A frequent public rebuke to opposition Members of Parliament is that their performance has been well below what was expected of them given their significantly increased numbers and also the quality that sprawls the opposition benches.
It is a false supposition.
Public expectations on opposition after the 2014 elections have been high ÔÇô perhaps unrealistically so.
But it is a facile misinterpretation of events in parliament to say opposition MPs have not performed.
In fact all evidence on the ground prove such supposition totally wrong.
Much of that view is a result of lopsided coverage provided by the State owned media.
To say Botswana Television, Radio Botswana and Daily News are biased against opposition is to understate a culture of ethical impropriety forced on journalists by their ruling party principals.
The truth of the matter is that opposition Members of Parliament are performing exceptionally well.
If there is any clear shortcoming it has to be a result of inexperience. And correcting it takes time. But then what many opposition MPs lack in experience, they make up for it in depth, originality and attention to detail.
Take Isaac Davids foe example, the Member for Kgatleng East who has been so unfairly singled out including by the private media for lackluster performance.
Last week he stood up to debate a presentation by the Minister of Defence.
It was one of the most powerful presentations I have heard in our parliament by anyone member in a very long time.
The intellect was breathtaking, the logic profound, tinted with humour that was simply spell binding.
Admittedly, and perhaps staying true to his long existing public persona there was nothing gentlemanly about Davids’ performance. He refused to take any prisoners..
Davids has never been known for any oratory skills. Yet on this instance he delivered what is possibly his finest performance in his long career.
He was not the only one.
Leader of Opposition, had a field had a field day.
And from the look in their faces, a good number governing party MPs were either bemused or mesmerized ÔÇô a far cry from the lazy lad vice president Mokgweetsi Masisi makes him out to be.
The fact of the matter is that opposition Members of Parliament are expected to play effectively on a playing field that is heavily tilted against them.
The ruling party has disproportionately high numbers. They are supported by an elaborate infrastructure of resources that includes cabinet ministers and officials.
A frequent chorus of disruptions and distractions from ruling party MPs is something that is not easy to deal with.
It takes a really disciplined and indeed experienced opposition member to stay on message without being derailed by such numerous side comments.
But except for a few the quality of debates from the governing party are shallow, disoriented, unconvincing and off the mark.
They seem to be wedded more to party line than to reason.
But then they have a fully functional infrastructure behind them that propels them and makes them sound reasonable.
I came to the above conclusion two weeks ago when I attended Parliament for a few consecutive days.
The idea was to make an assessment on the fairness or lack thereof of the Speaker as so vehemently alleged by opposition.
To be fair to the Speaker, she appeared to me not to be as brazenly unfair as she has been made out to be.
Her only shortcoming seems to be an impression that she is like many of the MPs themselves not yet conversant with the rules governing the House.
Watching from the press gallery it is clear that campaign for the next General Elections, due in 2019 has started ÔÇô if indeed it ever stopped. Each side is making a strong pitch for the audience with 2019 in mind.
Playing to the gallery is the best way to capture events in our Parliament. This does not in any way make it easy for the Speaker.
She tries hard to be objective.
But she is human.
She is first and foremost a ruling party operative – through and through.
This we all have to accept.
She owes her job, not to opposition but to the ruling party.
And even more, she knows what is at stake.
She is only trying to lend a hand in stopping what has been a monumental opposition momentum.
What the opposition achieved in the 2014 General Election has sent shivers down the spines of ruling party activists.
And all levers of control will be used to roll back and undermine such achievements. And the position of Speaker is one of the most portent levers to achieve just that.
The current Speaker, in short does not want to be blamed for having abetted opposition takeover of power if that ever gets to pass.
This too the opposition has to internalize. There is another side to events in parliament.
While incumbency has its challenges, it also has advantages. And the Botswana Democratic Party is exploiting its incumbency fully ÔÇô if not somewhat excessively.
And the opposition has to learn to live with this too.
Our opposition MPs need to appreciate that they are not in power.
And being outside power has many practical disadvantages.
Rather whining about the unfairness of a Speaker who by all practical measures is a player for the other side, opposition MPs need to work four times harder than those in power to earn results that are only half as good as those in power.
Parliament is a wrong platform to use to win state power.
Opposition MPs need to start increasing their work ethic.
Conscious of the odds against them they need to come up with innovative ideas to enhance their public visibility.
State media is for them out of bounds.
Crying about its unfairness will with time become monotonous to the public.
If they could garner so many numbers in 2014 without state media, surely they can go yet another mile still without it.
As for the ruling party the utility of using state media to stay in power seems to have run its course.
They too might be forced to come up with new initiatives to prove their worth.
