Africa-Press – Botswana. Botswana’s first ever change of political administration not only represents a shift in leadership, but also an evolution in the collective hopes and expectations of the nation.
This was said by the leader of minority in Parliament, Mr Mabuse Pule when responding to the State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA).
Mr Pule indicated that the new beginning came with greater responsibility for the elected legislators across political parties.
“The promises we all made are not merely words on paper, but a solemn commitment to the people,” he said.
He also said that manifestos, although not constitutionally binding, must carry weight as they represented the aspirations and needs of a people.
MP Pule said that it was crucial to understand that promises made during campaigns were a contract with the electorate as they influenced them to vote with expectations.
“They therefore, expect the change of government they made to bring tangible results,” he said.
He cautioned that reality of governance could be far more complex than campaigning, which might lead to some pledges not materialising as quickly as anticipated.
“This is a painful truth of political transition, yet it cannot be ignored that when a party makes promises, it instills a sense of hope on the electorate, which also brings disappoint when it falls short,” he said.
For his part, Mahalapye East legislator, Mr Augustine Nyatanga however, requested Batswana to be patient with the new administration and not put too much pressure on it to fulfill its manifesto pledges.
This, according to Mr Nyatanga, who is also the assistant minister of Justice and Correctional Services, was because the new government found unexpected challenges when it got into office.
He however, said that he was certain that the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) government would ultimately fulfill the pledges, albeit not as soon as expected.
“Batswana need to give us time to fix the challenges we found before we can come up with a comprehensive plan to implement the manifesto. It is better to be thorough and late than rush things just so to be seen as to be fulfilling promises,” he said and explained that some of the issues they had to hasten as government was a forensic audit, which he said would help in accountability for past activities.
On other issues, Mr Nyatanga implored government to attend the issue of temporary teachers in schools, saying that because of job insecurities, most of them found it hard to focus on the job, therefore, compromising quality of education.
He also called on government to make a skills audit among the youth in the country, to better tailor jobs creation.
Concerning his constituency, Mr Nyatanga pleaded with government to gazette Setsile settlement near Mahalapye as he said it had a sizeable population.
Doing so would benefit the residents as the village would qualify for amenities such as a better primary school than the current, clinics and others, Mr Nyatanga said.
He also requested government to improve Mahalapye-Parrshalt road as it was a shortcut to neighbouring South Africa, with potential to attract investors.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
