30 Sep 2022

The 56^th independence anniversary celebrations that were held across the country are said to be a beacon of hope as Botswana is reeling from the COVID-19 scourge.

While many across the country gathered at their respective dikgotla for celebrations, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi joined greater Gaborone residents at the National Stadium to partake in the festivities that had been absent for the past two years, owing to COVID-19 pandemic.

The activities, which largely resembled the past years' celebrations, were characterised by Botswana Defense Force (BDF), Botswana Police and Botswana Prisons parades as well as artistic cultural performances, parachute display as well as calisthenics presentations. 

The people's favourite, BDF, displayed their march past in slow and quick time, with the breathtakingly cute white horses, some of which are said to have been in the BDF service for five years now. A parade of 360 men and women in uniform significantly depicted discipline, focus and command. Of significance was the defence command logistics parade of officers marching while holding the BDF and Botswana flags and another one, which stayed folded during the parade, only unfolding when the President arrived at the National Stadium.

In his Independence message to Batswana that was previously aired on Radio Botswana and Btv, Dr Masisi urged the nation to reflect on the significance of the moment. “This introspection will afford us the opportunity to understand and appreciate who we are as a nation, and most importantly, to deliberately choose not to be shaped by horrific and worst miscalculation of our mindset. In so doing, we might just remind ourselves that despite the heavy weight of the challenges that for most parts of the last two years restricted our movement, there are still some things worth celebrating,” said Dr Masisi.

He, however, observed that the jubilation that accompanied Botswana’s National day in the past, had now been replaced by the grim COVID-19 events, which were still fresh in people’s memories, especially the terrifying months of July-September, 2021, when the country lost many citizens to the pandemic. He said many, especially women in the hospitality sector and youth who were dominating the service sector, were the hardest hit economically by the impact of COVID-19.

“The unprecedented nature of the pandemic and the necessary measures deployed to mitigate its impact were not helped by the global energy crisis that followed the immediate outbreak of the Russia/Ukraine conflict,” Dr Masisi said, noting that the Ukraine/Russia conflict consequently impacted the business sector, which was already recovering and re-hiring to reverse the trend of unemployment and loss of incomes.

Dr Masisi said the business sector was crippled by operational costs due to, among others, high fuel costs and associated supply constraints. However, amidst the crisis, President Masisi took solace in the realisation that Batswana possess an abundance of spirit to bear each other’s burden in times of crises. He, therefore, urged them to keep up the selfless and timeless spirit that was well engrained in the society, through practices such as molaletsa, dikgafela and letsema.

As livelihoods are sustained, government introduced policy and legislative reforms aimed at facilitating improvement of doing business and stimulating economic activity. Dr Masisi mentioned the reduction in the standard Value Added Tax rate from 14 to 12 per cent this year, as well as the Retirement Funds Act 2022, which was passed in Parliament, as some of government's interventions aimed at easing the economic hardships.

The Act allows pensioners access to draw money for settlement of mortgages and medical bills for terminal ailments. “This should improve their overall wellbeing and bring much needed relief to beneficiaries in distress while also freeing up a bit of cash in their pockets for other critical uses and sustenance,” the President said. Ends