16 Dec 2024

The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) still maintains its electoral pledge of a holistic constitutional review.

This was confirmed by the Minister of Water and Human Settlement, Mr Onneetse Ramogapi, who was holding fort for the Minister for State President, Mr Moeti Mohwasa in Parliament on Friday.

Mr Ramogapi said, however, that he could not put a time frame of when the exercise would be effected as issues of such nature took time.

“We have to first constitute a body within the confines of the law, which will be mandated to spearhead how the exercise will be conducted. The procedure also requires the input of the people as well as the gazetting of the draft constitution afterwards,” he said.

Mr Ramogapi said since government wanted the constitution to be owned by all, there would be need for thorough consultations.

He said such a body would also objectively ensure separation of powers between the three arms of government.

“This is to address past concerns where the executive seemed to run into the mandate of other supposedly independent arms,” he said.

The minister also said that government planned to establish a constitutional court through the planned review.

Mr Ramogapi was responding after Maun West legislator, Mr Caterpillar Hikuama indicated a concern that although a constitution was supposed to be a social contract for the establishment of a state, Botswana's constitution seemed discriminatory.

“A constitution has to be mutual between all people across tribes, but ours is badly crafted and there is a need to review it to address issues of discrimination and equal respect of rights of the people,” he said.

He said that lack of a principle of equal respect of rights of the people was apparent in the current constitution.

 “We have heard the wishes of the people during the constitutional review consultation, and what is only left is to align the constitution in accordance with such wishes,” he said.

Mr Hikuama also said that since the ruling party was an advocate of a holistic constitutional review from its days of opposition and even in its current manifesto, it was now time to act on their word.

He said that doing such would indicate the new government's seriousness on building a new Botswana.

Mr Hikuama said that a holistic review of the constitution was the foundation for fulfilment of most electoral pledges of the UDC therefore, indicating its seriousness and urgency. Ends