Lekopanye Mooketsi
28 March 2008
Gaborone — The Member of Parliament (MP) for Kgatleng East, Isaac Mabiletsa, says the Bogosi Bill gives the minister of Local Government more powers than the chiefs.
He was contributing to the debate on the Bogosi Bill in Parliament this week. The Bill is aimed at re-enacting, with amendments, the provisions relating to Bogosi. "I thought the Bill was meant to empower the chiefs. But in fact it is empowering the minister. The minister has taken all the chiefs' powers and vested them onto herself," he said.
Mabiletsa stressed the important role the chiefs play in any traditional society. He said even in the United Kingdom (UK), they still respect their royalty. "Even though the Queen might be aged, nobody talks about her retirement," he said.
However, Local Government Minister Margaret Nasha, told him that he was behind news. Nasha said in Britain, people have started to talk about royalty. She said there has even been suggestions that if someone was granted British citizenship, they should pay allegiance to the country and not to the Queen.
Contributing to the debate, the leader of the opposition and MP for Gaborone West North, Otsweletse Moupo, who rejected the bill, lamented that chiefs have been stripped of their powers. Some of their powers, he said, have been delegated to the district councils and land boards.
Moupo said all the tribes in the country should be recognised just like the so-called eight major tribes. He charged that tribal discrimination is prevalent even on land boards. He said some land boards are named after certain tribes like Rolong Land Board. However, he said the land board in Bobonong is called Bobonong Land Board, and not Bobirwa Land Board. To him, this statement means a lot.
The Minister of Education, Jacob Nkate, interjected and said that there are land boards which are named after the so-called minority tribes like Kgalagadi Land Board.
But Moupo questioned why North East Land Board is not called Bokalaka Land Board because people in that region are predominantly Bakalanga. He said if you question some of these things "you are accused of fuelling tribalism".
The BNF leader said even tribal territories only address eight tribes while other tribes are not covered. He called for an end to tribal discrimination. The leader of the Opposition said the Tribal Territories Act should be amended to embrace Babirwa, Bakalanga and Bakgalagadi tribal territories. "If you are consistent with your democracy, you could address some of these issues and stop accusing people of fuelling tribalism when they complain," he said.
Moupo said he does not agree with Clause 10 of the Bill, "which stipulates that the minister should have the final say regarding the appointment of deputy chiefs". He said the chief should be the one to have the final say on the matter. The MP for Ngwaketse South, Peter Siele, said the Bill is not addressing tribal issues that MPs were raising. He said chieftainship is an important institution. He recalled that chiefs were always there even before the country became a British protectorate.
He believes that if it were not for the chieftainship, the country's democracy would not have been so flourishing. He said there has always been a good relationship between the government and chiefs. Siele said the minister responsible consulted with members of Ntlo ya Dikgosi about the Bill. He said the chiefs identified clauses that they were uncomfortable with. The Ngwaketse South legislator supported the move that chiefs should have some minimum educational qualifications because they deal with legal issues. He said even his constituents supported this view during the Kgotla meetings that he addressed.
Siele welcomed the introduction of the use of Setswana like "Kgosi" for chief and "Mothusa Kgosi" for deputy chief. Kgatleng West MP Rakwadi Modipane said chiefs have never been left behind. He said they were consulted when the country's Constitution was drafted. Modipane said chiefs still wield unlimited powers in Botswana. He said they could sentence a person convicted of stock theft to not less than five years' imprisonment.
The MP for Selebi-Phikwe East, Nonofo Molefhi, spoke in support of the motion. He said in West African countries, one could pay to become a chief. Molefhi said government should allow communities to choose their chiefs - and not the minister. But he said the government must ensure that chiefs do not overstay in their positions because they are civil servants.
The MP said since chiefs are also employees, they should be entitled to pension.
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