Opposition MPs fearlessly reject Floor Crossing Bill
The BDP is a curse to this country – Yandani Boko
Opposition Members of Parliament have vowed not to support the Constitutional Amendment Bill which seeks to prohibit Floor Crossing as the law is only intended to serve the interest of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party.
The Bill which came for a second reading on Monday this week was presented for First Reading on the 18th of August 2020. Opposition MPs have indicated that the Bill was first brought in 1998 as a motion by former Thamaga MP Gladys Kokorwe when Botswana Congress Party ( BCP) was formed.
It would later come in 2010 by then Presidential Affairs Minister Mokgweetsi Masisi when BDP split and Botswana Movement for Democracy ( BMD) was formed and more BDP MPs were leaving. Masisi would later withdraw the Bill when the same MPs were returning to the BDP.
It is the opposition’s contention that the Bill returns now through Kabo Morwaeng, Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration because there are fears that some unhappy BDP MPs might jump ship following the split of the party last year which caused the formation of Botswana Patriotic Front ( BPF), a claim the BDP MPs dismissed when debating the Bill.
According to Morwaeng the Bill stood referred to Ntlo ya Dikgosi in accordance with Section 88 ( 2) of the Constitution. He said Section 88 ( 2) prohibits Parliament from proceeding upon any Bill which alters any of the provisions of the Constitution unless a copy of the Bill is referred to Ntlo ya Dikgosi after it has been introduced in the National Assembly.
“I presented the Bill to the Fourth Meeting of the Fourth Ntlo ya Dikgosi on the 26th October 2020 and Members of Ntlo ya Dikgosi unanimously resolved to support it,” said the minister.
He said the object of the Bill is to amend the Constitution in order to safeguard the peoples’ interests, nurture our democracy and our cultural principles of consensus reckoning.
“It is more than 22 years since Parliament adopted a Motion titled, “that this Honourable House resolve that any elected Member of Parliament or any elected Councillor who wishes to cross the floor from one party to the other should forgo his or her seat and seek a fresh mandate from the electorates.”
The Motion was tabled during the Seventh Parliament by the then Member of Parliament for Thamaga, Gladys Kokorwe. The Motion called for the amendment of the provisions of the Constitution and Local Government legislation dealing with vacancies in Parliament and council seats. The Motion was adopted in August 1988, said the minister. MP for Bobonong Taolo
Lucas said the BDP government is not ready to deliver on its promise of Constitutional Review. He said the Minister is talking about Batswana being consulted 22 years ago when Kokorwe brought the Bill to Parliament in 1998. “If it takes that long for the law to be implemented then it means there has been laziness. We know that the BDP want to lock unhappy MPs into the party. Why should an unhappy MP be locked within a party for four ( 4) years? “This will surely affect the MPs performance. I am warning you Minister Morwaeng what you are doing is to bring disaster. So, you want an MP who is not happy within a party to be stuck there for the duration of his or her term of office? What is the rush here, why can’t we wait for constitutional review so that we do these things holistically?” asked Lucas. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development who is also MP for Goodhope- Mabule, Eric Molale said what they are doing as the BDP is to deliver on their promises to the voters made ahead of last year’s general elections. According to Molale Batswana have a consensus which agrees with the BDP electoral promises. “Batswana need to know that in this house we have people who oppose everything. The opposition in the past years called for use of Electoral Voting Machine ( EVM). When we brought it, they opposed and said we want to use it to cheat in the elections.
“We abandoned it and now bring this Bill, they oppose. What do you want? When Kokorwe brought this motion in 1998, a Law Reform Committee was formed which consisted of both ruling and opposition MPs. This shows that our former leaders were united and in agreement about this Bill. “What we are doing is to guard and protect the interests of the voters and not those who have been voted. Opposition MPs are just talking aimlessly,” Molale told Parliament. For his part Mahalapye East Legislator Yandani Boko argued that a Constitution is a very sacred document that has to be approached with the sensitivity it deserves. He said it is not like any other law of Parliament.
Boko explained that amending the Constitution should not only be dealt with by 57 elected MPs together with the Specially Elected MPs without the input of the populace. “We are asking for proper consultation with Batswana. Let us avoid what happened back in the years when only Dikgosi and the elite were consulted. This should not be used to serve the interest of a select few. The BDP is a curse to this country. “They are doing this because they know some MPs want to jump ship. We have to approach this matter with sober minds and the current administration should focus on development and not what is being done currently. “President Masisi said soon we are going for Constitutional Review, so what do we stand to lose if we wait for that process of the review. This clearly shows the BDP led government is not interested in the Constitutional Review,” argued Boko.
Dr. Lemogang Kwape MP for Kanye South also Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation pointed out that the proposed law seeks to ensure that Parliament is not taken for granted.
“If you no longer want to be associated within that particular political party and you know you have what it takes to return to Parliament then go back to the voters and get fresh mandate,” added Dr Kwape. The minister indicated that the issue has been dealt with at length in the past and agreed on and should not be a problem now when it has to be passed by the current Parliament.
“As BDP we are doing what we promised Batswana. We agree that Constitutional Review has to be approached in a certain manner but what we are saying today is that the amendment before us has been discussed before and agreed,” he stated. MP for Serowe North Baratiwa Mathoothe wondered what stopped the ruling party from implementing the law since 1998. He argued that this was because MPs and councillors were in most cases joining the BDP from opposition. According to the MP the ruling party is now pushing for this law because it is losing councillors and possibly MPs thinking of leaving the party to join opposition parties. He said this explains why the Leader of the House Vice President Slumber Tsogwane has even advocated for MPs to be given limited time to debate this Bill so that it could pass as soon as possible to counter the “mass defection we hear are to take place soon”. The Serowe North legislator argued that in most instances MPs and councillors would defect because of the pressure from their supporters and voters who no longer want to be associated with a particular political party.
“If those who put you in office indicate that they are no longer happy where they are, why would you want to remain in a place where people have deserted. MPs and councillors are not running away with seats, it is because members would have left the party. “This has been the freedom that the Constitution was giving the voters and the MPs and councillors. Batswana have now noticed that the BDP cheated them ahead of the 2019 general elections. They were busy saying they are fighting corruption today we see corruption cases falling apart with no prosecution,” said Mathoothe.