01 Mar 2023

Parliament has managed to implement only two of the four projects that were allocated funds for the 2022/2023 financial year.

The projects include refurbishment of Parliament buildings and rollout of Botswana Speaks platform.

Presenting budget proposals for the National Assembly for the 2023/24 financial year on Tuesday, Assistant Minister for State President, Mr Dumezweni Mthimkhulu, however, indicated that despite the outlined achievements, Parliament still faced challenges in project implementation, citing maintenance of its buildings, which he said continued to be a serious test due to dilapidation.

As such, he proposed allocation of P5m to refurbish and restore Parliament buildings.

On the Botswana Speaks, he said the platform continued its registration of users and its uptake in usage was ongoing, including publicising it. He, therefore, requested that the programme be allocated P1.5m to continue its roll out in the next financial year.

Mr Mthimkhulu said the remaining two projects, which included Parliament security and upgrading of network in constituency offices were still at the planning stage.

“The delay in implementing these projects is related to the engagement of various stakeholders and inadequate staffing of critical offices like the Facilities Management Unit,” he explained.

In other issues, Mr Mthimkhulu also indicated that Parliament had embarked on the initiative of ‘Taking Parliament to the People’ and the Speaker of the National Assembly had already visited a total of seven constituencies since June last year when the initiative started.

He said the tour had so far managed to stimulate public interest in Parliament business, thereby enhancing participatory democracy and the visits would continue in May and August to cover all the remaining constituencies.

“During the period under review, Parliament passed a total of 19 Bills, some of which were passed to further effect the latest recommendations of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti Money Laundering Group and Financial Action Task Force,” he said.

On strategies and programmes for the financial year 2023/2024, Mr Mthimkhulu said seven development projects had been proposed for modernisation of the National Assembly facilities and provision of services. Such, he said included the Parliament security project for which he proposed for P945 000, saying ‘this project is aligned to the policy document of SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development plan 2020-30, which prioritises enhanced collective defence and security systems that can adequately safeguard the territorial integrity of the SADC region.”

On the live broadcast, the assistant minister indicated that the project needed P2.5 million, which would entail installing state of the art studio lights and production equipment as well as provide content to Btv in view of the new launched channels for the digital transmission.

Mr Mthimkhulu also proposed P945 000 for the computerisation project of the National Assembly as part of its digitalisation plan and a further P1.2 million for the development and implementation of the New Organisational Structure project, which intended to review the existing organisational structure and develop a new one to improve capacity, increase and align skills, organise work flow as well as enable effective decision- making.

Regarding the Ntlo Ya Dikgosi chamber, he said the project required P630 000 to build capacity for effective and efficient operations in an endeavour to maintain traditions.

Nevertheless, Parliament approved P187 160 240 for the National Assembly for the 2023/24 financial year, out of which P174 360 240 would cover the recurrent budget and P12.8 million for the development budget. ENDS