BNF, Moatlhodi saga besmirch parliamentary independence
Editor | Friday December 5, 2008 00:00
After granting Moatlhodi reprieve last week, the BDP central committee made it very clear that the persistent pleading from the delegation from the Tonota constituency moved them.
So, it is out of pity that Moatlhodi's dismissal has been revoked; not out of any recognition that he transgressed some key democratic tenets. The BDP said nothing about the independence of parliament and the privilege that Moatlhodi enjoys as an MP to freely express his views in there.
This murky situation was compounded by Moatlhodi's apology which served to legitimise the obviously flawed decision of the BDP.
The sad reality is that the BDP has been allowed to invade the independence of parliament and with the help of the powerless, and now opportunistic Moatlhodi, the BDP will have its cake and eat it.
While they have been called on numerous occasions to say why they chose to undermine parliamentary democracy. What we hear from Tsholetsa House are mumblings that only serve to portray the party as a considerate body that heeded the pleas of Tonota voters while the reality shows that the BDP has no respect for parliamentary democracy.
Seeing that the BDP is getting away with murder, others are following suit. We learnt this week that the official opposition, the Botswana National Front has joined the bandwagon.
The BNF secretary general wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly dictating to him how he should arrange the seating arrangement of BNF MPs and those that the party has discarded. Before long the BNF will be calling on the Speaker to stop salaries of some MPs because they have either fired them or they do not like them. This is crazy, and it is the sort of environment that obtains when political parties show utter disrespect for such an august institution as parliament.
It was the BDP yesterday and today it is the BNF ordering parliament around. Before long it will be the executive demanding that parliament passes a law or budget even before parliament exercises their independent judgement on such weighty matters.
The reason why parliament is sacred to our democracy and the survival of this nation is because ours is a representative democracy which should never be mortgaged even if it means Moatlhodi losing his seat to protect the independence of the people's parliament.
On the surface, Moatlhodi's recall and the outlandish letter from the BNF might appear innocuous, but the net effect is that these nibble at the credibility of parliament as the bastion of the people's power. This cannot be allowed.
Today's Thought
I still believe in the promise, and I hold jealously, like an infant curls to its mother, to the belief that ordinary people are the life-blood of the BDP.