RESPONSE BY THE LEADER OF OPPOSITION, DUMA GIDEON BOKO, TO THE STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS 18 NOVEMBER 2014 Theme: THE FIRST PHASE: LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR CHANGE IN BOTSWANA INTRODUCTION 1. Madam Speaker I have been instructed that it is a habit or convention of decorum of this House to refer to each other as Honourable. This should not be very difficult for me. As you all are aware I come from a background where this convention applies. We refer to the Honourable Court and learned friends. I am also aware that in neo-classical poetry the assumption is to treat kings as if they were noble and gracious, statesmen as if they were wise and just, soldiers as if they were brave and merciful, ladies as if they were chaste and fair, whatever may actually be the case. We condition ourselves always to clothe people with the garbs and accolades of virtues they are assumed to possess. Often when these titles or references are uttered they do not even remotely imply the speaker’s belief in the honour or erudition of those to whom we refer as either Honourable or Learned. 2. I would like to urge and challenge all the members of this house to attain and maintain a poise and manner that makes it worthwhile to refer to them as Honourable. An Honourable character and disposition demands of each one of us that we break free of the frozen crust of blind loyalty to persons however powerful they may appear to be. It demands that we act justly regardless of the artificial boundaries of political affiliation. It demands that we strive always to speak the truth and take the citizens of this country into our confidence. An honourable character creates a moral context for the habitual settings of all our actions. I know many who demand the title Honourable, who in the words of Gioconda Belli, “tell a lie with the aplomb of someone asserting the most unequivocal truth.” I challenge and implore the members of this 11th Parliament, to rescue the word Honourable from the clutches of sycophancy; from the resigned, crude and uncritical indorsement of positions held by the Executive. I challenge the members of this 11th Parliament, especially on the other side of the isle, to learn to say NO to Executive tyranny.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 17:04:07 +0000
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