17 Nov 2022

Leader of Opposition (LOO), Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse, has expressed concern about state of the country’s economic outlook and political governance, calling for reforms to generate wealth and broaden the scope of democracy.

In his response to the State-of-the-Nation Address in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Keorapetse also Selebi Phikwe West MP, said Botswana should be proud as Africa’s oldest continuous multiparty democracy and work to further entrench democratic consolidation to become even more of a shining example of good governance to Africa and the world. 

Citing, among other things, recent complaints raised by the Law Society with regards to the state of the judiciary, Mr Keorapetse said the country faced regression on separation of powers.

On socio-economic issues, the legislator  said the country faced rising inflation with high costs of basic food items as well as high levels of poverty and unemployment.

“According to Statistics Botswana Quarterly Multi-Topic Survey, the total number of youth not in education, employment or training was estimated at 322 849 for quarter four of 2021. Batswana face high consumer prices, weak economic growth and rising household debt,” he said.

He said his party, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC),  offered an alternative programme of greater civil liberties, industrial growth and social development.

“One of the primary objectives of the UDC is to build an economy that works for all, especially the most vulnerable- the youth, women, workers, poor people, the disabled, historically disadvantaged minorities and remote area dwellers,” Mr Keorapetse said.

He also said the UDC sought to invest in job creation through the use of natural resources for industrial development and large-scale infrastructure upgrade.

Mr Keorapetse said accelerated job creation should be a priority for government and suggested credit control measures to avoid predatory lending and unreasonable interest rates resulting in cyclic debt.

“We have started a policy debate in the UDC to explore the idea of a government entity buying a significant portion of public debt to extend relief to Batswana drowning in debt,” he said. 

He also said the opposition envisioned a living wage for low-income workers, comprehensive medical insurance for all Batswana and price controls to cushion citizens from the high cost of living. Ends