26 Aug 2020

Botswana’s economy is being geared towards being an inclusive one that improves livelihoods.

The Minister of Labour Productivity and Skills Development, Mr Mpho Balopi, said this on Tuesday at the National Assembly during debate on the National Development Plan 11 (NDP 11) mid-term review.

Mr Balopi said under successive Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), governments, the economy had always been under good stewardship and areas that lacked behind were being addressed through the transformative agenda pursued under NDP 11.

He said while government sought to empower Batswana, past practices could be revived such as government supporting Batswana entrepreneurs to develop school uniforms countrywide, which in the past was promoted through Botswana Enterprises Development Unit (BEDU).

Mr Balopi said investment in arts and culture could also assist Batswana involved in the creative industry to earn a livelihood, stating that Batswana cultural innovations should be patented and artistic compositions protected by intellectual property then promoted internationally.

Gaborone North legislator also called for investment in research in order for the country to ascertain elements of the country’s indigenous knowledge that could be utilised, packaged and exported to the world to the financial benefit of the country and its people.

For his part, the Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Dr Edwin Dikoloti, said transformation of the economy was important, key to which was investment in the construction and expansion of roads.

Dr Dikoloti said there was need for production areas to have a good road network that linked value chain to markets and that could assist the country to increase its annual yield in order to engage in the commercial aspect of agriculture.

He stressed that in order for food processing and other industrial activities in the agricultural sector to take place, there was need for the country to be firmly focused on boosting crop production, since the country’s yield per hector of land used in agriculture was low.

Dr Dikoloti further said funding for research and development of the agricultural sector was important for future food security and the job creation that was possible through the commercialisation farming.

He also said the creative industry could also assist improve people’s livelihoods, and said the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development,  was exploring the possible establishment of a national arts council, which would be a beneficial development.

On one hand, Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development, Mr Mmusi Kgafela, told Parliament that he fully supported Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Dr Thapelo Matsheka’s submission of the NDP 11 mid-term review.

Mr Kgafela said the country faced the challenge of having relied heavily on a single commodity, diamonds for a long time, but Botswana’s natural diamonds were steadily being depleted while facing the challenge of sluggish global sales.

Furthermore, there have been corporations in other countries who have been producing synthetic diamonds, which have proved to offer competition to natural diamonds in the international markets, Mr Kgafela noted. As such, the country needs innovative ways of diversifying the economy, and the transformative agenda of NDP 11 was a welcome start, he said. ENDS