Sello Motseta
14th November 2022
Government has insisted it is alive to gnawing reality that COVID-19 has aggravated the entrenched afflictions of poverty, income inequality and unemployment in Botswana’s slowly bludgeoning landlocked population of 2,346,179.
It maintains that one the key lessons from the devastating effects of the pandemic is that government needs to be more resolute and resilient in preparing for uncertainties revealed the President during his State of the Nation address to parliament Monday.
“I am privileged to address Batswana this afternoon on this last State of the Nation Address (SONA) to be delivered under the National Development Plan (NDP) 11, which is coming to an end in March 2023. The formulation of the National Development Plan (NDP) 12 has been deferred to financial year 2025/2026 on account of reforms in our planning processes,” said Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of Botswana told the Fourth session of the Twelve parliament.
He said, “I firmly believe that democratic ethos compels us to respect the will of our people, such that, the strategic agenda of Government should always be driven by election promises. These reforms are meant to align national planning with the electoral cycle. This means that the Party which wins elections in 2024 will be able to set the development agenda according to its Manifesto.”
Masisi revealed that the National Development Plan (NDP) 11, is coming to an end in March 2023 and so the formulation of the National Development Plan (NDP) 12 has been deferred to financial year 2025/2026 on account of reforms in Government’s planning processes.
This means that the Party which wins elections in 2024 will be able to set the development agenda according to its Manifesto. Accordingly, a two-year Transitional National Development Plan has been tabled before the National Assembly, for consideration during the current sitting of Parliament.
Botswana is faced with high fuel and food prices, resulting in the rising cost of living. This is mainly due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, global supply chain constraints and other external factors. All these factors have placed an enormous strain on families and the economy.
Ministries have been reorganised and the rationalisation of some State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) is allegedly progressing well. The process is part of efforts to streamline Government into an effective and efficient machinery for better delivery of the national development goals.
“One of the key changes to note is the establishment of a National Planning Commission, an entity that has combined the functions of the National Strategy Office, Vision 2036 Council Secretariat, Government Implementation Coordination Unit, and the planning function from the then Ministry of Finance and Economic Development,” said Masisi.
He said, “The National Planning Commission will enhance coordination of national planning and implementation, as well as achieve effective monitoring and evaluation of the national development process. 9 23. Recently, Government approved the upgrading of twenty-two (22) Subordinate Authorities to fully-fledged Councils. Phase 1 of this reform is being implemented, while Phase 2 will be implemented in the next Financial Year. Key to this objective is Government’s effort to bring services closer to our people, as well as the promise to enhance local response to challenges and improve participation of local authorities in planning.”
According to officials the process of reviewing the Constitution of Botswana has started with the appointment of a Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Review of the Constitution on 19th December 2021. It gathered the views of Batswana on the strengths and weaknesses of the Constitution, as well as registered their concerns and proposals for its amendment.
“I am happy to inform you that the Commission submitted its Report on 29th September 2022. I wish to commend the Members of the Commission of Inquiry for delivering on their mandated task within the stipulated timeframe. This is a huge milestone in the maturity of our democracy. I assure you that this process will continue to be undertaken in an open and transparent manner to its final conclusion, up to the supreme law-making body – Parliament,” said Masisi.
He said, “The Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Review of the Constitution of Botswana will be made public immediately.”
Global growth is forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to average 2.9 percent a year over the next two years. It is projected that advanced economies will grow on average by 1.4 percent a year over this period. Emerging and developing markets, including sub-Saharan Africa, are 12 projected to grow at a much faster rate, averaging just over 4 percent a year.
“The high cost of living is likely to persist for some time with inflation above the Bank of Botswana’s monetary policy range of 3 to 6 percent. Inflation increase reached 14.6 percent in August 2022; the highest since the 2008/2009 global recession, although it has started tapering off at 13.8 percent in September 2022. 34. In this respect, Government took a bold decision in July 2022 to cushion households against the effects of the rising costs,” said Masisi.
He said, “We temporarily reduced the general rate of VAT from 14 percent to 12 percent for six (6) months. Another intervention was the increase of the allowances by 18.5 percent for students in local tertiary institutions. The recent decrease in global fuel prices enabled the Government to reduce national fuel prices.”
Botswana’s land locked economy continues to display signs of recovery in the medium term with domestic economic growth projected to grow 4.2 percent and 4.1 percent in 2022 and 2023, respectively. It however falls short of the 5.7 percent required to attain high-income status by 2036.
In April 2022, Government signed into law the Economic Inclusion Bill to further entrench effective participation of citizens in the economy. This law is supported by the revised Public Procurement Law, which was also approved in the same month. The two laws together will complement the implementation of the Reset Agenda.
In the last Parliament sitting Botswana Oil was given a 100 percent fuel import mandate and it is now fully embracing the policy of citizen economic inclusion through participation of citizen companies in the multi-billion-Pula fuel and lubricant supply.
The introduction of import restrictions on some vegetables and fruits to stimulate local production provided a huge market for Batswana.
“I am aware that consumers continue to encounter challenges of under-supply and increased costs of some fruits and vegetables. There are at times challenges of oversupply which, while beneficial to the consumer in terms of price, negatively affect the producer,” said Masisi.
He said, “As the market matures, this will stabilise.”
A large-scale citrus project in Selebi Phikwe started in 2020 as a result of Foreign Direct Investment. It employs over one thousand (1,000) people. For the first time, Botswana is expected to generate export revenue from high quality fruits to premium markets. To date, a total of seven hundred thousand (700,000) fruit trees have been 18 planted and additional land is being prepared to accommodate a further three hundred thousand (300,000) trees.
The construction of Tsabong multi-species abattoir will be commissioned in April 2023. The abattoir will give small stock farmers an opportunity to slaughter animals for local and international markets.
Furthermore, the establishment of the Meat Industry Regulatory Authority (MIRA) will be tabled at the next sitting of Parliament.
“The Meat Industry Regulatory Authority will, amongst others, enhance competition in the meat sector through licensing of abattoirs, managing animal traceability, and promoting the marketing of livestock and by-products,” said Masisi.
Government has also strategically positioned Ramatlabama National Artificial Insemination Laboratory as a centre of excellence for cattle and small stock assisted reproductive technologies.
Semen harvesting technology will be used for semen processing, analysis, packaging, labelling and storage. It will also be used for embryo flushing and will thus take us away from analogue to digitilisation.
To date, two hundred and sixty thousand seven hundred and thirteen (260,713) cattle semen straws are available at the Ramatlabama Laboratory. The Laboratory is intended to grow this capacity by the millions within the next two years.
“Of this number, two hundred and forty-eight thousand five hundred and thirteen (248, 513) were locally tapped while twelve thousand two hundred (12,200) cattle 20 straws of semen were procured from abroad. The newly revised Artificial Insemination roll- out programme was launched at Dibete nearly two weeks ago,” said Masisi.
He said, “Additionally, we will continue by importing live animals by the end of the financial year. The target is to have thirty (30) imported bulls and thirty (30) females by end of March 2023. This will help us reach a total of 4.32 million semen straws per year, against the current capacity of forty thousand (40,000). 59. A multi-species equipment to be used for tapping and processing semen for cattle and small stock of this magnitude is being procured.”
The export of live cattle is expected to continue for the next two years, subject to periodic reviews and already over two hundred and five thousand (205 000) cattle have been sold to neighbouring countries, in an effort to relieve farmers of cash-flow challenges occasioned by COVID-19.
As part of Government efforts to revitalise the beef industry, three private abattoirs have also been facilitated to export beef and beef by-products to international markets. This has increased opportunities in the beef sector.
The Botswana Vaccine Institute (BVI) is expanding its plant capacity to enable product diversification through Research and Development. The facility will more than double BVI capacity to blend vaccines from the current 20 million doses to over 50 million.
“This will enable BVI to diversify its product offering and deepen continental production on animal health products. Through its new organisational structure, the Institute will undertake targeted research and development towards new products to supply the SADC region, East and West Africa and other targeted markets by 2025,” said Masisi.
To extend the life of the mines, Jwaneng and Karowe mines are transitioning from open cast to underground. Morupule Coal Mine’s Motheo Open pit and coal washing plant have been fully commissioned and are operational. Premium Nickel Resources Botswana (PNRB) started surface drilling to determine the size and quality of the copper assets at Selebi Mine.
In addition, Premium Nickel Resources Botswana has completed the acquisition of the Selkirk Mine in August 2022. The Khoemacau Copper Mine which was commissioned at Boseto in June 2021, will reach full capacity and production in December 2022. Tshukudu Metals in Ghanzi has been licenced as a mining operation. As a result, it is constructing a copper mine which is expected to start production during the first half of 2023. 80.
With all these developments, the flourishing mining sector has to-date created employment for nineteen thousand two hundred and thirty (19,230), which is an increase of one thousand one hundred and forty-five (1,145) since 2021.
The transitioning from analogue to digital terrestrial transmission has resulted in the establishment of three Btv Channels with a policy of 80 percent local and 20 percent international content on the channel outputs. Furthermore, funding has been provided to capacitate Batswana, for both television and content production, especially for the youth.
The Botswana Satellite (BOT SAT-1) in Palapye, has been developed in partnership with the Cape Town University of Science and Technology. A major component of this satellite is the ground communication station which has been completed and ready for commissioning.
This ground station will immediately communicate with other orbiting satellites before the launch of our own satellite in 2023. The project will make Botswana one of the few African countries with an orbiting satellite, reflecting our hunger for a knowledge-based economy.
Some of the key benefits from this project are water resource management, industrial development, environmental management, land management, food security and sustainable agriculture, among others. The Botswana Satellite will bring Botswana into the global satellite eco-system for research and development in a variety 32 of disciplines.
The Amendment of Public Roads Act to establish toll gates, was passed by Parliament in July 2022, which provides an opportunity for alternative generation of revenue for the maintenance of roads.
Government also intends to secure trans-boundary water resources on the bilateral and multi-lateral fronts through the Chobe-Zambezi Water Transfer Scheme as a Public Private Partnership (PPP). A feasibility study will be completed by February 2023.
The Child Friendly Police Service Centre established in Gaborone in 2020, has now been expanded to Francistown, Shakawe and Letlhakane. The service will make it easy for reporting of cases involving the abuse of children. To ensure that no child is left behind in education, Government has since approved the Languages Policy of 2022 which will be used for basic teaching from pre-primary to standard. This Policy will be introduced in the following languages, from January 2023: Sheyeyi; Thimbukushu; Naro; Nama; Afrikaans; Khwedam; IsiNdebele, OtjiHerero/OtjiMbanderu; Shekgalagari; Ikalanga; ChiShona; Chiikuhane; and, Sign Language.
The agreed orthography and dominance in the regions where the languages are spoken, were some of the criteria used for their selection.
Botswana is committed to the protection and promotion of the rights of people with disabilities, as is demonstrated by the country’s accession to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in August 2021 revealed the President.
A Director for the Department has been appointed following the passing-on of the former Director and a Draft Disability Bill has been developed for the next sitting of Parliament, to enable the domestication of the Convention.
A revamped Ipelegeng Programme encompassing a skills development component was launched this year. The objective is to empower and equip Ipelegeng with accredited artisan skills and knowledge that will allow them to engage meaningfully in the economy. The new programme has been rolled out to all the districts to undertake public works.
Masisi says the Government is determined to address the challenge of land allocation to Batswana throughout the country by pursuing an ambitious target of allocating one hundred thousand (100,000) plots to Batswana, by end of the year.
As of November 2022, the land allocation stands at over thirty three thousand (33 000) plots in eight (8) months. This is a huge increase from an annual average of about eight thousand six hundred and thirty (8630) plots per year in the last twenty years.
One of the top priorities of the Reset Agenda is to protect Batswana from COVID-19 by July 2022.
One million five hundred and thirty-four thousand, eight hundred and one (1,534,801) people are now fully vaccinated in Botswana. This translates into 64 percent against a target of 70 percent set by the World Health Organization (WHO) by mid-2022.
After many years of fighting against HIV/AIDS, anchored on behavioural change, testing, enrolment in Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), as well as psychosocial support, results are starting to bear fruit. The incidence rate for 2013 was 1.33 percent and has since decreased to 0.2 percent in 2021, showing that the rate of new infections is decreasing.
“The HIV prevalence in 2013 was 18.5 percent and in 2021 it had increased to 20.8 percent, showing the efficacy of our treatment programme,” said Masisi.
Legal Aid Botswana will expand its mandate of providing free legal service to deserving citizens. In this regard, it will start offering criminal legal aid as a pilot project through the establishment of units in Gaborone and Francistown. We have strengthened our legislation and institutions to ensure that Botswana is never again Grey Listed. In this regard, Parliament passed 17 Bills.
Opposition politicians were however not impressed with the optimistic note struck by the President.
“We expected the President to state in numbers the amount of FDI as percentage of GDP in 2018 and how it has improved since then, appraising us on the economic value of his international travels; where he has cut trade or economic deals and amounts of same in Pula terms,” said Dithapelo Keorapetse the Member of Parliament(MP) for Selebi-Phikwe West and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament.
He said, “The President should have been candid with Batswana on how his policies have made Batswana to be less indebted to financial institution compared to when he got into office. SONA presents an opportunity to account and answer to Batswana on the disposal of the President’s constitutional power and duties, to act upon criticism or requirement made of him and his government and accept (some) responsibility for failure, incompetence, or deceit.”
Keorapetse observed that the word unemployment appears only once in the 66 pages speech by the President and words and phrases such as graduate unemployment, youth unemployment, inequality or inequalities and underemployment don’t appear at all in his SONA speech.
He also noted that the President remains silent about concerns raised by Kgosi Mosadi that he tried to interfere with the judiciary.
“No investors want to be in a country where there is perceived lack of fairness or where there’s no confidence in the judiciary. If judges are compromised, the public resorts to other unconventional means of seeking Justice,” said Keorapetse.
According to Keorapetse, Statistics Botswana Quarterly Multi-Topic Survey (QMTS), reveals that the number of unemployed persons was estimated at 211, 473, increasing to 238, 731 in quarter four of 2020. The 2021 fourth quarter estimate was 252, 316, an increase of 5.7 percent on quarter four of 2020. The total number of youth not in education, employment or training from the quarter four of 2021 results was estimated at 322,849 persons.
Youth unemployment rate for quarter four 2021 was estimated at 34.4 percent or 111,060.
“The high consumer prices alongside the weak economic growth and high unemployment rate have effectively put Botswana in a state of economic crisis In September 2022, the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services declined marginally but remained at 14-year highs of 13.8 percent, way above the 3-6 percent objective range of the Bank of Botswana,” said Keorapetse.
He said, “Fuel, cooking oil, rentals, taxi and bus fares, maize meal, sorghum, fruits and vegetables, detergents and many other essentials are prohibitively exorbitant. This has increased the number of people categorized as the working poor. This is also exacerbated by expensive water bills and electricity tariffs. Services fees are also high.”
There is no cheap permit or license from any government department anymore. It has become very expensive to pay medical aid or medical bills, any form of insurance, school fees in private schools and buying and owning a house has become a luxury many cannot afford.
Not only is the nation facing a serious shortage of medicines in public hospitals and clinics, physically the state of major hospitals like Phikwe Hospital, Nyangabwe and Marina is very bad.
In Selebi Phikwe for example, the state of drugs availability is such that Vital drugs 39%, Essential drugs 31%, Necessary drugs 22%, Average 31%. 61% of vital drugs are unavailable in Phikwe. Chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, asthma, kidney diseases, arthritis, mental illnesses and others are not well managed. Patients die of strokes and diabetic comas as a result of lack of vital medicines to manage chronic conditions.
The DCEC Director General Tymon Katlholo estimated in June 2022 that P600 million was lost in corruption over the last 11 months looking at the cases he has investigated.
“According to McLean and McMillian, State Capture obtains when a small number of firms is able to shape the rules of the game to its advantage through massive illicit, and non-transparent provision of private benefits to officials and politicians. There is a group of predominantly Chinese Companies and other foreign entities which are able to get public policy decisions and or executive decrees in a manner that has repurposed the state to suit their interests and those of their beneficiaries,” said Keorapetse.
He said, “The entire government tendering system is rigged. At the center of the whole tendering system crisis is the DIS. Look at the number appeals and court cases on projects. The public has lost hundreds of million as a result.”
Poor results in public schools are embarrassing; for BGCSE, credit pass rate (6 credits and better) stood at 24% in 2019, 21% in 2020 and 21% in 2021.
The proportion of learners who transit from junior secondary level stood at 56.10% in 2019, 57.35 in 2020, 55.45% in 2021 and 58.76% in 2022. Teachers conditions of service are appalling; they are underpaid, live in substandard accommodation and can go up to 15 years in one scale.
Botswana’s Tax – to – GDP ratio which was 12.1% in 2018 according to OECD Africa Revenue Statistics 2020, and is lower than the average of 30 African countries. This points to a monumental failure of our economic high command at the finance ministry.
Keorapetse said “UDC has suggested and still proposes that BURS and its parent ministry be set a target of say 30% to be reached in the next 5 years. We have argued that this is attainable based on global statistics of developing and developed countries. Any country whose ratio is below 15% tends to struggle to finance social and economic development expenditure.”
Keorapetse maintains that if BURS were able to reach a ratio of 20% this would be sufficient to cover the national budget deficit for 2021/22/2022/2023 and prevent the need for government to go out cap in hand asking for “no mathata” loans from the African Development Bank(ADB) or Breton Woods and other multilateral and bilateral lenders.
Opposition leaders have also accused Government of abandoning its election promise to create jobs.
Wynter Molotsi, Member of Parliament for Francistown South, said “We have children who have not been working for over 10 years. Tertiary institutions are producing graduates but no jobs are being created.”
He said, “Government talked of creating jobs to win general elections. Now they say they are only responsible for creating a conducive environment.”
