{"id":37001,"date":"2023-10-23T16:32:23","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T16:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/?p=37001"},"modified":"2023-10-23T14:22:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T14:22:29","slug":"clerk-of-the-national-assembly-accused-of-disrupting-pac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/clerk-of-the-national-assembly-accused-of-disrupting-pac","title":{"rendered":"Clerk of the National Assembly accused of disrupting PAC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>The Clerk of the National Assembly has come under scrutiny due to allegations that she disrupted the proceedings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), preventing it from resuming its scheduled meeting on September 18, 2023.<\/b><\/p>\n

One source revealed that the PAC\u2019s inability to convene was, in part, attributed to actions allegedly taken by the Clerk, Barbara Dithapo. It is claimed that she sent some committee members on international trips, deliberately undermining the quorum required for the PAC\u2019s meetings.<\/p>\n

The tensions between the Clerk and the PAC came to a head when the committee adjourned its last session due to quorum issues. Dithapo had been summoned to appear before the committee. The summoning was in connection to suspicions that she provided inaccurate information while testifying under oath during a previous appearance before the PAC.<\/p>\n

Specifically, the committee sought clarification on statements made by Dithapo regarding the progression of \u2018Botswana Speaks\u2019 staff and the imposition of a 15% committed allowance on parliamentary staff without prior consultation.<\/p>\n

It has since been alleged that the PAC identified discrepancies in Dithapo\u2019s previous statements about staff progression. These discrepancies have reportedly fueled the recent discord between the Clerk and the PAC, leading to difficulties in the committee\u2019s ability to conduct its proceedings.<\/p>\n

Press approached Dithapo for her perspective on the matter. She confirmed that she had been summoned to reappear before the PAC. She noted that, as the Accounting Officer, she had previously appeared before the committee according to the reporting schedule, and her office was unaware of any discrepancies in the previous report submitted.<\/p>\n

Dithapo refuted the allegations that she had made it difficult for the PAC to meet in an attempt to avoid certain questions. She explained that the scheduling of PAC and other Portfolio Committees was determined by the Committee of Chairpersons of Parliamentary Committees, led by the Speaker of the National Assembly, during a meeting where a business calendar was established to schedule committee sittings.<\/p>\n

Regarding the 15% committed allowance imposed on parliamentary staff without consultation, Dithapo said the Committee on National Assembly Staff, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, was actively addressing staff conditions of service. She stated that consultations with staff were already underway and that there had been no imposition of the commuted allowance on staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWork is in progress about staff working conditions as per the mandate of the committee and consultations with staff have long commenced in an effort to reach an amicable resolution. Therefore there has not been any imposition of commuted allowance on staff,\u201d Dithapo said.<\/p>\n

In terms of addressing the current situation and ensuring transparency and cooperation between the National Assembly\u2019s administration and the PAC, Dithapo said there was already transparency and cooperation. She emphasized that the National Assembly, like all other government departments, was mandated to appear before and cooperate with the PAC to provide the necessary reports. Chairman of the PAC Wynter Mmolotsi refused to engage on the matter, saying the Clerk was better placed to answer. Unconfirmed reports say the PAC is expected to resume its duties on the sidelines of the November parliament sitting. It is not clear if the Clerk will be summoned to provide clarity on the issues alluded to above.<\/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 Clerk of the National Assembly has come under scrutiny due to allegations that she disrupted the proceedings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), preventing it from resuming its scheduled meeting on September 18, 2023. One source revealed that the PAC\u2019s inability to convene was, in part, attributed to actions allegedly taken […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":37000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-37001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nClerk of the National Assembly accused of disrupting PAC - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Clerk of the National Assembly has come under scrutiny due to allegations that she disrupted the proceedings of t ...\" \/>\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\/clerk-of-the-national-assembly-accused-of-disrupting-pac\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Clerk of the National Assembly accused of disrupting PAC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Clerk of the National Assembly has come under scrutiny due to allegations that she disrupted the proceedings of t ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/clerk-of-the-national-assembly-accused-of-disrupting-pac\" \/>\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=\"2023-10-23T16:32:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/10\/sm_1698058110.843165.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\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=\"3 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\/clerk-of-the-national-assembly-accused-of-disrupting-pac#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/clerk-of-the-national-assembly-accused-of-disrupting-pac\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Clerk of the National Assembly accused of disrupting PAC\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-23T16:32:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/clerk-of-the-national-assembly-accused-of-disrupting-pac\"},\"wordCount\":554,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/clerk-of-the-national-assembly-accused-of-disrupting-pac#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/10\/sm_1698058110.843165.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/clerk-of-the-national-assembly-accused-of-disrupting-pac#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/clerk-of-the-national-assembly-accused-of-disrupting-pac\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/clerk-of-the-national-assembly-accused-of-disrupting-pac\",\"name\":\"Clerk of the National Assembly accused of disrupting PAC - 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