15 Dec 2022

Good governance as a philosophy and practice has enabled Botswana to craft and implement quality policies and programmes that resulted in sustainable national development, Minister of Defence and Security Mr Kagiso Mmusi has said.

Presenting to Parliament chapter nine of the Transitional Development Plan, which focuses on governance, peace and security, Wednesday, Mr Mmusi noted that the desired outcomes under the thematic area depended on how well Botswana would consolidate good governance and strengthen national security, which were the two national principles.

He said the two priorities were driven by five programmes namely participatory democracy, transparency and accountability, rule of law, territorial integrity and sovereignty as well as public safety and protection.

Mr Mmusi said to enhance democratic participation during NDP 11, Parliament introduced digital broadcasting of proceedings and the Botswana Speaks programme.

The virtual live broadcasting is meant to strengthen openness, accountability and community participation in the delivery of Parliament services,” he said.

The minister also noted that during the transitional plan, government would commit to undertaking the amendments to Botswana’s constitution following its review.

He said the critical exercise aimed to strengthen the functions of oversight institutions, thus improve good governance.

Mr Mmusi said Botswana was ranked fifth with a score of 66.9 per cent in overall governance out of 54 countries.

“Another achievements relating to transparency and accountability is that the country was able to accede to the African Peer Review Mechanism and also Governance Code for State Owned Enterprises,” he said.

He said the country had been able to achieve protection of life and property as well as detection of crime, address some Gender-Based Violence challenges and apprehend offenders.

He said during the transitional plan government would expedite the establishment of the cyber security council and the National Cyber Security Incidence Response Team and intensify crime prevention strategies such as the use of ICT to improve crime management.

Mr Mmusi said Botswana continued to nurture and foster bilateral relations with neighbouring countries, international and strategic partners to advance issues of national interest.

Contributing to the debates on chapter nine, Maun West MP, Mr Dumelang Saleshando expressed concern that many promises had been made in the past, but were not fulfilled.

He cited Vision 2016 and some pillars such as prosperity for all, saying many Batswana were unemployed and living in poverty.

On electoral reforms, he said Batswana had spoken with a loud voice that they wanted the direct election of the president and election results at polling stations, but the Commission of Inquiry on Constitutional review had a different idea.

Mr Saleshando said to fight corruption there was a need for political will and respect for the rule of law.

He urged for the establishment of an independent body to investigate police wrong doing.

For his part, MP for Chobe, Mr Machana Shamukuni applauded MPs for upholding democracy even during trying times when they participated virtually and passed laws.

He said democracy was a principle that had to be upheld and likened it to a seedling that would bear fruit in future if nurtured well.

Mr Shamukuni, who is also Minister of Justice, said the judiciary must be given time and liberty to address cases that were before the courts rather than rushing to deal with the merits and demerits of matters that were under judicial consideration.

He appealed to MPs to respect the judiciary as another arm of government.

Mr Shamukuni said government was committed to the rule of law and continued to amend the penal code, which would be presented to Parliament soon for legislators to appreciate and debate.

Other laws to be amended include the sentencing policy, which deals with cases not warranting a custodial sentence as a way to reduce overcrowding at prisons.

Mmathethe/Molapowabojang MP, Dr Edwin Dikoloti said the chapter clearly spells out what government intends to do in maintaining peace and order.

He said for his constituency livestock rustling syndicates were a common occurrence which was a big loss to farmers.

He praised government’s effort to support the agriculture sector and said it was important to guard against any effort to thwart its progress.

He urged government to establish a police post in Digawana to deal with incidents of crime exacerbated by the increased population.

Serowe South MP, Mr Leepetswe Lesedi said his constituency was hard hit by crime and urged government to capacitate law enforcement officers including the establishment of a police station.

He said Serowe deserved a second police station due to the rising number of criminal activities in and around the village.

Mr Lesedi said the police in their duties of maintaining peace and stability must be monitored and not allowed to disregard the law as it happened in the recent Serowe Kgotla meeting, where a peaceful meeting was disbanded. ENDS