16 Feb 2025

Instead of blaming the country’s depleted coffers and being averse to criticism, Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) should take responsibility as a party in government and offer solutions to national challenges.

Debating the proposed budget in Parliament on Friday, Maun East legislator, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile said time for celebrating elections outcome had ended and there was a need for the UDC to focus on governance, including finding solutions and means to implement electoral pledges.

He said UDC government came into power by a democratic culture of diversity of thoughts and contestation of ideas, they need to accommodate a diversity of opinion.

He said many key aspects necessary for developing the nation’s democracy, such as political party funding were not mentioned in the budget.

Mr Kekgonegile said party funding was necessary to nurture democracy and reduce the chance of external business interests buying favour by sponsoring those in leadership.

Among the labour challenges the country faced, he said casualisation of labour needed to be rectified.

He said many university and college graduates in their mid-30s spent past decade working as interns or on short-term contracts, denying them the benefit of full employment such as an accumulating pension or ability to attach bank loans to their salaries.

Expressing gratitude for roads due to be constructed in Maun East, Mr Kekgonegile said this needed to be complimented by storm water drainage infrastructure.

He said there was need for road network infrastructure linking agricultural production areas in his constituency.

Furthermore, Mr Kekgonegile said given the human-wildlife conflict impact on farming in Ngamiland, there was need for affirmative action interventions towards agriculture in the area.

For his part Member of Parliament for Kgatleng East, Mr Mabuse Pule said Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) had laid a strong foundation for governance and development in the country; doing a commendable service to the nation in government from the mid-1960s until 2024.

He said BDP assumed power when the country was one of the least developed, but it set in place instruments of governance and development that changed Botswana’s fortunes.

Mr Pule therefore, urged UDC to desist from using the country’s poor financial state as an excuse not delivering in government.

The Kgatleng East MP said the UDC government should similarly think on their feet and look for solutions instead of always pointing to depleted national coffers. He said he expected government to deliver to Batswana, particularly the disadvantaged and vulnerable within society.

He commended Vice President and Minister of Finance Mr Ndaba Gaolathe for his demeanour when presenting the national budget, saying a new government was to repurpose the national development plan, and would need time to add a new policy imprint.

He said the Budget Speech only touched on old age pension among the many promises UDC made in their electoral manifesto, adding that the nation needed to be appraised on when the delivery of the other promises could be anticipated.

Additionally, Mr Pule expressed delight that many of the roads and other infrastructure projects previously planned by the BDP government would be carried forward into the new budget and development plan.

But he said he was disappointed that there was no mention of the previously planned Malolwane-Maphashalala road which he said would be important in connecting Kgatleng East villages, improving access to agriculture, trade, health and other activities, as well as to decongest traffic load on the A1 road. ENDS