14 Feb 2018

 

The MP for Sefhare/Ramokgonami,Ms Dorcas Makgato has commended finance and economic development minister, Mr Kenneth Matambo for his sterling job in managing the country’s finances.

 

Commenting on the 2018/2019 budget proposal Tuesday, Ms Makgato said much as Mr Matambo spent a substantive amount of his speech talking about what Botswana had achieved in the last 10 years, and what President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama had achieved, he also deserved to be congratulated for a job well done.

 

Under Mr Matambo’s leadership, she said the country’s financial management was and still is in good hands.

 

“I am particularly proud, Mr Matambo, of what you have done because at the end of the day you are the one who has to scratch your brain, consult and make sure that what you put in front of us as cabinet and the President is something that you can sustain and can stand the test of time,” she said.

 

The Sefhare/Ramokgonami MP said under Mr Matambo’s leadership, Botswana’s economy had been exemplary and had a strong government system in place.

 

“When countries that are much more developed and much richer than Botswana were going backwards, Botswana had achieved growth and was continuously going forward, we have not had a regression,” she said.

 

Ms Makgato told Parliament that “to steer the economy amidst the financial crisis that the entire world faced, we still retained what we had. I think it’s commendable and you deserve all the accolades that are due to you as our Minister of Finance,” she added.

Mr Matambo’s achievement, she said, was made possible by President Khama’s leadership and ability to steer the ship when times were hard. 

 

She noted that when President Khama assumed power in 2008, the entire world faced a global recession which compromised his agenda for development, “but he managed to steer the ship and remain afloat under such difficult times.”

 

The MP for Kanye North, Mr Patrick Ralotsia also thanked Minister Matambo for having pointed out in his speech the challenges President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama faced when he assumed power.

 

He said the Ministry of Agriculture Development and Food Security should be allocated at least 10 per cent of the national budget for sustainability, food security, health and employment.

 

“There must be a very deliberate move and a deliberate action that government is injecting funds directly into agriculture,” he said.

 

For her part, Serowe South MP, Dr Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi hailed President Khama for his leadership, saying he leaves behind a legacy.

 

“He met up with a recession when he took power, but he decided to concentrate more on issues of social welfare programmes such as Ipelegeng, youth unemployment, constituency tournament, and he revived our culture which was almost diminishing,” she said.

 

“We could not build roads, bridges or increase public servants salaries, but human lives were well taken care of amidst financial crisis as President Khama ensured no employee lost their job during that tough time,” she added.The national budget, Dr Venson-Moitoi said, needed to focus on what the country’s economy required and not on what a particular constituency needed. This, she said, was what guided Mr Matambo’s budget proposal.

 

“This is my 18^th year as an MP, but what my constituents enjoyed most was my consultations with them and not necessarily developments, simply because I compromised and considered the needs of other constituencies more,” she said.

 

The MP for Gabane/Mmankgodi, Major General Pius Mokgware expressed concern that shortage of land was a critical problem in Botswana, but that the budget proposal did not address the challenge.“Batswana are currently faced with a serious shortage of residential and business plots.” The waiting list for allocation of plots is very long and that is a critical problem. 

 

This is a concern and it needs to be addressed or else it is going to be a serious problem,” he added.

 

Maj. Gen. Mokgware said he expected the budget speech to address the country’s challenges such as shortage of land and corruption.   Ends