Africa-Press – Botswana. Opposition parties in Parliament are bringing pressure to bear on the ruling Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) by bringing back motions that the UDC tabled when its MPs were on the left of the aisle.
According to their movers, the motions are tabled with hopes of getting the same vigour of support that they received from the UDC when it drove them from the ranks of the parliamentary opposition.
The MP for Kgatleng East, Mabuse Pule, was the first to revive one such motion while the MP for Selibe-Phikwe West, Reuben Kaizer, is the latest to announce his intention to follow suit.
Kaizer’s BCL drive
Kaizer’s motion has already been noticed and is expected to be tabled any time in Parliament.
His motion will seek to empower the government to enable former employees of BCL Mine to purchase BCL houses at subsidised rates. The ex-BCL employees became jobless overnight when the mine was suddenly closed at the end of 2016.
The motion will also call for a purchase scheme not limited to rent-to-buy, turnkey, or any other social welfare scheme to enable the ex-employees or occupants to buy the houses.
New calibration of Parliament
While the motion was previously brought by former UDC legislator Dithapelo Keorapetse and was rejected by the majority Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Kaizer is pinning his hopes on the new calibration of Parliament for support.
Kaizer has told The Botswana Gazette in an interview: “This motion was initially tabled by the UDC while still in the opposition but the majority of the BDP rejected it. Since the UDC believed in the motion, I am reviving it in the hope that they will support me.
“Besides, I believe this Parliament is different from the previous one that was in the habit of rejecting even sensible motions. I now want to see if those who are now in government will assume the same stance.”
Same stance
Kaizer said he has been holding off on the motion because he expected the UDC to reintroduce it.
Reached for comment, political analyst Professor Zibani Maudeni stated that as a leftist government, the UDC should support such motions.
“Leftist governments are usually friendly to the people and try by all means to protect workers’ rights,” he said. “I therefore believe that the UDC is still of the same stance on such motions.”
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