19 Feb 2019

Vice President, Mr Slumber Tsogwane has pleaded with employees across all sectors to demonstrate the spirit of patriotism during their service delivery.

Debating the 2019/2020 budget proposal, Vice President Tsogwane, who is also Boteti West MP, said a key concern coming out of the budget remained lack of implementation.

He urged policies and projects implementers to stay committed to the course of moving the country forward in order for the budget to produce tangible results and stay relevant to the current economic needs.

 He said it was disappointing that funds were at times reverted back to government coffers during financial year endings due to lack of project implementations.

Mr Tsogwane pleaded with the country’s workforce to be productive and timely in delivering services and project management.

“The country’s workforce should be patriotic and mindful that they are the driving force behind the country’s economic growth, as low levels of productivity is of less importance to the country regardless of the amount of funds allocated to the development budget,” he said.

 The development budget, he noted, was the economic growth driver and should provide opportunities for employment creation. He said lack of capacity to deliver projects needed a critical review as government aimed to implement the monitoring and evaluation frame work.

The country, he said, had become not only a beacon of peace, but had at the same time made remarkable achievements in improving its infrastructure and citizenry alike. The economy, he added, had been transformed into a burgeoning free market devoid of price, exchange and interest controls.

“Botswana’s investment climate today is characterised by a stable macro-economic and democratic political system which the entire citizenry must be proud of,” he said.

He said government was a signatory to several declarations on human rights and sustainable development, adding that civil society in the country was growing both in stature and service delivery to the community they served.

The vice president also encouraged the public to be patriotic and appreciate the developmental strides that the country had made since gaining independence.

 For his part, Bobonong MP, Mr Shaw Kgathi applauded the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development for coming up with a budget that has the potential to translate into employment creation and economic transformation.

He said the budget spoke directly to the needs of the Bobonong constituency, as it addressed some of the development proposal in his constituency such as the ongoing construction of the Semolale police station which would service the Mabole Border Post by ensuring safety of the country’s border lines.

Mr Kgathi noted that there were also several ongoing development projects in his constituency like the Bobonong internal roads which had contributed to employment creation.

He further applauded the P10 million constituency funds allocation, saying it had aided the establishment of kgotla shelters and provision of accommodation for civil servants. He pleaded for an increase in the constituency development funds. ENDS