Member of Parliament for Francistown West Ignatius Moswaane has come out with guns blazing demanding that the President Ian Khama led Cabinet should furnish the nation with reasons for the sudden sale of Morupule B power plant.
In an urgent motion that he intends to table before Parliament, Moswaane is also calling on Parliament to rescind Cabinet’s decision to sell Morupule B.
“The Government should suspend with immediate effect the sale of Morupule B power station,” reads the draft of Moswaane’s motion in part.
Moswaane is also demanding that Parliament should be furnished with a forensic audit report of the project implementation as well as project handover report by the contractor.
He also wants Parliament to be furnished with proof of consultation with the nation regarding the sale of a national asset.
Moswaane wants Parliament to be furnished with financial projections and why the National Assembly was not consulted despite the fact that Morupule B is a national asset and when Cabinet intends to do so.
On the list of Moswaane’s demands are also the names of bidders who had shown interest in buying the power plant as well as a report on the Arbitration Court held in the United Kingdom between Botswana Government and the contractor, China National Electric Equipment Corporation (CNEEC).
Moswaane also demands a report by the company that was engaged to establish if the power plant was likely to perform according to specifications as well as a report about how Government got the loan for the project and its conditions.
Advancing reasons for urgency, Moswaane states that his motion should be treated as a matter of urgency because project implementation has been a burning issue as well as a matter of public importance but the leadership has failed to provide guidance and answers.
“More than P12 billion has been spent and we do not know whether the project is complete or not. It looks like the Executive has the power to sell national assets with impunity and without consultation,” said Moswaane.
He added that “the question is; will not we wake up one day to find that our dams and diamonds have been sold to private companies?”
Moswaane said Batswana have been taken for a ride because for a long time they were made to believe Botswana will own its power station and have total control over it. This will be second motion that the MP will bring before Parliament following another urgent motion of the liquidation of BCL mine.
