Africa-Press – Botswana. Urge broader austerity measures amid economic hardship, proposing funds be redirected to critical needs like healthcare.
Local political analysts Professor Zibani Maudeni and Dr Adam Mfundisi have backed the Botswana Congress Party’s (BCP) call for halting Members of Parliament (MPs) and councilors’ sitting allowances as an austerity measure in light of the country’s economic hardships.
Austerity Measures Must Be Comprehensive
Speaking in an interview, amid persistent BCP calls to terminate the sitting allowance, Dr Mfundisi said that while there are advantages and disadvantages to paying it, austerity measures must be comprehensive and systematic to reduce the costs of running government.
“There are pros and cons regarding the subject matter. Politicians across the political divide lament the poor remuneration of MPs and councilors. I assume sitting allowances were meant to augment the low pay for politicians. The argument has been that politics does not attract highly capable politicians, leading to poor debate, legislation, oversight and control of both the executive and bureaucracy. Despite this, we have to undertake a comprehensive review of raising revenue, saving, and cutting expenditure across the public sector,” stated Dr Mfundisi.
Scrapping Other Political Allowances
The University of Botswana lecturer said that stopping sitting allowances for MPs and councilors must form part of a broader strategy to save money that could be redirected to critical investments. In addition, Dr Mfundisi said that constituency and ward allowances for the President, non-elected MPs, and councilors must be scrapped immediately.
Economic Hardships Warrant Suspension
In the same vein, Professor Maudeni supported the call for suspension or termination of the sitting allowance, adding that during the country’s economic hardships, austerity measures are necessary.
“Calls for either termination or suspension of MPs and councilors’ sitting allowances or constituency funds are a good suggestion. It is understandable that running a constituency or ward is expensive because politicians are always needed to be present and they need that allowance. But when the economy is performing badly, as in the case of our country, a decision could be taken to suspend them and reinstate them when the economy recovers,” he said.
Redirecting Funds to Healthcare Needs
Last week, following the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) admission of the non-availability of chronic disease drugs in public health facilities, the BCP urged the Minister of State Presidency, Moeti Mohwasa, to urgently table a bill to stop the sitting allowance and use the money to procure drugs.
The BCP argued that the decision would immediately free up more than P1 million for the procurement of critical medication. “The payment of sitting allowances to people who are already paid salaries is an anomaly on its own and a luxury Botswana cannot afford to extend to its political leadership under current economic conditions,” the BCP stated.
Criticism Since Change of Gov’t
Since the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) government took over, there have been calls to terminate the sitting allowances for MPs and councilors. Commentators have questioned the logic behind the allowance, arguing that politicians should not be paid extra for the work they were elected to do.
Source: Botswana Gazette
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