Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697707388316.pdf (Botswana)
BOTSWANA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY O R D E R P A P E R (FRIDAY 10TH FEBRUARY, 2023) MINISTERS’ QUESTION TIME 1.
Minister of Trade and Industry THEME: THE DUBAI EXPO 2020 HRS/MINS 0900 - 0945 To ask the Minister of Trade and Industry to elaborate on the Dubai Expo 2020 initiative which was attended by His Excellency the President Dr. M. E. K. Masisi and further state: (i) (ii) how much money was accumulated; when investors can be expected to set up industries in Botswana; and (iii) whether the investors will be going into joint ventures with Batswana.

(Mr. P. Majaga, MP.

– Nata-Gweta) 2.


Minister of Environment and Tourism THEME: REGULATIONS UNDER STATUTORY INSTRUMENT NO.
3 OF 2021 AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE TOURISM INDUSTRY To ask the Minister of Environment and Tourism to state the following: (i) (ii) explain the magnitude of the increase to all the fees contained in the Instrument; if she considers the timing of the increases to have been appropriate given that the sector is still to fully recover from the effects of COVID- 19; (iii) why it was necessary to impose a fee on staff working for lodges located in game reserves; and (iv) the financial impact of the fees on mobile operators and guides.
(Mr. D. Saleshando, MP.

– Maun West) 1 QUESTION WITHOUT NOTICE  MR. D. TSHERE, MP.
(MAHALAPYE WEST): To ask the Minister of Education and Skills Development if he is aware of the ongoing strike at the University of Botswana (UB) and the grievances of academic and support staff and to explain how he intends to resolve this problem; he should in particular: (196) (i) (ii) confirm the veracity of claims that UB staff have not received inflationary adjustment for a cumulative four to five (4-5) years and; if the answer to (i) above is or not in the affirmative to specifically state the years on which UB staff received their normal inflationary adjustment and years they did not; (iii) confirm to this Honourable House how much UB has budgeted for personal emoluments for each financial year in the past five (5) years and to specifically explain if these successive budgets inflationary adjustments; and if not, to explain and if yes, to state how much was subsumed in emoluments for adjustments; and included provisions for (iv) state when he became aware of UB Staff versus Management issues and what he and UB Council have done so far.
NOTICE OF MOTIONS AND ORDERS OF THE DAY MOTIONS HRS/MINS 0945 – 1230 MORATORIUM ON ALL LICENSES FOR RIVER SAND MINING ALONG MAHALAPYE RIVER 1.

“That this Honourable House requests Government to put a moratorium on all licenses for river sand mining along Mahalapye River and all other smaller rivers in Mahalapye Sub District.” (Mr. D. Tshere, MP.

– Mahalapye West) (Resumed Debate) GOVERNMENT TO UPGRADE McCARTHY’S RUST AND BOKSPITS BORDER POSTS TO COMMERCIAL BORDERS 2.
“That this Honourable House requests Government to upgrade McCarthy’s Rust and Bokspits border posts to commercial borders, to allow transportation of goods between Botswana and South Africa and to adjust working hours from 0800-1600hours to 0600-1800hours.” (Mr. S. J. Brooks, MP.

– Kgalagadi South) 2 GOVERNMENT TO INTRODUCE A LIVING WAGE 3.

“That this Honourable House requests Government to introduce a living wage policy as opposed to minimum wage.” (Dr. N. Tshabang, MP.
– Nkange) GOVERNMENT TO CONSIDER UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT STIPEND 4.

“That unemployment benefit stipend for the unemployed Batswana.” this Honourable House requests Government to consider (Mr. D. L. Keorapetse, MP.

– Selebi Phikwe West) GOVERNMENT TO CONSIDER DEVELOPING AND OPTIMISING THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF SEGODITSHANE RIVER CANAL 5.

“That this Honourable House requests Government to develop and optimise the economic value of Segoditshane River canal.” (Mr. T. Mangwegape-Healy, MP.
– Gaborone Central) DESIGNATING MAUN A SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE FOR TOURISM 6.

“That this Honourable House resolves to request Government that Maun be designated a Special Economic Zone for tourism.” (Mr. D. Saleshando, MP.

– Maun West) REVIEW OF THE POLICY ON ALLOCATION OF BOREHOLES IN COMMUNAL AREAS 7.

8.
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“That this Honourable House requests Government to consider reviewing the current policy concerning the allocation of boreholes in communal areas with a view to reduce the radius between boreholes from six (6) kilometres to four (4) kilometres in areas where the 6km radius is no longer feasible.” (Dr. K. Gobotswang, MP.
– Sefhare-Ramokgonami) GOVERNMENT TO HARMONISE ALL PROFESSIONAL BODIES ACTS “That this Honourable House resolves to request Government to harmonise all professional bodies’ Acts, such as Real Estate Botswana, Engineers Registration Botswana, Botswana Health Professional Council and any other with Botswana Qualifications Authority.” (Mr. O. Ramogapi, MP.

– Palapye) 3 REGULATION OF INTERNATIONAL SELF DRIVE CUSTOMERS 9.
“That this Honourable House requests Government to regulate international self drive customers to utilise local companies in undertaking their game drives and related activities in local National Parks and Game Reserves in an effort to promote economic inclusion of locals in the tourism industry.” (Mr. G. Kekgonegile, MP.

– Maun East) GOVERNMENT TO CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE FREE HOLD LAND AUDIT 10.
“That this Honourable House requests Government to conduct a comprehensive freehold land audit to determine the efficacy of such land title and evolve criteria as well as timelines within which some such land or parts of that land could be acquired for use by landless Batswana.” (Mr. T. B. Lucas, MP.

– Bobonong) UPGRADING OF STORM WATER DRAINAGE SYSTEM FOR THE CITY OF FRANCISTOWN 11.
“That this Honourable House requests Government to comprehensively upgrade the master storm water drainage system for the City of Francistown.” (Mr. M. I. Moswaane, MP.

– Francistown West) CREATION OF A CITY/TOWN IN THE NORTHWEST REGION 12.
“That this Honourable House requests Government to create a City/Town in the North West Region given that the North West Region is underdeveloped but it could be the hub of tourism with a city/town that fits a tourism hub status in terms of infrastructural development and services.

This is the Region which is home to Okavango River, Thamalakane River, Lake Ngami and a wide range of flora and fauna.
Creation of a tourism City in this Region would not only put the country in a better position to exploit the rich natural resources found in the Region and to create jobs, but also because the country is ready for an additional City to alleviate the crowding in the existing towns and cities.” (Mr. K. C. Hikuama, MP.

– Ngami) GOVERNMENT TO EXPEDITE ALLOCATION OF PLOTS 13.
“That this Honourable House requests Government to expedite the allocation of plots earmarked for Self Help Housing Agency (SHHA) Project and businesses in Sowa Town.” (Mr. P. Majaga, MP.

– Nata-Gweta) 4 EXEMPTION OF TAX ON SANITARY PRODUCTS 14.
“That this Honourable House requests Government to consider extending the same tax exemption applicable to certain staple food items to sanitary products in order to improve accessibility especially for low income households who cannot afford such.” (Mr. M. Balopi, MP.

– Gaborone North) INCENTIVES FOR LONG SERVING CIVIL SERVANTS 15.
“That this Honourable House requests Government to introduce an incentives programme for long serving civil servants to incentivise them to take early retirement and make way for younger, more able bodied graduates with the right skill sets and qualifications so that they get an opportunity for employment in Government.” (Mr. B. Mathoothe, MP.

– Serowe North) OPENING UP COMMERCIAL RIVER SAND MINING IN GREATER GABORONE 16.
“That this Honourable House resolves that Government considers opening up commercial river sand mining in the greater Gaborone area for 24 months as a transitionary period to the development of artificial river sand manufacturing.” (Mr. T. Letsholo, MP.

– Kanye North) SPECIAL DISPENSATION TO ALLOCATE LAND TO PERSONS DISADVANTAGED BY THE OLD BOTSWANA LAND POLICY 17.
“That this Honourable House requests Government to consider establishing a special dispensation to allocate land to persons who were disadvantaged by the old Botswana Land Policy which did not allow allocation of land to the spouses of those who already had land.” (Mr. W. B. Mmolotsi, MP.

– Francistown South) BANNING THE USE OF NON-ESSENTIAL PLASTICS AS CARRY BAGS SOLD IN STORES 18.
“That this Honourable House resolves that in order to reduce plastic related pollution, Government be requested to ban the use of all non-essential plastic.” (Mr. K. Nkawana, MP.

– Selebi Phikwe East) 5 ESTABLISHMENT OF TOURISM FOCUSED SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES 19.

“That this Honourable House requests Government to establish Tourism focused Special Economic Zones (SEZs) around tourism destinations like Kgalagadi South, Makgadikgadi Pans and Okavango Delta.” (Mr. S. J. Brooks, MP.
– Kgalagadi South) INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY SERVICE COMMISSION 20.

“That this Honourable House resolves to have an independent Parliamentary Service Commission.” (Mr. D. L. Keorapetse, MP.

– Selebi Phikwe West) HANDOVER OF GABORONE GAME RESERVE TO GABORONE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY 21.
“That this Honourable House resolves to direct the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to hand over Gaborone Game Reserve to the Gaborone Central Constituency for purposes of Community Based Natural Resource Management with a view to maximising its commercial potential.” (Mr. T. Mangwegape-Healy, MP.

– Gaborone Central) ESTABLISHMENT OF A SPECIAL SELECT COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE WATER UTILITIES CORPORATION 22.
“That this Honourable House resolves to request the setting up of a Parliament Select Committee in accordance with Standing Order 98 to investigate the billing system of Water Utilities Corporation.” (Mr. O. Ramogapi, MP.

– Palapye) UPGRADING OF MINIMUM WAGE TO P2, 500.00 IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR 23.
“That this Honourable House requests Government to facilitate upgrading of minimum wage to P2, 500.00 in the private sector and Non-Governmental Organisations in line with minimum wage in the Public Sector.” (Mr. G. Kekgonegile, MP.

– Maun East) GOVERNMENT TO EVOLVE A COMPREHENSIVE RURAL INDUSTRIALISATION STRATEGY 24.
“That this Honourable House resolves to request Government to expeditiously evolve a comprehensive rural industrialisation strategy with clear resource outlays and timelines to address unemployment and poverty in the rural areas.” (Mr. T. B. Lucas, MP.

– Bobonong) 6 INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL CITIZENSHIP QUOTA 25.
“That this Honourable House requests Government through Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs to introduce special citizenship quota for persons applying for citizenship, the qouta should be only for persons playing a meaningful role in the economy of Botswana i.e.

Investors, academics and experts.” (Mr. M. I. Moswaane, MP.

– Francistown West) INTRODUCTION OF A RURAL WATER SUPPLY SCHEME 26.
“That this Honourable House requests Government to introduce a Rural Water Supply Scheme in order to promote economic and social upliftment of the rural communities.” (Mr. K. C. Hikuama, MP.

– Ngami) GOVERNMENT TO REDUCE MINIMUM DISTANCES BETWEEN RANCHES AND SETTLEMENTS 27.
“That this Honourable House requests Government to reduce prescribed minimum distances between settlements and ranches and for reduction of ranches from 20km buffer zone to 10km for settlement of less than 10000 people in accordance with the Statistics Botswana 2022 Report or to introduce livestock paddocks or small ranches, (6kmx3km) around allocated functional water points or boreholes in communal grazing areas, so as to expand existing ranches by way of small paddocks with a gradual decrease from 6kmx6km to either 6kmx3km or 4kmx4km.” (Mr. P. Majaga, MP.
– Nata-Gweta) INTRODUCTION OF A POLICY THAT COMPELS SUPERMARKETS TO SUB CONTRACT THEIR IN-HOUSE BUTCHERIES AND BAKERIES 28.
“That this Honourable House requests Government to come up with a policy that compels supermarkets to sub-contract their in-house butcheries and bakeries to 100% citizen owned businesses in which the supermarket owners are not shareholders as a way of making up for mainstay businesses such as bakeries and general dealers which have generally closed down due to being outmuscled by supermarkets.” (Mr. M. Balopi, MP.

– Gaborone North) 7