Member of Parliament for Selebi Phikwe West who is also the Leader of Opposition Hon Dithapelo Keorapetse presented the Corruption and Economic Crimes (Amendment) Bill 2021 for the second reading in parliament last Thursday. The purpose of the sought amendment is inter alia to render the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) wholly insulated from the clutches of the political leadership particularly the President who holds the overall power and authority to politically and administratively direct its operational functions. If the Bill is accepted by parliament, it seeks to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in the context of fighting corruption; and that the position of Director General of DCEC be protected by office tenure as do other comparative positions of the same rank in the public service like the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions. A reasonable and objective Member of Parliament would not second guess the importance of this Bill. Not so with Botswana Democratic Party Members of Parliament (BDP).
As has become the standard BDP modus operandi with respect to anything and everything from Opposition benches in terms of Private Members Bills and Motions, one would be stretching his/her mind too far to suggest Hon Keoraetse’s Bill and however progressive it could be for the public good, would be treated differently. Without mounting any credible opposition to the Amendment Bill in terms of compelling arguments, the BDP will simply use its numerical advantage to frustrate and oppose the Bill as it has done so with other opposition Bills and Motions in the past. To demonstrate how shallow and pathetic BDP MPs were when trying to mount opposition to the Bill, Minister Molale woefully argued that it should be shelved pending the outcomes of the ongoing Constitutional Review process.
To start with, this process has not be sanctioned by parliament since it is purely and solely the product of the President owing to how it is premised on the Commission of Inquiry Act. By implication, whatever becomes of the recommendations of the Commission overseeing the process will only be the preserve of the President. Given the already pre-empted outcomes of the process by the President as evidenced by his rejection of the proposal on the direct election of the President, it goes without saying any proposal on the amendment of the DCEC Act if it were be proposed by Batswana and as sought by Hon Keorapetse will be discarded if not watered down to serve no meaningful purpose. Another woeful and pedestrian argument was made by Minister Mmusi who said the Opposition is being reactive to recent events.
I did not get what specific events he was referring to. It is safe to suggest he was referring to the ongoing fighting between the DCEC and the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS). Minister Mmusi will be aware that part of the cause to the fighting between the two is that the latter has become a ‘bully’ to all other government departments and ministries because such fight could be benefitting political leadership in this or other interest. The fact that two critical institutions of the State could litigate against each other with such venom yet with the political and administrative structures watching it without any demonstrable restraint speaks to the issue of the DIS straying into the terrain of the DCEC with such contempt. It knows no one will call it to order.
Minister Morwaeng principally anchored his opposition to the Bill on the ground that DCEC enjoyed operational independence and is therefore immune from external influence. Operational independence is defined as ‘the ability of an organisation to fulfil its Mandate using legislative powers and means assigned to it, without undue influence from external parties’. On the face of it, Minister Morwaeng would hoodwink only the gullible to agree with him on the operational independence of the DCEC on the basis that its legal framework significantly offends its true definition.
This because as alluded to above, the DCEC Director General is at the mercy of the appointing authority being the President and that this arrangement on its own, is susceptible to compromise operational independence. The current DCEC Director General Rre Tymon Katlholo is quoted by Duma FM radio station in September 2020 to have said the ‘entity’s Act impedes anyone to direct what, how and who investigations should point to, he and the team shall ensure the Act is respected by all’.
With corruption ravaging the country in both the public and private spheres to the detriment of the public good on so many fronts, amending the DCEC Act to give it more independence and teeth to fight it without fear, favour or prejudice should have been amended long ago. Most of high value corruption is committed from high offices both in the public and private spheres. It is therefore illogical to suggest the current legal structure of the DCEC enables the Director General of the DCEC to investigate the powers that be or their cronies when such Director General serves at the mercy of political leadership specifically the President. The suspension of Tymon Katlholo all but confirms how persons in his position become vulnerable to political leadership. This because the position is neither protected nor insulated from the caprices of the said political leadership. Nothing binds the President as the sole appointing authority to give reasons why a DCEC Director General was employed or fired.
It should be fair from the opposition to the Corruption and Economic Crimes (Amendment) Bill 2021 that the BDP will never agree to any fundamental amendment thereto because this DCEC Act was passed by the majority if not all of its Members of Parliament. The crafting of the Act from the beginning was meant to render the DCEC under the firm grip of the BDP political leadership and in particular the President hence the low levels of corruption convictions in courts. These low levels of convictions are not commensurate with the highest levels of corruption in the country.
Recently and about two months ago to be precise, the Director General of DCEC revealed before the Public Accounts Committee that the country has lost about P 600 million in the last twelve months. In September 2018, the Sunday Standard online edition ran a story titled ‘P 600 million e-Gov money goes missing’ wherein it said ‘A cabinet Minister and senior government officials have been implicated in the suspected misappropriation of P 600 million that was allocated by parliament for the e-government project’. On a daily basis, huge sums of public funds are reported to be siphoned through corruption.
Given the negative conduct of the BDP to the proposed amendments to the DCEC Act, fighting corruption will remain a buzzword with no tangible outcomes. Only the gullible as I have already said will believe corruption will be fought with the present legal framework still in place. The woeful arguments as presented by the above-named Ministers is a clear sign that corruption will remain a way of life in Botswana and that we will continue to experience a high turnover of the DCEC Directors General. I am prepared to be persuaded otherwise as always. Judge for Yourself!
‘No one is safe until everyone is safe’. Let us continue to adhere to all Covid-19 health protocols.
