08 Dec 2021

Botswana needs to create and nurture a new revenue growth model to avoid reliance on the same revenue sources.

Kanye North Member of Parliament, Mr Thapelo Letsholo said this when responding to  the State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) on Tuesday.

Mr Letsholo said the traditional revenue sources that had for decades been the backbone of the country’s economy were now in a precarious situation and had become increasingly unpredictable; hence it was more critical to explore and adopt new ones.

He said the difficulties that the economy found itself in were evidenced by such developments as the recent proposal by the finance and economic development minister seeking Parliament’s approval to source a loan from the African Development Bank.

Contrary to tradition where such loans were sourced to finance the implementation of development projects, he said it was worrying that the loan in question was being sought to enable government to make ends meet.

This, Mr Letsholo said, was unprecedented and worrying, noting that if government did not get things right, it would hand over to the next generation, a country that was poorer, more indebted, less resilient and less attractive.

Mr Letsholo said for government to have a chance of handing over a better country to future generations, it was desirable that it consistently reported against key indicators of unemployment versus jobs created, poverty levels, income inequalities and lack of household savings versus debt, amongst others.

On a different issue, the lawmaker indicated that for the nation to successfully implement the Reset Agenda, championed by President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, it was imperative to review and re-configure some of the platforms and structures through which national development programmes were being implemented.

That, he said, would require a review of the National Development Plan (NDP) as a development tool and an urgent reconfiguration of state-owned enterprises.

He also said it was necessary to address the spiraling crime, which presented itself in the form of heists, armed robberies, snatch and grabs and others that continued to occur at an escalating rate.

Mr Letsholo said the state of affairs painted an undesirable picture of lawlessness in the country and painted it as an unsafe place for citizens and visitors.

Furthermore, he said it painted a picture of an unsafe place to do business and was bound to hamper the country’s ability to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

He said there were assertions that the crimes besieging the country appeared to be borne out of desperation due to the economic downturn, hence it was critical that government implemented economic rejuvenation strategies as a matter of urgency.

On economic growth, the legislator zeroed in on the role that state-owned enterprises ought to be playing.

He said to grow the economy, it was necessary to build and recondition state-owned enterprises with proper accountability for outcomes.

Mr Letsholo said most of the entities were performing below par, and thus failed to adequately harness their potential to ignite an economic revolution.

In addition, Mr Letsholo noted that performance and productivity within the public sector were also wanting.

He said there was therefore need for clarity on the type of outcomes expected from public officers.

Contributing to the debate, Lentsweletau-Mmopane MP, Ms Nnaniki Makwinja prefaced her remarks by commending government for doing its best to safeguard the social welfare of citizens through the various social security nets.

Ms Makwinja noted further that the drive to empower Batswana through different schemes and programmes was also ongoing and encouraged citizens to make use of those.

Pertaining to unemployment, the legislator cautioned Batswana against shunning jobs that are labour intensive in preference for white collar jobs.

She said it was disappointing that despite Batswana being skilled in different vocations, they chose to sit on their skills and talents, something that had resulted in foreigners taking up the jobs that Batswana could be earning a living from.

The Member of Parliament said the status quo called for some mindset change amongst Batswana as espoused in the Reset Agenda.

On issues specific to the Lentsweletau-Mmopane constituency, Ms Makwinja highlighted the need for markets for horticultural produce, informing Parliament that in spite of the constituency doing remarkably well in horticulture, the lack of markets thwarted farmers’ efforts to feed the nation as their produce often went to waste due to it being perishable by nature.

She thus appealed to government to build a processing and distribution plant in the constituency, a development that she noted would, in addition to allowing farmers to do value-chain addition, also generate some much-needed jobs.

Regarding delays in land allocation, the lawmaker said despite its undesirable consequences, it was sad that the problem was becoming commonplace with no solution in sight.

Ms Makwinja noted that due to delays in availing land to citizens, instances of squatting were becoming prevalent, and that the resultant demolition of structures erected by squatters served to only compound the misery of the affected Batswana whom desperation for land ownership had pushed into violating the law.

On health, she said it was disturbing that to date health services in some areas in her constituency were still being dispensed from mud structures.

Ms Makwinja therefore appealed for proper and adequate health facilities in the constituency. ends