17 Feb 2016

The Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Tshenolo Mabeo has hailed the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr Kenneth Mathambo, for presenting “an all-encompassing budget” before Parliament recently.

Contributing to the budget speech debate at the National Assembly on February 16, Mr Mabeo said the budget caters for the different sectors of the country’s developmental needs. He added that while the country’s challenges would be addressed in phases, it was evident that the country was in the right trajectory.

“The minister presented a well balanced budget, and the government is embarking on the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) which will benefit the country’s small businesses and lead to job creation as well as infrastructure development. The ESP is a three-year programme that cannot possibly take development projects to every part of this vast country, but efforts will be made to ensure that as much of the country as possible is covered,” Mr Mabeo said.

The minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Thamaga-Kumakwane, said the government would over the next few years embark on developing the country’s roads, adding that it would have great economic benefits for other sectors.

“We will work on improving or further developing some of the country’s major roads such as the A1 and Trans Kgalagadi which would include expanding the Gaborone-Lobatse road, which will be done in phases, with first expanding the road into a dual carriageway until the Boatle point, where an interchange will also be constructed,” Mr Mabeo said.

Making his contribution, the deputy speaker of the National Assembly and Gaborone South MP, Mr Kagiso Molatlhegi said the country should prime itself to be in a position to benefit from international funding that accrues to countries that have committed themselves to sustainable development.

He said at an international convention he attended in France, US$60 billion had been committed to assist countries that pursued policies that were environmentally friendly, and that Botswana should package her developmental programmes in a manner that could place the country in a position to derive benefits from such funds.

He also said the country should have an office that focuses on the mitigation of climate change, and that no effort should be spared in reducing carbon emissions from motor vehicles, including the penalising of motorists whose cars were found to be unfriendly to the environment.

“Each car should be tested and those that emit more than a certain amount of carbon should not be allowed on our roads. We should also look at improving our public transport system, and should be working towards a future where our local councils run efficient public transport systems in order to reduce congestion in our roads as well as carbon emissions,” he said.

Mr Molatlhegi also called on the government to purchase more equipment for the country’s clinics, saying this would assist in speeding up waiting times at health facilities. 

Also deliberating on the budget speech, the MP for Mochudi West, Mr Gilbert Mangole said he was against government spending on defence over the years. Mr Mangole said the government should instead shift focus and spend money on projects that would add to the country’s economic growth.

He argued that there was need to allow local government structures to be autonomous, saying that would strengthen governance as well as the economy. He also argued that councils should be stand-alone entities in order for them to efficiently deliver services to Batswana. Ends