23 Feb 2025

Vice President, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe has implored Batswana to remain hopeful about economic recovery despite the current P25 billion annual deficit.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Jwaneng on Saturday, he assured residents that the government was committed to deploying the best practices to resuscitate the economy of the country. 

He noted that among the key reforms towards rebuilding the economy was prioritizing mega projects that could serve as a foundation for economic stimulation.

“Mega projects are a key foundation for reviving the economy, and experts have indicated that water is an essential part of any economy to thrive. 

Our government is committed to build infrastructure to reticulate water to different areas because water is needed to drive agriculture, manufacturing industry and other sectors,” he said.

He acknowledged that the current floods across the country were a reflection of poor infrastructure and drainage systems, which challenged the government and its stakeholders to go back to the drawing board to rebuild the infrastructure. 

Mr Gaolathe noted that most of these mega projects were self-funding hence would be undertaken through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

However, he underscored the need for Botswana to partner with reliable countries and companies which shared the same vision and values. 

He also emphasised that patience should be an integral part of such partnerships, to protect and preserve the integrity of the parties involved.

Additionally, he noted that it was important for Botswana to foster good relationships with other countries, particularly those who had proprietary knowledge that could contribute towards driving developments. 

He said the government was steadfast in luring investors and opening doors for Batswana to trade their services and skills in other countries. 

“Our country is too small to be entirely independent and we are also a landlocked country hence we need other countries to grow our economy and thrive,” he said.

The Vice President  said that even though they appreciated the role that state-owned enterprises had played in the past, it was time to restructure and clearly define their respective mandates. 

This, he said  would create more employment opportunities for Batswana throughout the value chains.

He also said there was need to scale up services and production in state-owned enterprises to grow the economy through wider markets. 

Mr Gaolathe noted that growing the economy also called for innovative and effective processes in the public service to enhance service delivery. He said the public service should use modern technologies to efficiently serve the communities. 

He also said the education system should be aligned with skills demands, to create opportunities for Batswana to export their skills to other countries but also be competent enough to exploit the value chains created by various sectors such as mining and agriculture.

Notwithstanding the economic situation, the Vice President noted that government was committed to delivering on the promises made to Batswana, albeit with caution to avoid further sinking the country’s coffers. 

He said the increase of the old age pension to P1400 against the expected P1800 was one example which showed that the government had to exercise prudent financial management, while at the same time addressing the challenges faced by the citizens.

“While the intention is to address your challenges, we also have to be responsible with our budget by avoiding more debts that may sink the country deeper than we currently are. 

I believe we should remain hopeful that gradually we will restore the economy and address these challenges,” he noted. 

Jwaneng residents decried the poor state of road between Jwaneng and Maokane, which they said had adverse effects on the academic performance of Mogale Junior Secondary School in Maokane. Member of Parliament for Jwaneng/ Mabutsane, Mr Omphemetse Kwapa said due to shortage of accommodation, some teachers commuted from Jwaneng to Maokane and their performance at work was affected by the poor state of the road and the long distance they travelled daily. 

As an interim plan, he appealed to Jwaneng Mine to assist government employees with accommodation while government was still strategising on long term solutions to address the shortage. ENDS