24 Jul 2022

Parliament on Wednesday adopted an urgent motion by Gaborone Central Member of Parliament, Mr Tumisang Mangwegape-Healy, which requested that Standing Order 98.1 be suspended and parliamentary committees be dissolved and reconstituted.

The motion, which was tabled last Friday, read “that this Honourable House resolves as a matter of urgency to suspend Standing Order 98.1 and proceed to dissolve all the committees of Parliament and direct the Committee of Selection to expeditiously constitute the new parliamentary committees within three days of this resolution being passed by Parliament, reflecting the composition of parties in Parliament as near as possible.”

When debating the motion, Mochudi West MP, Mr Mmusi Kgafela said as per the standing orders and general practice across the world, parliamentary committees should reflect the balance of parties in Parliament. 

Gaborone South MP, Mr Dumezweni Mthimkhulu, who also supported the motion, argued that chairing of most parliamentary committees by opposition members was contrary to Standing Order 100.

Opposing the motion, Okavango MP, Mr Kenny Kapinga said it was intended to impede on the independence of Parliament.

Similarly, the MP for Ngami, Mr Kainangura Hikuama said parliamentary committees should be enabled to execute their role as oversight bodies. 

Responding to MP’s comments, Mr Mangwegape-Healy said there was need for parliamentary committees to reflect the balance of parties in Parliament as per standards across the world. 

He said the motion was not intended to increase the number of ruling party MPs in parliamentary committees, contrary to opposition arguments.

“The committees will reflect the composition of Parliament according to how the parties were voted,” he said. He further noted that the standing orders stipulated that a party with the highest number of members should have more members in the committees. 

He said it was not procedural for opposition MPs to chair more parliamentary committees compared to the party which had more members. ends