20 Feb 2020

Parliament on February 19 accepted the 2020/21 national budget as presented by Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Thapelo Matsheka early this month.  

Dr Matsheka had presented P67.62 billion as total expenditure against revenue grants of P62.39 billion, therefore a deficit of P5.23 billion.

Debating the budget proposals prior to approval, Vice President Mr Slumber Tsogwane said the transformation agenda must start with the public service.

Mr Tsogwane said government had been concerned about poor project implementation.

He said he was happy Dr Matsheka had talked about introducing monitoring and evaluation systems which would help close the gaps realised during

National Development Plan (NDP) 10 implementation.

Mr Tsogwane, who is also MP for Boteti West, said the monitoring and evaluation system should have performance based frameworks.

He said the Central District made it difficult to monitor projects and that some of the nine sub-districts should be established as fully fledged district councils.

The Vice President further said while government supported bogosi, he was concerned about dikgosi who had abdicated their royal duties.

Talking about his constituency, he said his constituents appreciated developments being undertaken such as expansion of water and power services.

He said residents of Xere and Kedia were happy that their villages had been included in the rural electrification project.

Meanwhile, he said he was disappointed that the Leader of the Opposition had failed to provide an alternative budget in his response.

For her part, Specially Elected MP, Ms Philda Kereng said the budget speech was in line with national and international goals as it aligned well with Vision 2036 and the African Union’s 2063 goals.

She further said the budget addressed core areas as it covered issues of employment and a private sector led economy.

Ms Kereng said money had been spent but there had been little or no return on investments spent on education and the health sector, although government continued to offer free education and health services.

She was happy that the country would embark on efficient spending and continue to fight corruption.

She said in order to attain transformation, no one should be trained or acquire skills that would not benefit the economy.

She also welcomed the improvement of public service conditions, and called upon public officers to improve their productivity levels.

Ms Kereng further welcomed the citizen empowerment law, saying it would help empower citizens and that government would continue to support local businesses.

She also said citizens should be encouraged to venture into the tourism sector, adding that communities living within or near wildlife areas should economically benefit.

For his part, Moshupa-Manyana MP, Mr Karabo Gare said government spent P5 billion on parastatals yet there was little return on investment.

He said the idea behind establishing parastatals was to decentralise services to the people, but that some have proved to be a waste of resources.

Mr Gare, who is also Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, called for the transformation of the National Development Bank (NDB) to be agriculture focused, saying the sector had the potential to create employment and assist with food security.

He further said government was not realising ideal results on the ISPAAD programme, hence he welcomed its review.

MP Gare called upon government to look into its assets, both movable and immovable, saying some were just a waste to government.

He said some buildings belonging to government remained idle while the government fleet was also not properly monitored as some vehicles were gathering dust at Central Transport Organisation (CTO) workshops across the country. ENDS