30 Jul 2025

A total of P13,3 million was allocated for compensation and allowances for members of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Review of the Constitution of Botswana.

Responding to a parliamentary question on Tuesday, Minister for State President, Mr Moeti Mohwasa provided detailed figures, stating that P13,289,750 was spent on both the commission members and the secretariat. 

He emphasised that the secretariat staff members were remunerated at the same rate as regular commission members.

The minister also outlined the specific rates of payment for the commission’s leadership. 

The chairperson of the commission received a daily rate of P6,000, while both the vice-chairperson and the head of the secretariat were compensated at a daily rate of P4,000.

The minister said ordinary members of the commission received compensation at P2 250 rate per day. 

Mr Mohwasa stated that the commission was accompanied by a media team who were assigned from the Departments of Information and Broadcasting Services, whom he said did not receive any allowances.

“In view of the exceptional nature of the assignment, being that it called for coverage of many villages within a limited and strict reporting timeframe, it was against this background that the usual travel procedures were not used for the entire delegation on this assignment,” Mr Mohwasa explained.

The minister was responding to a question from Gamalete MP, Mr Boniface Mabeo who had asked the minister to state the total compensation paid to members of the commission of inquiry as well as the secretariat who took part in the exercise.

Mr Mabeo had wanted the minister to state how the secretariat was remunerated and to state the daily allowances afforded to the commissioners. Furthermore, he asked whether a media team accompanied the commission of inquiry as it traversed the country on the assignment and for the minister to state the allowances that were given to the media team.

Also, he had wanted to know whether the correct travel procedures such as issuance of imprest, per diem or subsistence allowance were adhered to for the entire delegation on the assignment. ENDS