19 Aug 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the structural deficiencies of the country’s economy, and a need for the country to structure its economy differently, the Member of Parliament for Sefhare-Ramokgonami, Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang has said. 

Contributing to the debate on the approval of the Mid-Term Review of the 11th National Development Plan (NDP 11), Dr Gobotswang said the current situation had proved that past opposition leaders such as the late Dr Kenneth Koma were right all along when they consistently said Botswana’s economy was poorly structured.

He said they had always argued that rather than being content with exporting raw materials and importing finished goods, Botswana needed to boost manufacturing through value addition to raw materials, and invest in being self-sufficient in food production, water resources, electricity and fuel.

Dr Gobotswang said that upon the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the Botswana economy the governing Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) leaders started speaking of the importance of the country becoming self-reliant, adding he hoped they would finally heed opposition calls to transform the economy.

The fuel shortages experienced this year were a sign of poorly planned economy and the government should use the NDP 11 review and future plans to ensure better security in key resources such as water, fuel and food, Dr Gobotswang said.

Dr Gobotswang said Botswana’s economy faced challenges such as poverty, a huge income gap, unemployment, poor education and healthcare systems as well as educated youth earning low wages.

He said most Batswana lived in perpetual recession and the COVID-19 pandemic only served to worsen matters particularly in sectors such as tourism and the creative industry.

He added that the economies of Western European countries had recovered in the aftermath of World War II through using the Europen Recovery Programme, better known as the Marshall Plan, and Botswana also needed such planning to emerge from the current situation.

Giving his contribution to the same debate, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Mochudi East legislator, Mr Mabuse Pule lauded the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Thapelo Matsheka and his ministry for ensuring that key development projects had remained a priority.

Mr Pule said when a country was faced with an economic challenge such as the one posed by COVID-19, bread and butter developmental projects such as roads, water and electricity needed to be placed ahead of others.

He also said that disadvantaged groups such as children, the youth, elderly and those living with disability needed to be economically empowered. 

While the country had done well to ensure universal health coverage with most Batswana living within five kilometres of a health facility, there was a need to ensure there were more health practitioners available to assist.

Mr Pule said ailments such as HIV/AIDS as well as non-communicable diseases such as high blood pressure and sugar diabetes remained a challenge and resources need to be mobilized to ensure that the health sector was better placed to mitigate them.

Mr Pule said the government should explore opportunities in sectors such as agriculture and tourism to revive the economy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ends