31 Jan 2019

Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Gladys Kokorwe, has appealed to Members of Parliament to ensure that they always attend Parliament meetings in sufficient numbers to allow for business to proceed without interruption.

When addressing the media in Gaborone on January 31, Ms Kokorwe, said lack of a quorum often affected business of the house.

She said while it was clear that with 2019 being an election year, MPs, particularly those seeking re-election would be busy, it remained critical that they attended Parliament meetings because the role they played in such meetings was of national importance.

The speaker said her office also relied on party whips to continue encouraging their party members to attend meetings.

Regarding the live broadcast of Parliament proceedings, Ms Kokorwe said the matter was yet to be concluded, saying at the moment her office could not state when the project would take off.

She nonetheless highlighted the importance of Parliament proceedings being aired live for the general benefit of Batswana, adding that her office was mindful of the fact that not everyone could be able to attend Parliament to appreciate the work of lawmakers.

Also, she indicated that the size of the public gallery in parliament also meant that only a limited number of members of the public could be allowed in, hence it was crucial that Parliament proceedings be broadcast live.

Ms Kokorwe, however, indicated that her office had requested that the presentation of the budget speech be broadcast live as was the case with that of the State-of-the-Nation-Address (SONA) during the previous meeting.

On another matter, the speaker expressed optimism that President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi would find time from his busy schedule to be present in Parliament particularly for presentation of the national budget.

She said being the first budget during Dr Masisi’s presidency, the session would be exciting and that his presence during sittings would enhance the reputation of the house.

In addition to the budget presentation and the subsequent debate on it, the speaker said parliament was expected to also deal with bills, motions and questions.

Ms Kokorwe further indicated that the session, which would commence on February 4 would draw to a close on April 12. ENDS