07 Feb 2019

Member of Parliament for Shoshong, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele has applauded government for identifying the private sector as a key element in driving economic growth and employment creation.

Contributing to the budget proposal debates in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Makgalemele said private sector growth was widely acknowledged to be an essential component in the alleviation of poverty by means of providing more and different economic opportunities in any given society.

He said it was, however, disturbing that the contribution of the private sector to the development of the economy was still considered to be below potential.

Mr Makgalemele said it was, however, pleasing that the budget proposals presentation highlighted a significant amount of P45.1 billion which would be availed to government for procurement of goods and services from the private sector to spur growth and create employment opportunities.

The proposed amount allocated, he said, should act as an appetiser, particularly to young people and women who have government empowerment schemes geared towards enabling them to venture into businesses.“The proposed allocation of such amount of money should therefore appeal to the private sector to establish sustainable income generating entities that government will procure goods and service from, while those entities will at same time be creating employment for Batswana and boosting the country’s economy,” he said.

He also advocated for the development of human capital, saying it was an excellent move for the private sector to play a role in economic development because training programmes facilitated the ability for individuals to be more competitive and meet employers’ staffing needs.

Furthermore, Mr Makgalemele who is also Assistant Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, pleaded with government to allocate more funds towards rural development as a panacea for rural- urban migration.

The development of rural areas, he said, constituted an important sector in any nation’s economy, and that their rapid development and modernisation had gained the attention of policy makers and governments globally.

He said the logical basis of rural development should be the provision of socio-economic amenities, which were capable of transforming rural communities and eventually making them attractive for habitation.

Mr Makgalemele noted that the provision of basic infrastructure would not only stop rural-urban migration, but would also lure potential investors who would in the long run transform the livelihoods of rural area dwellers.

He acknowledged the P10 million constituency development fund, but pleaded with government to further increase the funds to sustain the entire developmental desires of constituencies. END