20 Feb 2019

 Ghanzi North MP, Mr Noah Salakae says the country needs to shift its focus from economic growth to economic development.

Debating the proposed budget allocations for the 2019/20 financial year on February 19, Mr Salakae said the shift in focus would enable government to better take care of its people.

He said in order to achieve economic development, the country needed to employ several strategies, citing liberalising the beef industry and reviewing the Botswana/De Beers agreement as some of the strategies that could be employed.

Elaborating on the state of the diamond industry, he said the arrangement between Botswana and De Beers was colonial and no longer served the interests of the nation. He added that opening up the beef sector and reviewing the Botswana and De Beers’ agreement would help in fixing the country’s economy and steering it in the right direction.

On the budget, the lawmaker said the proposed allocations were not people-centred as the budgeting process was not participatory.

He dismissed the budget as no different from those of the past years, adding that the exercise had become monotonous.

For his part, Ngami MP, Mr Thato Kwerepe praised government for having handled the national purse well since independence.He also commended government for the initiatives that had been put in place over the years to develop the country and better the lives of citizens.

Among those he cited was the Economic Diversification Drive (EDD), whose impact, he said, was in the open.He said Botswana was also doing well in promoting the growth of the private sector.

He said the commercialisation of Botswana Building Society (BBS) was evidence of commitment by government to develop the private sector. Mr Kwerepe, however, appealed for the rolling out of BBS branches to different parts of the country so as to bring banking services closer to those who needed them

On another issue, the legislator urged government to consider reviving corporative societies, which he described as a vehicle through which ordinary Batswana could participate in the country’s economy. ENDS