21 Feb 2021

Government is simply re-instating taxes which were eliminated during years of economic prosperity, Specially Elected MP, Mr Kgotla Autlwetse told Parliament.

Debating the 2021/22 national budget, Mr Autlwetse, who is also Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, said it was time the taxes and subsidies which government eliminated were re-instated as the economy was facing challenges emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said Batswana used to pay local government tax which ranged up to P48 per annum depending on the individual’s income level.

Furthermore, he said government after diamonds were discovered introduced free education, zero rated certain products from tax and provided subsidies to the agriculture sector.

The MP said as the economy had been affected by poor performance due to declining mineral revenues, it was high time Batswana played a role in the form of increased Value Added Tax (VAT) and levies.

He further said only public officers paid income tax as the private sector was faced with challenges resulting with some businesses folding.

MP Autlwetse dismissed claims that the poor were being taxed, saying it was not true as income tax had not been increased and that the threshold had been set at P48 000 from P36 000.

He said for the economy to grow, Batswana should know that they had to pay tax.

The MP said the local government tax could be re-instated to generate revenue for councils which were solely depended on revenue supporting grant from the central government.

He called for government health officials not to discriminate against patients who had previously accessed private medical facilities using their medical aid.

He said such patients offered relief to government but because of COVID-19 they had exceeded their funds and relied on government health services.

MP Autlwetse further appealed to other members to be innovative and use the P10 million constituency development funds to undertake developments through Ipelegeng using professionals employed at councils rather than waiting for the central government to allocate additional funds.

He said in Mahalapye the P20 million from the two constituencies could be used to maintain the bus rank through assistance of Ipelegeng and council engineers and architects.

MP Autlwetse, meanwhile, raised concern that the recurrent budget allocated to the Ministry of Health and Wellness was not sufficient, saying additional COVID-19 vaccines might be required.

He said learning from the current procurement system would take a long time for government to secure additional funds, adding however that action should be taken against officers who delayed the acquisition of the planned vaccines.

The Specially Elected MP further welcomed the construction of roads through Public Private Partnership (PPP), saying more should be done under the system as the country was faced with economic challenges. ENDS