01 Dec 2020

Serowe West MP, Mr Tshekedi Khama has urged government to implement feasible initiatives and programmes to assist the youth who have no income due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Responding to the State-of-the-Nation Address, Mr Khama urged the government to create meaningful opportunities for young people to eke a living.

He said the performing arts sector, which was dominated by the youth, was hard hit by COVID-19 restrictions and the youth were unable to sustain themselves. He blamed the government for the plight of the youth amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He urged the government to promote other sources of generating income for young people in the creative sector. He said the pandemic protocols should not be used as an excuse for poor service delivery.

He said the proposed increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) was going to exacerbate the dire financial situation many families were going through. He appealed to government to incentivise the private sector and engage it in meaningful dialogue.

He said during the pandemic it was necessary to subsidise utilities such as water and electricity. On gender-based violence, Mr Khama said the majority of young people were frustrated and that gender relations were getting worse. 

He said gender violence was real and that government should not only talk about it, but should provide meaningful mitigation factors and enough funding for such interventions. 

He urged government to elevate women in society and to give them more autonomy. He also said they should be provided with a platform which was free from political influence.  

On wildlife, Mr Khama said there had been a decline of rhinos and elephants due to the disarmament of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks anti-poaching unit.

He said the recent deaths of elephants was handled in a dubious manner, adding that the government must establish factors to the human wildlife conflict. He said revenue from the tourism sector grew by 70 per cent before the hunting ban was introduced. 

For his part, Kanye South MP, Dr Lemogang Kwape said President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s fight against COVID-19 was worth applauding. He said even in his address President Masisi reiterated the BDP led government’s ambition about Batswana. 

He said the address brought hope where there was despair. He applauded small business people for not giving up even against the tough economic times. 

He said there was always hope in despair as the country had realised significant growth in the agricultural sector. He said the recently announced P1.3 billion industry support fund offered a glimmer of hope.

Dr Kwape appealed to organisations such as CEDA and CIPA to ease their normal requirements in order to make doing business easy for Batswana.

He said the signing of the African Continent Free Trade Agreement was an indication that the ease of doing business in Botswana was a top priority for the government. He also appealed to Batswana to support the newly introduced ISPAAD programme.

He urged government to utilise  Kanye’s rich natural heritage and to consider setting up heritage sites in order to generate income through tourism activities.

Dr Kwape, who is also Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, said Botswana was exalted for her sterling role in various global institutions.

Specially elected MP, Ms Peggy Serame commended her ministry and regional trading partners, especially South Africa. She said they worked round the clock against tight health protocols to deliver their mandate.

Ms Serame, who is also Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, appealed to citizens to assist the government in dealing with gender violence. She said the envisioned constitutional review should be done to build a better Botswana and address pertinent issues such as women representation across various platforms.

She noted that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) had indicated that global trade fell by 15 per cent and had made projections of another drop of seven per cent in 2021. She said it was an indication that it was still going to be tough going forward. 

She said her ministry was making investment a priority, highlighting special economic zones, which she said were a move in the right direction and a process that required time and proper planning. 

She said the government was on the verge of closing talks on free trade agreements and urged Batswana to prepare to take advantage of such arrangements. ends