10 Nov 2016

Kgalagadi North MP, Mr Itumeleng Moipisi has said the National Development Plan (NDP 11) and its accompanying Vision 2036 offer hope for sustainable economic development. 

Contributing to the Draft NDP 11 in Parliament Tuesday (November 8), he said there was linkage in the two documents’ potential to create diversified sources of economy.

Mr Moipisi said the draft NDP 11 has clearly defined areas with potential for growing the economy as espoused in the document’s key words of employment creation and poverty eradication. 

“Indeed Vision 2036 and NDP 11 are intertwined as one of the pillars that of sustainable economic development is addressed. That is where we intend to create employment, eradicate of poverty and grow the economy,” he said.

He said the two documents were addressing aspirations of Batswana and that government was not off the path he created and was duly fulfilling promises made to Batswana.

Mr Moipisi said he was taken aback by criticisms from counterparts in the opposition who reject the draft NDP 11 as a complete failure even before it got started, without offering any alternatives.

MP for Jwaneng-Mabutsane, Mr Shawn Ntlhaile said he dismisses the draft NDP 11 because it was not different from previous NDPs 8,9,10.

 “There is nothing new in NDP 11 that government is ready to offer. This is just the usual template of every NDP; shallow and empty,” he said.

He said Botswana as a middle income country has only achieved impoverishing Batswana because unemployment continued to go down, despite growth of Gross Domestic Products in NDP 11.

He said NDP 11 as shown in the draft NDP 11 that government will be operating with deficit budget for the next three financial years.

Mr Ntlhaile said the draft plan did not show how poverty will be ended, adding that government was busy privatising state owned entities while other governments in the region used such to create employment for their people.

He said failure to come up with economic development policy and well defined privatisation policy and other problems such as selling public assets was a far-reaching failure by the government.

Mr Ntlhaile further said government was confused as to whether to privatise public entities or their management. ENDS