of potential candidates and circulated info graphs on their career for public consumption would enable the people to have a sense of its judiciary,” she said. 

Such a transparent process would help solidify the trust the general public had in this last vestige of public power. 

To the win war against the under-representation of the marginalised groups, Motheo O Mosha suggested that the Proportional Representation (PR) model of elections should be provided under the constitution. 

Motheo O Mosha society is a grassroots movement that advocates the creation of a new constitution of Botswana and was born out of a desire to address existing gaps within the society by bringing awareness and understanding in as far as the constitution of Botswana is concerned. Ends