During Masire’s tenure, Saleshando said problems of unemployment, economic diversification and attraction of foreign direct investment were prominent.
“You have more or less turned this challenges into a national song,” he said.
The youthful MP was worried by Gaolathe’s “deliberate conspiracy to mislead the entire nation” by being economic with information. Instead of stating the actual figures on unemployment, he said, Gaolathe opted for a softer way out by saying unemployment growth declined from 3.1 percent to 2.8 percent. He added that there is no cause to celebrate that the economy is growing, as the fruits are not translated into meaningful job opportunities. “The economy has been experiencing a jobless growth and this is because of the dominance of the mining sector.
All the people of the country want is just to have sustainable jobs, not to work in construction that would lay them after projects are completed. The people of this country want jobs that can keep them above the poverty datum line,” Saleshando said.
He added that currency devaluations have created fictitious wealth, with particular reference to the import cover - which is reported to have grown from 22 to 27 months. The devaluations have also ballooned the mineral income, as the domestic currency became weaker against those of the trading partners.
“It is just like giving up of being rich in Botswana and you take your P10,000 and relocate to Zimbabwe. And when you get there, you start celebrating that you are a millionaire.”
He likened devaluations to “Idi Amin’s (Uganda’s bloody tyrant) style of economic management, where you believe that you become rich by printing more money.”
He criticised government for failing to attract foreign direct investment, saying in US Dollar terms, the country raked in the same amount by 2004 as it did in the early 1990s. However, Saleshando said this year’s theme for the budget is inspirational.
