14 Aug 2022

Mozambique Parliament delegation  has hailed its benchmarking mission to Botswana as an eye-opener.

 “So far we have learnt quite a lot and we are going to implement a couple of initiatives we learnt here through this exchange exercise,” said head of delegation and Frelimo’s parliamentary bench, Mr Sergio Pantie.

Speaking during the delegation’s visit to Mochudi East Constituency on Friday, he said Mozambique stood to learn a lot from Botswana’s best practices in the overall administration of the national assembly.

He said the benchmarking mission was also an opportunity to strengthen bilateral parliamentary relations between the two countries.

Mr Pantie said the strong relations existing between the two countries at heads of state level made the mission possible and contributed to its success.

He acknowledged Botswana’s support and solidarity through the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) fighting insurgents in the country’s Cabo Delgado region.

“We appreciate Botswana’s gesture from the word go, since the attacks started,” he stated.

Mr Pantie said the collective bravery of the SADC forces had been encouraging to Mozambicans as it helped restore peace and return displaced people to their homes.

A member of the delegation,  Renamo party representative Mr Anare Magibiri, noted that Mozambique only introduced multiparty democracy around 1994.

“There is a lot we can learn from Botswana’s vast experience through this exchange visit and we can also share our experiences with you,” he said.

Mr Magibiri said compared to the Botswana Parliament, theirs was complex due to the large number of MPs and staff.

He said with 250 MPs, it was not possible to have a constituency office for each one.

Earlier, Botswana Parliament corporate services senior manager, Mr Bethuel Moreme had explained that constituency offices were part of efforts to ensure effective facilitation of both electorates and MPs.

He said the office was manned by a staff of seven comprising an administration officer and six others.

Mr Moreme further explained that the administration officer was appointed by the area MP.

Constituency office employees subscribed to government statutes and all instruments governing public servants, he said. Ends