{"id":11024,"date":"2022-07-28T15:52:55","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T15:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/effort-to-tame-wild-mps-with-new-code-of-conduct"},"modified":"2022-07-28T17:06:59","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T17:06:59","slug":"effort-to-tame-wild-mps-with-new-code-of-conduct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/effort-to-tame-wild-mps-with-new-code-of-conduct","title":{"rendered":"Effort to tame wild MPs with new code of conduct"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>The new species of MP (recalcitrant, combative, foul-mouthed and disrespectful to both colleagues and the nation) has compelled the National Assembly\u2019s Members Rights and Privileges Committee to develop a new code of conduct for MPs. In one respect, this code is implicit admission that the Standing Orders which have been used since 1966 are no longer working.<\/b><\/p>\n

According to the Assistant Minister for State President, Meshack Mthimkhulu, the code is still in draft form and will be tabled before parliament at a date that will be agreed upon at the general assembly, the joint closed-session attended by MPs from all parties. Once adopted, the code will provide guidance on \u201chow best MPs can carry out their duties in a respectable and responsible manner, observing the core values of botho and kagisanyo.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Setswana words have been reproduced from a question that Gaborone North MP, Mpho Balopi, put to Mthimkhulu about the circus that parliament has become. While the house retains the \u201chonourable\u201d honorific for its members, some of them routinely engage in less-than-honourable conduct. Naturally, MPs who don\u2019t engage in this sort of conduct are gravely concerned and through his question, Balopi asked Mthimkhulu \u201cwhether the Government is not concerned that some forms of conduct and language displayed in the National Assembly are contrary to Botswana\u2019s core values.\u201d The government is itself concerned and the code of conduct is an attempt to rein in wayward MPs. The draft code would require MPs to conduct themselves honourably both in and outside parliament.<\/p>\n

Balopi also wanted to know \u201cwhether Government will not consider introducing stiff penalties for offensive conduct and language so that all leaders may be wary of the need to observe good decorum, especially in the era of live broadcast of Parliament which may set bad example to Batswana viewers.\u201d In response, Mthimkhulu told parliament that the code of conduct spells out action that will be taken when MPs violate the agreed rules of parliamentary decorum.<\/p>\n

The part about MPs setting a bad example was actually confirmed by the Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Tumiso Rakgare on the last day of the last session of parliament. He said that there can be no denying that some impressionable young people will model their misconduct on that they see being displayed by some MPs on Btv. Takatokwane MP, Tshoganetso Leuwe, said that in his own house, he has taught his children to never say \u201cO a yaka.\u201d While western culture is tolerant of that expression\u2019s equivalent (\u201cyou are lying\u201d) in most Botswana indigenous cultures, its use is considered bad manners at best and insulting at worst \u2013 especially when used cross-generationally. In place of \u201cO a yaka\u201d, the MP said that his children use more polite language in the form of \u201co a fosa\u201d, meaning \u201cyou are wrong.\u201d Leuwe said that not too long ago, his children asked him why elderly people in parliament are in the habit of saying \u201cO a yaka\u201d to one another.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis shows that we are setting a bad example,\u201d the MP said.<\/p>\n

Many more people beyond the Takatokwane MP are shocked. He said that as he travels around the country, some of the people he meets also complain about the coarse language that MPs use in parliament during debates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey actually quote incidents and name names of when so-and-so said this or so-and-so said that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development, Nnaniki Makwinja, said that some elderly people have been so repulsed by the misconduct of MPs that they no longer follow parliamentary debates on Btv or Radio Botswana.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur conduct as MPs leaves a lot to be desired,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

With some elderly people having so boycotted Btv and Radio Botswana, Leuwe asked the Minister for State President, Kabo Morwaeng, whether the government would consider discontinuing live broadcasts because of the misconduct by some MPs.<\/p>\n

Mthimkhulu took care to sidestep one of Balopi\u2019s supplementary questions: do MPs have botho to begin with if they require a code of conduct that requires them to display such attribute in their dealings with each other?<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. The new species of MP (recalcitrant, combative, foul-mouthed and disrespectful to both colleagues and the nation) has compelled the National Assembly\u2019s Members Rights and Privileges Committee to develop a new code of conduct for MPs. In one respect, this code is implicit admission that the Standing Orders which have been used since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":11023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,8,16],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-11024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nEffort to tame wild MPs with new code of conduct - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The new species of MP (recalcitrant, combative, foul-mouthed and disrespectful to both colleagues and the nation) has ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/effort-to-tame-wild-mps-with-new-code-of-conduct\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Effort to tame wild MPs with new code of conduct\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The new species of MP (recalcitrant, combative, foul-mouthed and disrespectful to both colleagues and the nation) has ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/effort-to-tame-wild-mps-with-new-code-of-conduct\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-28T15:52:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-28T17:06:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/07\/postQueueImg_4-62e2c2168b489.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"696\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"464\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/effort-to-tame-wild-mps-with-new-code-of-conduct#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/effort-to-tame-wild-mps-with-new-code-of-conduct\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Effort to tame wild MPs with new code of conduct\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-28T15:52:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-28T17:06:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/effort-to-tame-wild-mps-with-new-code-of-conduct\"},\"wordCount\":708,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/effort-to-tame-wild-mps-with-new-code-of-conduct#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/07\/postQueueImg_4-62e2c2168b489.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\",\"homepage-english\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/effort-to-tame-wild-mps-with-new-code-of-conduct#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/effort-to-tame-wild-mps-with-new-code-of-conduct\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/effort-to-tame-wild-mps-with-new-code-of-conduct\",\"name\":\"Effort to tame wild MPs with new code of conduct - 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