Masisi’s alleged concession interest causes stir in Parliament
President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s alleged interest in a concession near Mababe in the Okavango Delta caused a stir in Parliament this week. Members of the ruling party argued that the matter has since been put to rest and dismissed by Minister of Environment, Natural Resources, Conservation and Tourism Philda Kereng. On the other hand, the opposition indicated that the matter is being highlighted to explain the extent to which the Office of the Ombudsman is compromised to do its job. The Ombudsman does not have powers to investigate or prosecute. MP for Sefhare- Ramokgonami Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang raised the issue when debating budget proposals for office of the Ombudsman. According to the MP the office of the Ombudsman will not be able to execute its mandate while still under Office of the President. He said the current Constitution also has to be amended to give the Ombudsman more powers. Dr. Gobotswang called for capacitating of the Ombudsman and giving the office more resources.
“Ombudsman should be merged at least with the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime ( DCEC) to give it more powers. As it stands, it remains a toothless body. “The issue of Banyana Farms caused an uproar in the country but Ombudsman cannot handle the matter because it is toothless. Now we have the issue of the concession and the Ombudsman cannot do anything about it.
The ruling Botswana Democratic Party ( BDP) is deliberately housing this body under OP and underfunding it so that they could control it to their advantage,” Dr. Gobotswang said. At this point BDP MPs came out to defend the president and asked the Speaker of Parliament to rule against Dr. Gobotswang for discussing the matter. MP for Mogoditshane also Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development Tumiso Rakgare said Dr. Gobotswang is turning Parliament into a mockery. He said the MP should not be allowed to mislead the house and the public about an issue that minister Kereng has clarified.
Rakgare was supported by MP for Goodhope- Mabule Eric Molale, who is Minister of Local Government and Rural Development. Molale said Dr. Gobotswang should not be allowed to discuss the matter because it has been explained and Parliament should not entertain utterances by the Sefhare-Ramokgonami legislator. However Dr. Gobotswang disregarded the Deputy Speaker Mabuse Pule’s warning that he should desist from talking about the concession issue and insisted that there is no how he would not talk about the allegations.
“What is of interest to you in this matter? I will stop you from debating if you continue mentioning that issue and the Standing Orders clearly indicate that it is irresponsible for the president’s name to be just mentioned anyhow.
The honourable member if what he is saying is factual he should provide evidence if not, he should desist from mentioning the issue,” said Pule refuting accusations by opposition MPs that he is protecting ruling party MPs but only complying with the Parliament Standing Orders.
This however annoyed Dr. Gobotswang who indicated that if the Speaker is not ready to allow him to debate, he should just take away his time. He said the Speaker cannot be talking about Standing Orders which are also not helpful. MP for Francistown West Ignatius Moswaane argued that MPs are allowed to mention any allegation in Parliament. “What is wrong with mentioning an allegation? He is talking about an allegation and there is nothing wrong with that.
The allegation has also been there in the media,” Moswaane said. Goretetse Kekgonegile, MP for Maun East said the people of Mababe have been waiting for a concession lease for about three years from Gaborone without any fruitful feedback. “Now we hear that 20Km within the Mababe area the president has expressed interest in one of the concessions. What is this? Is it because of the stature of the people of Mababe who are Basarwa? President Masisi was spotted there,” said Kekgonegile.
In his State of the Nation Address last year President Masisi indicated that Government has revised the Tourism Policy and in order to increase meaningful citizen participation in the growth and development of the tourism industry, Government has taken the decision to reserve five concessions in the Okavango Delta to be allocated to 100 percent citizen- owned companies, consortia and joint- venture partnerships.