16 Nov 2021

The lack of support by Batswana towards their own has been identified as one stumbling block to efforts to attain growth and prosperity for all.

In his contribution to the State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, Gaborone North Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Mpho Balopi said should the negative mentality not be broken, the desire to see Batswana prosper in the different spheres of life would remain elusive.

Mr Balopi observed that it was disappointing that foreign nationals could easily thrive in Botswana especially in business while Batswana struggled to attain their level of success due to them not sticking together.

Cautioning against such spirit, he said should it not be addressed, government’s objective of pushing for the attainment of prosperity for all would remain a far-fetched dream.

With regards to job creation, the MP reiterated that government remained committed to the creation of sustainable jobs for citizens, a process that he, however, said was not the responsibility of government alone but was rather one that required the input of all.

Mr Balopi said in light of this, government, in conjunction with Business Botswana, the labour movement as well as the International Labour Organisation (ILO), had drawn up the national employment policy, the purpose of which was to guide the country in its endeavour to achieve productive, gainful and decent employment for all.

On governance, peace and security, the legislator highlighted the important role that bogosi continued to play in contributing to the maintenance of peace and to the promotion of good governance.

He said owing to the institution by nature being neutral, it was pivotal to knitting the nation together and fostering the spirit of oneness.

Mr Balopi also implored leaders in their different capacities to note that peace and tranquility had their foundation in family.

Thus, he said in everything that they did or said, leaders should be alive to the fact that they were laying a foundation for future generations to build upon.

Contributing to the same debate, Lerala/Maunatlala MP, Mr Sethabelo Modukanele expressed optimism that the Lerala mine would be reopened in the near future.

He said should that happen, sub-sectors such as transportation, housing and accommodation as well as the informal sector would be spurred to life, and that not only Lerala village would benefit but that the rest of the Tswapong region and Botswana in general would reap from the ripple effects of the mine’s reopening.

On health, MP Modukanele called for the construction of a primary hospital in Lerala.

The development, he said, would ease the congestion that was currently being experienced at Palapye Primary Hospital, a facility that he said was overwhelmed due to its catchment area being extensive.

Acknowledging that budgetary constraints were often the stumbling block to projects such as the one he was advocating for, he pointed out that time had come for alternative funding models to be explored.

He said with traditional funding mechanisms having been overtaken by events, models such as Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) needed to be considered especially since the private sector had shown keenness towards this.

Regarding sports, Mr Modukanele called on government to nurture sporting activities and codes by first identifying which region in the country was endowed with talent and in what code of sport.

He said in Tswapong for instance, there was an abundance of footballing talent that government could support and nurture by constructing mini stadia in strategic locations across the region to enable for the identification and polishing of such talent that would ultimately be of benefit to the nation. ends