03 Nov 2025

Member of Parliament for Okavango West, Mr Kenny Kapinga has called on government to institute a comprehensive constitutional review aligned with Botswana’s current needs and trends. 

Debating the draft National Development Plan 12 (NDP 12) chapter on the Democracy, Governance, Peace and Security, Mr Kapinga said a holistic review of the country’s supreme law should address the interests of the whole nation. “We have been advocating for a comprehensive Constitutional review and it should be prioritised in NDP 12, not only introducing the Constitutional Court. Amending the Constitution is not meant to advance the interests of a single individual but rather address the interests of the nation,” he said. 

Mr Kapinga further said there was need to urgently finalise the National Security Strategy, which he said would facilitate the functions and budget allocated to the country’s security organs. 

He noted that the government should avoid misplaced spending within such organisations, particularly in the wake of the current fiscal challenges. 

He said priority should be given to funding functions that were aimed at addressing the nation’s current challenges and initiatives that could contribute towards economic transformation. 

“You have to look at whether the funding that you are proposing for the DISS is justifiable. 

Look and take a decision on whether the funding for the military is still affordable under the circumstances we are in. Look at the funding of the police and make decisions about it, and you can only do that if we finalise the National Security Strategy,” he noted. 

The legislator also noted that as a human rights government, the UDC-led government should adopt a human rights policing approach with minimal involvement of the military.  “The military should only be involved where there is a national emergency,” he said. 

Additionally, Mr Kapinga said there was need for political party funding as a way of strengthening democracy and bridging the gap between different political parties. 

He said owing to financial challenges, the least the government could do was reduce the funding budget instead of disregarding political funding altogether. 

Contributing to the debate, Tlokweng legislator, Mr Phenyo Segokgo said the Directorate of Intelligence Services (DIS) should be transformed to enable it to play a major role in economic transformation and focus on assessment of security risks facing the country.  He said their mandate should be aligned with current and emerging risks emanating from major national concerns such as high rate of youth unemployment. 

Mr Segokgo also said in addition to clearly defining the roles of political leadership, the Constitutional Review should provide for the separation of Parliament and Council elections and direct election of Mayors and Council Chairpersons. He further called for frequent referendums to review various clauses of the Constitution. 

“All these would ensure that the citizens are continuously active and also promote accountability for the political leadership,” he noted. 

For his part, Goodhope/Mmathethe MP, Dr Edwin Dikoloti raised concerns about the high number of cross border stock theft cases in the villages along the border.

“The rising cases of stock theft in these areas is a great concern,” he said. ENDS