13 Feb 2020

 Mogoditshane legislator, Mr Tumiso Rakgare has accepted the 2020/21 national budget proposals, saying they clearly set the tone towards economic transformation as presented by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning.

Debating the budget in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Rakgare said finance minister, Dr Thapelo Matsheka had articulated steps needed to transform the economy from resource-based to knowledge-based very well.

The Mogoditshane legislator agreed with the minister that the creative industry could create jobs and diversify the economy.

He applauded the minister for having realised the importance of the private sector and said he welcomed the public private partnerships as outlined in the budget speech.

Botswana is to host Forbes 30 Under 30 this year and Mr Rakgare said that would present an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to learn from the best around the world.

Talking about his constituency, he said Mogoditshane had the highest population in the country with 58 000 residents, hence faced with a number of challenges which he attributed to the village being close to Gaborone.

The challenges include high crime rate and unemployment, adding that currently 140 000 people were waiting to be allocated residential plots in the village.

He said despite the huge population, Mogoditshane had only two clinics, which also catered for residents from nearby villages. MP Rakgare further called for development of infrastructure in his village.

Some of the funds allocated to the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security, he said, could be used to create additional police posts to help combat crime.

For his part, MP for Good Hope/Mabule, Mr Eric Molale welcomed the allocations for research and development, saying they were needed for economic transformation.

He said while the minister spoke about efficiency in spending, this should be based on return on investment.

MP Molale called for developments in his constituency, saying they needed better roads, access to portable water and additional schools.

Meanwhile, Bobirwa legislator, Mr Taolo Lucas dismissed the speech, saying it was the same rhetoric that was echoed by his predecessors.

He said Dr Matsheka was not bringing anything new as the government had talked about economic diversification for about 40 years and wondered what must be done for the country to completely diversify its economy.

MP Lucas said the 1991 budget speech mentioned poor project implementation and Dr Matsheka still talked about the issue, indicating that there had never been an improvement.

He further suggested that government should tackle the widening gap between the rich and the poor.

Botswana is faced with high levels of unemployment and MP Lucas said Ipelegeng should at least be transformed into permanent jobs with employees getting the set minimum wages.

On education, he was concerned about poor results and said this emanated from poor school infrastructure and wondered where the over 50 per cent pupils who failed their BGCSE would go.

Talking about agriculture, he said his constituents were facing a bleak future as their cattle were stolen and driven to Zimbabwe, but get killed when they return and farmers compensated with P700 per beast due to Foot and Mouth Disease.

He called upon the defence minister to increase resources to assist farmers in Bobirwa while at the same time, saying the P700 should be increased as it left farmers poor.

MP Lucas called upon the government to construct the hospital planned for his constituency in the next financial year, 2020/21.

Meanwhile, MP Aubrey Lesaso of Shoshong said the upper middle income status did not have any meaning to his constituents as they lingered in poverty.

He said government was wasteful, saying instead of waiting for infrastructure to be dilapidated and require huge amounts of money for maintenance, there should be a maintenance law, not a policy as stated by the finance minister.

MP Lesaso said government should come up with a plan of employing interns instead of throwing them out on the streets.

MP for Serowe South, Mr Leapetswe Lesedi said all hospitals in the country were in a state of disrepair, including the new Sekgoma Memorial Hospital in Serowe, which he said only looked attractive from the outside.

He said patients were frequently returned home empty-handed because of shortage of medicines for high blood pressure and other non-communicable diseases.

MP Lesedi called for the opening of the old Sekgoma Memorial Hospital, which despite having been refurbished at exorbitant costs, remained a white elephant.

He called for additional funding for the police, saying they were under-resourced, yet crime was on an increase, adding that the police station in Serowe was also old.

The Shoshong legislator called government to increase allowances for VDC members. ENDS