TAKING CONTROL Civil society to consult communities on constitutional review
While civil society of Botswana acknowledges the work done through the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the review of the Constitution, they believe the process was flawed.
With the financial help of the European Union (EU), Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO) together with co-partners, BONELA, Emang Basadi and Ditshwanelo will now take it upon themselves to educate communities to ensure that they solicit informed views towards a proper constitutional review.
They observed from the nationwide meetings with the Presidential Commission that there was a lot of information deficit on the part of the public, with insignificant levels of understanding of what the constitution is, and what a review would constitute. Programs Coordinator at BOCONGO, Maipelo Phale said at the launch of the project that civil society was never happy with the way the nation-wide inquiry was done. They strongly believe that there are other critical components that were not covered and left out, and given the opportunity, they would want to remedy the gaps that were identified during the consultations and see how they can be closed. She added that without dismissing the process completely, they intend to introspect and validate what the report recommended. “The development goal of the project is to ensure a participatory, inclusive and citizen-owned constitution that strengthens the sustainable practice of human rights and democratic governance in Botswana,” she said. The project aims at mobilizing, sensitising and capacitating the diverse Botswana populations on the constitution in a manner that would facilitate and document the inclusive and meaningful participation and contribution of all citizens, as well as strengthen advocacy and lobbying to ensure transparency and accountability in the Botswana constitutional review process. Phale further explained that through the project, civil society groups would have an opportunity to go across Botswana and dialogue with different communities. Executive Director of BONELA, Cindy Kelemi said they have taken note of the public commentary about the lack of civil society participation in the constitutional review process commissioned through a presidential commission. However, because of lack of funds, they could not do much. “We become limited because of resources,” she said, adding that with the support of the EU will enable their voices to be heard and be able to reach places they do not usually reach.
Kelemi said the concern has been that members of the public do not understand the constitution to start with, and the type of contribution they should be making to the review process. “We took it upon ourselves as civil society, to ensure that there is understanding, inclusion, participation and in ensuring that everyone is involved in the process, and that their involvement is informed,” Kelemi said. Kelemi further said the project would enable them to effectively engage marginalized communities, including persons with disabilities. Kelemi’s view is that persons with disabilities are challenged significantly in relation to access to information. “Making information accessible to persons with disabilities is always a challenge. It is our responsibility to ensure that people with disabilities contribute their needs and how they should be enshrined in the constitution.” BONELA will also be working with the LGBTIQ+ community, which is still marginalized despite the decriminalization of same sex conduct. This, according to Kelemi warrants for BONELA to provide this community with space to be able to say what they want to see in the constitution and which rights they would want to see protected at the highest level of the constitution. Florah Kedibonye of Ditshwanelo said their view is that the constitution-making process should be a bottom-up approach to ensure inclusion, participation, accountability and fairness. “All these are necessary for democratic governance to thrive,” she said. She further said Ditshwanelo made a presentation to the Presidential Commission of Enquiry on the review of the Constitution on the positive and negative aspects of the current constitution, as well as the key recommendations on what they would like to see in the new Constitution. “We mentioned the importance of the right to life which can be ensured through ensuring that all human rights are protected. That would be through abolishing the death penalty, incorporating the socio-economic and cultural rights in the constitution,” Kedibonye said. In this project, Ditshwanelo will work with its associates including, Letloa Trust, LeGaBiBo, MISA and Rainbow Identity Association and will cover Kanye, Ghanzi, Lobatse and Kasane. Emang Basadi on the other hand would focus on Gender Equality and Women in Politics in areas including Palapye, Hukuntsi and Kang. “Women are under represented in general and in decision making,” said Goitseone Vinton of Emang Basadi. Emang Basadi and its affiliates will therefore lobby for special measures to elevate and improve the number of women in position of decision making in parliament and local government. They will work closely with Gender Links, Women Financing House and the Botswana Gender Based Violence Prevention and Support Centre (BGBVC), among others.