LET THE PEOPLE SPEAK
Public participation in constitutional review essential
Mmabotswana Dema of Old Naledi dreads her daily routine of walking from the home she shares with her three children to Game City taxi rank where she runs her small business. She feels discouraged because it does not seem to bring meaningful change to her life, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. She is oblivious to the highly-anticipated national project that has become the issue in local media, the Constitutional review. She has heard a little about it during the 2019 national election campaigns from both the ruling Botswana Democratic Party, as well as from opposition parties, but she has never fully understood what it takes, and what it really means. “I do not know what that is,” she says, referring to the constitutional review. Her concern is whether it will make her life better or not. Lesedi George, 36, is more enlightened about the constitutional review. The mother of four from Ramotswa says among her top concerns regarding the constitutional review is the direct election of the state president. She wishes for a time when she will go to the polls to cast a vote for a person she wants as president. She believes this will go a long way in ensuring that presidential candidates account for what they promised to do before being elected into office. The other issue that gives her sleepless nights is land allocation. Her desire is that the constitution speaks to this, as many Batswana do not have land. “We have applied for plots for years, but are still waiting (to be allocated). There seems to be no urgency in this country for citizens to own land”, she says, adding that her own mother is still waiting to be allocated a plot from as far back as 15 years ago. What she doesn’t want to be changed in the constitution is the death penalty. “Imagine killing someone and spending little time in jail, and you are released to continue with your life when you have taken a life. I say, those who murder should be killed,” she says, adding that family members of the victim sometimes never even find closure. Kealebogo Motlalekgosi, also of Old Naledi is clueless about the imminent constitutional review. He wants to know more about how it will help his life. At 28 years, he supports his girlfriend and two children and believes that if a change is to come, it should ensure that young people’s skills and abilities are not overlooked because their entrepreneurial skills can change the country’s economy for the better. Another young man, Thuso Mbakile who works as a Sales Rep is frustrated about the state of affairs in the country. He pins his hopes on the anticipated constitutional review. His first displeasure with the status quo is the issue of specially-elected Members of Parliament. “I do not find logic in having these people, and I have never been able to understand why we have them”, he fumes. His ideal will be for the constitutional review to get rid of such a provision because it has not served Batswana, but the ruling party. The Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) and Botswana Federation of Public-Private and Parastatal Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU), say in their position paper on the Botswana Constitutional Review that it is critical to ensure that people’s contribution in the review exercise is informed. They agree that the process requires that civic education be undertaken, including employing multi-media forums, and other modern means of engaging the people, with physical meetings where possible. “In the era of Covid -19, this is bound to be a challenge. That is why the timeframe should not be too short. Most of our people in the rural areas do not have the connectivity and know-how of the urban dwellers,” the two unions say, adding that the elderly are often slow in utilising technology. “We as the trade union movement are uncompromising on this point. We would like to see civic education rolled out”. Both unions believe that public participation can be an invaluable check against unilateral or coercive action by politicians in general and governments in particular. “As expressions of the people’s needs, aspirations, and views emerge, governments can get a better sense of national goals and priorities for services and development, which can be incorporated into governance strategies.” BFTU and BOFEPUSU’s view is that public participation increases the transparency of the constitution review process. Further that it is also a valuable tool for stakeholders to protect the integrity of the process, and protect officials against unfair or unjustified allegations of behaving in a biased or self-serving fashion. In addition, special attention, they say should be paid to reaching disadvantaged or marginalised peoples. This may require translating materials into minority languages or using audio and visual tools for the illiterate. “An inclusive process must consider factors such as poverty, illiteracy, cultural biases, language barriers, lack of development, lack of education, and weak infrastructure in determining how best to reach and educate different populations,” BFTU and BOFEPUSU emphasise, adding that no effort should be spared to ensure that all key groups have a voice and that citizens who wish to share their views are provided with a mechanism to do so.