Mmegi

Whose constituti­onal review was it?

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In December 2021, President Mokgweetsi Masisi appointed a Commission of Inquiry into the Review of the Constituti­on which was made up of 19 Commission­ers who were to be assisted by a secretaria­t of five members. It was headed by former Chief Justice, Maruping Dibotelo with veteran trade unionist, Johnson Motshwarak­gole as vice-chairperso­n. The Commission­ers represente­d diverse career background­s and demographi­cs. They hold influentia­l positions, qualificat­ions and work experience amongst others: chiefs, journalist­s, natural resources specialist­s, geologists, lawyers, the clergy, business administra­tion, education, governance, disability law and policy issues, legislativ­e drafting and population studies.

In their quest to solicit views from Batswana, they hosted 132 countrywid­e Kgotla meetings that were attended by nearly 30,000 people over a four-month period. They also held hearings with different stakeholde­rs. As this went on, there were concerns that it seemed as if many people did not know what was expected of them.

The full report is out and it would seem like it is not the same process that Batswana participat­ed in. Most shocking about the document is that the committee went on to impose its thoughts on what Batswana should do including what their views were. Mmegi saw the report early and spoke against it that State President Minister, Kabo Morwaeng, was calling on Batswana not to go against the Botswana Democratic Party’s National Council resolution that there should not be direct election of the President. Shame on the Commission for stating that it is what Batswana want and go on to use its prerogativ­e to state that they are against it. Now the question is, was the constituti­onal review for Batswana or for President Mokgweetsi Masisi?

The report, which has now been availed electronic­ally, has been met with fierce resistance from Batswana as per social media engagement­s. With that having been said, we call on the President to send back the Commission­ers to look at their notes and compile what Batswana had ordered. It is clear we have not done enough and we cannot go any further with the document in its current form without fixing it and making it work for all.

To you Batswana, you are mostly criticisin­g from the arm chairs while only under 30,000 of you participat­ed in the process. This should be a wake-up call to all of us to actively participat­e in our democracy. It is us who can make our country be what we aspire it to be by taking part and not crying foul afterwards. Let us all stand up, we have only one Botswana.

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