Parliamentary leaders of the three opposition parties have collectively refused to meet the acting Vice President, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, designated by President Ian Khama, insisting on meeting the Head of State.
Leader of Opposition, Botsalo Ntuane, wrote to President Ian Khama recently, requesting the President’s audience with the opposition parliamentary leaders with a view to discuss the public service strike and explore ways of bringing it to an end.
To this end, Khama has had no time to meet the legislators. The Members of Parliament say they are awaiting the President to find a slot in his diary for their meeting.
The Presidential spokesman, Dr. Jeff Ramsay’s last communication with this publication was that he was going to check with the President’s private office whether Khama would meet the opposition MPs.
There has been no other feedback from the OP ever since.
“We first wrote to the President on Wednesday 27th April 2011, in a letter signed by the parliamentary leaders of the joint opposition collective in the Legislature. In the absence of Honourable Isaac Mabiletsa who was in Chad on official business, Honourable Abram Kesupile stood in his stead. I signed for the BMD, also in my capacity as Leader of Opposition and Honourable Saleshando signed for the BCP,” says Ntuane.
The legislator says the MPs received a telephonic response from the President’s Private Secretary, Maleta Lock, the following day Thursday 28th April, indicating that their request had been acceded to and the meeting was scheduled for Wednesday 4th May 2011; 14:00hrs at the Office of the President.
However on the morning of Tuesday 3rd May 2011, the legislators say they received another telephonic communication to the effect that the President was unavailable, due to commitments that had arisen, hence the meeting had been put off.
According to Ntuane, in the afternoon of Wednesday 4 May, the Vice President, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, called and indicated that though Khama was not available because of other commitments, he had requested him [Kedikilwe] to meet them on his [Khama’s] behalf the following day.
“Following consultations, I phoned the Vice President in the evening and expressed regret that much as we hold him, as a person, and the Office of Vice President in the highest esteem, the collective decision was that we await the President to find a slot in his diary for our meeting with him. The position now is that we are awaiting word from the President for the date of the meeting.”
