11 Dec 2024

The country’s health system has for too long subjected citizens to poor healthcare. 

 Lobatse Member of Parliament, Mr Kamal Jacobs said on Tuesday during the State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) debate where he stated that the sector was defined by crumbling infrastructure, outdated equipment and shortage of essential resources, hence posing a grave danger to human lives. 

He said it was the government’s moral duty and constitutional responsibility to ensure that every individual, regardless of their background had access to modern and efficient safe healthcare facilities.

Athlone Hospital in Lobatse he said was not an exception and proposed that it be transformed into a state-of-the art regional medical center with modern facilities. 

The MP said it would not only meet the current health care needs of citizens but also serve as a foundation for the future where no life was lost due to preventable failure of infrastructure or resources. 

Mr Jacobs said the hospital facelift should include reconstruction and rebuilding the hospital to meet international standards of safety, equipping the facility with cutting edge technology, increasing capacity to serve a growing population, recruiting and training medical professionals, provision of adequate transport and ensuring consistent water supply to the facility. 

“This endeavour is not merely a cost, it is an investment in our nation’s most valuable asset, its people. Healthy citizens are productive citizens and strong healthcare infrastructure is the backbone of a thriving economy and a just society,” said Mr Jacobs. He said the constituency population was about 29 772 of which half of its active population was unemployed and suffering. 

Therefore, he said the designation of Lobatse as a special economic zone for meat and leather would not merely be an economic initiative, but a transformative opportunity to boost the nation’s industrial capacity, generate employment and ensure sustainable economic growth. 

Further, Mr Jacobs said the meat and leather city had the potential to become a hub of innovation and productivity, by prioritising meat and leather processing, retail of finished meat and leather products as well as dairy processing, biotechnology, logistics and distribution among others. “Establishing this special economic zone will generate thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities, particularly for the skilled and semi-skilled workers in rural and urban areas,” he said. 

He believed that instead of exporting raw materials, the zone should focus on value addition through advanced meat and leather processing, which would ensure that profits remained within the country as well as positioning the county as a processing and logistic hub. 

For her part, Gaborone Bonnington North Constituency MP, Ms Maipelo Mophuting said one of the most critical priorities of the new government was building an inclusive economy that stimulated job creation. 

She said Gaborone Bonnington North had some of the country’s biggest diamond industry players and called for value chain development of the diamond Industry. 

Ms Mophuting said the biggest opportunity was on the jewelery sales side because the size of the market for Jewelry was US$100 billion globally. 

“So, I am calling specifically for full beneficiation of diamond products which includes jewelery to be undertaken in my constituency and provide employment for skilled citizens,” said Ms Mophuting. 

However, she said there was a need to intensify skill development in jewelry, adding that there were countries with advanced jewelry industries, from which the UDC led government could benchmark. 

On education, Ms Mophuting said the education system needed overhauling to usher in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) curriculum, to produce learners with education with production. 

On other issues, she said Gender-Based Violence (GBV) continued to ravage society, hence undermining the safety, health, and potential of countless individuals, particularly women and children.

“It is without question, a national crisis that demands immediate and sustained action,” said Ms Mophuting and added that GBV was a severe and pervasive issue, with statistics highlighting its widespread impact. 

Approximately, she said 67 per cent of women in Botswana had experienced some form of gender based violence in their lifetime and 37 per cent experienced it in the preceding year, while intimate Partner Violence alone affected 29 per cent of women annually. 

She said GBV had economic, social and psychological impact, adding that to address it comprehensively, it was critical to establish dedicated infrastructure and systems that provided immediate, specialised, and holistic support for survivors. 

On corruption, Ms Mophuting said it negatively impacted democracy and the rule of law as systems and institutions lost credibility, justice seldom prevailed, qualified persons deprived of appropriate opportunities and pledged to support the fight against corruption. Ends