16 Apr 2013

Member of Parliament for Tonota South, Mr Pono Moatlhodi says unemployment has affected his constituency badly to a point where many people live in poverty.

Contributing to the National Development Plan (NDP) 10 mid-term review on economy and employment on April 15, Mr Moatlhodi appealed to the Ministry of Trade and Industry to address the situation by attracting investors who could create employment opportunities in his constituency.

He said this could be done by intensifying the drive to lure foreign investors who could establish big industries that would create more jobs during the remaining three years of NDP 10.

“Youth in my constituency are badly hit by the problem and it is a sad situation. I would be grateful if at least one big company could set up business in my constituency and create at least 1 000 jobs,” he said.

He said the constituency was located in a good area with good transport network, water and plenty of land to support any business . Mr Moatlhodi said the economy of this country had not been doing well and needed to be grown from all directions. He expressed worry that indigenous Batswana were playing a peripheral role in the economy.

“Government should come up with a programme similar to the Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa to empower Batswana so that they can play an active role in the economy. We should see the economy of this country produce many rich Batswana.” He however commended government for protecting jobs during difficult times of recession.

MP for Francistown South, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi said the biggest problem facing Botswana’s economy was inadequate employment creation. He said with revenue from the sale of diamonds dwindling and set to dry up beyond 2020, a solution on how the economy could be developed should be found now.

He asked government to devise new ideas of diversifying the economy, because there was little happening at the moment. He said focus in the last part of NDP 10 should be on spending money on programmes that would create long term employment as opposed to short term ones such as Ipelegeng.

 Mr Mmolotsi dismissed Ipelegeng as a programme for political expediency that did not bring benefits to the economy while financed with a lot of money from government coffers.

He further pointed out the last part of the plan should prioritise servicing of land. He said shortage of serviced posed a challenge that had led to acute shortage of residential plots for building homes.

MP for Kanye North, Mr Kentse Rammidi said government should stop using economic recession as an excuse for failure to develop the economy. He advised government to start making a concerted effort to create employment.

He said one way of fighting unemployment was by ensuring that foreign companies that win government construction tenders employed Batswana and empowered them by transferring skills.

The MP said Batswana benefitted little at the moment from big construction jobs citing the Chinese companies which bring their own people to work as labourers.

Kgatleng East MP, Mr Isaac Mabiletsa asked the Ministry of Trade and Industry to prioritise beneficiation from raw materials, adding that beneficiation was important in creating jobs.

He asked the Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Dorcas Makgato-Malesu to ensure that raw materials produced in Botswana are used for industrialisation in Botswana. He said a lot of raw materials were exported abroad and the country later bought such products expensively. ENDS