Kgoroba decries lack of democracy

Member of Parliament for Mogoditshane Sedirwa Kgoroba of the Alliance for Progressives (AP) says there is no democracy in Botswana. Venting his frustrations at the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)-led government during a press conference at his constituency office, Kgoroba enumerated a litany of transgressions that the state has meted out on the opposition and by extension to the electorate.In August 2018 Kgoroba wrote President Mokgweetsi Masisi a letter regarding the state of affairs at Mogoditshane sub land board. “It is now June 2019 and I am yet to receive a response from the president, not even to acknowledge receiving the letter at least. So this is a clear indication of the modus operandi in our government,” he said. Two years ago Kgoroba says he brought before parliament a Private Members Bill which sought to address the plight of people living with severe disability but the Speaker, Gladys Kokorwe sent him from pillar to post. “To this day I still await Hon Kokorwe to bring that Bill to the floor,” said Kgoroba. The Bill sought to commit government to make a special dispensation for people with severe disability and to pay a living wage to PWSD and their caretakers and even provide severance benefit packages for their caretakers. Early last year, he said, Mogoditshane Community Junior Secondary School had about ten classes attending classes outdoors with about 60 students per class for those who attended indoors. In relation to that, the parents assigned Kgoroba to get them permission to deliver a petition to the Office of the President which he says he did but to this day, “we have never received a response from the office of the president, not even an acknowledgement of receiving the letter.” Kgoroba said he was deliberately mentioning these incidents so that people know that there is no democracy in this country. He said it is a lie to say Botswana is a true democracy when they are denied services they are constitutionally entitled to. “Even when the sitting government fails to deliver, they still go on to deny us the platform to plead,” he said.