03 Aug 2015

Gaborone Bonnington South legislator, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe, does not support a supplementary budget of P300 million to finance Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) operational losses for the current financial year. 

Debating the supplementary budget estimates, Financial Paper No. 1 of 2015/2016 ,which was tabled as an urgent motion by Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr Kenneth Matambo in Parliament on  Friday July 31, Mr Gaolathe said the opposition had fewer numbers in the public accounts committee as well as in the finance and estimates committee.

Therefore, their voting power for or against decisions was outweighed by the numbers of the ruling MPs. 

He said the Finance and Estimates Committee agreed to the proposed supplementary estimates of expenditure from the consolidated and development funds, but he was against it for the reason that government was acting as an investor in BMC and that it should demand returns for investing in BMC.

He said BMC could be given the P300 million on condition that it satisfied specific requirements; such as provision of rate of returns, financial risk levels and give plan of restructuring targets.

He said government should do away with beef monopoly and that other players should come in.

“We have been entrusted with public funds and the expectation is that we invest them wisely and now what we are doing as Parliament is tantamount to criminality,” he said adding that Parliament should adopt prudent tactics to deal with BMC in order to get returns for its investments.

He, however, said he had no problem with other supplementary budget estimates that would go into food security to cover relief measures in various ministries. 

For his part, Mochudi West MP, Mr Gilbert Mangole said he supported the urgent supplementary budget, but also had reservations on the P300 million requested to finance BMC’s operational losses, which he said had always been brought to Parliament year in year out.  He said there was need for a turnaround strategy for BMC and also supported the ending of BMC monopoly and expose it to competition. 

He said there was a feedlot in Ghanzi, which was effectively serving farmers, but now it was closed and wanted to know reasons for that closure.

Furthermore, MP Mangole said given the poor rainfalls, farmers were hardest hit as they had yielded poorly, adding that the CEDA and NDB loans 85 per cent subsidy by government should be further considered.

For that reason, he said, “some farmers cannot even afford the 15 per cent installments,” he said.

MP Mangole pointed out that even though government was requesting for supplementary budget, which would cater for the 25 pe rcent subsidy to farmers on various agricultural inputs in Livestock Advisory Centers (LAC’s), they were often out of stock in various centers.

Therefore, he called for equitable distribution of those farm inputs adding that it would go a long way bolstering the agricultural sector. 

Furthermore, he called for adequate servicing of fire breaks, which he said given resource constraints they had grown to be bushy areas which did not serve their intended purpose.

The urgent supplementary budget estimates debate came at a time when there was a fire threat in Parliament, which forced legislators to evacuate the premises for about two hours, which had left them with one and half hours of debate.

Some legislators, said the time was not enough to allow them to debate on the proposed supplementary budget estimates, given its impact on government coffers. Ends