Gaborone – Botswana’s Speaker of the National Assembly Dithapelo Keorapetse has told parliamentarians that effective oversight must cover the entire budget cycle, not just the approval of budgets, as the country faces mounting fiscal pressures and declining diamond revenues.
Keorapetse made the remarks at the opening of a three-day Workshop on Parliamentary Budgetary Engagement and Oversight of Public Enterprises, attended by parliamentarians, experts, development partners and delegates from various countries.
He told those gathered that national budgets are more than financial documents, saying they reflect a nation’s values, priorities and aspirations, and that Parliament carries a constitutional responsibility to ensure public funds are allocated, spent and accounted for transparently. 
The Speaker said oversight must extend to implementation, auditing and follow-up on audit findings, and called for stronger scrutiny of State-Owned Enterprises to ensure efficiency, transparency, accountability and quality service delivery.
He urged Members of Parliament to exercise independence, rely on evidence-based decision-making and remain committed to serving the national interest, while also drawing lessons from international experiences and strengthening collaboration among parliaments and oversight institutions.
Keorapetse expressed appreciation to the National Assembly of Botswana, International IDEA, Inter Pares, the European Union, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, partner parliaments and experts for supporting the workshop, describing it as an important investment in strengthening parliamentary democracy and effective governance in Botswana.
