UDC statement on poor governance and BDP misrule
Moeti Mohwasa | Monday January 30, 2023 06:00
This obviously does not include the BDP President, his Ministers, top civil servants and the party's surrogates in the "private sector".
After a long time of giving the different generations of BDP government space to govern and address the serious challenges confronting our nation, the UDC has resolved to close down that space.
It is clear that many BDP leaders have entrenched themselves, their families in different acts of corruption, crime and abuse of power. It is therefore evident that our country with all its wealth in minerals, wildlife resources, land and water has gone deeper and deeper into poverty and inequalities of unparalleled proportions. The President and his cabinet meanwhile are riding high in arrogance and abuse of power.
The following examples are just a few indicators of a country in decline:
1. Current Shortages of Medicine - The current acute shortages of medicine across the country in public health institutions and its decimating effects on the health status of the population is treated casually by Minister Dikoloti and his government. The response is evidence of an arrogant government. Firstly, to allow the country to come to this state is a clear failure in both planning and implementation. The Ministry was given a generous budget – the highest of all ministries but failed to procure critical medicines on time.
Why? They espouse a nonsensical claim that suppliers are refusing our orders because Botswana has a small population. Since when did these suppliers discover this? Are smaller countries such as Mauritius, Eswatini, Namibia and Lesotho also running short of supplies because of their population sizes some even less than Botswana's? If this was true, why are these countries not pooling their resources to buy as SADC? They tell us SADC has a population of 400m+ and it is a huge market, why is it not used? Simple, the Minister is arrogant, irresponsible and inefficient. It is ironic that medicines are available in the private health care facilities and pharmacies, a sector that is smaller than the public one. So the argument by the BDP government holds no water.
2. Poor Handling of COVID -19 - During the height of COVID – 19, a lot of Batswana lost precious lives in numbers.
A substantial number of these lives would have been saved had the minister and his government acted decisively and in an emergent manner to order oxygen that was available in the market. Many countries, some poorer than Botswana like Zimbabwe and Lesotho did better. Now that COVID-19 has declined, this same government goes around boasting that they were able to safe many lives.
Really? How arrogant, insensitive and blind to the facts?
3. Deepening Unemployment – Unemployment especially of women and youth has deepened since 2018 when President Masisi came to power. This is the same President who describes himself as the "Jobs President". He and his ministers are on record having said that it is not the responsibility of government to create jobs.
They are saying it is the responsibility of the private sector. Who is private sector, Batswana should ask? Who elected them to be in-charge of job creation? Ironically this same government claims that it can create wealth but not jobs. They are all over in Dubai, New York, Davos and other places of luxury using our scarce national resources claiming to attract foreign investors who never come. This government must indeed account for the millions of Pula used on these trips of extra-ordinarily large entourage against the return on such a huge expense.
4. Corruption has Reached Intolerable levels – The involvement of senior politicians in this scourge has deprived ordinary citizens of better salaries, wages and crucial services such as medicine, water, food and opportunity to work and earn a living etc. During these past four years, we have seen increases in taxes, fuel prices, levies and basic fees for passport, O mang, Land registration, school fees etc.
These increases were not matched with adequate adjustment in salaries, wages, allowances, old age pensions, etc. This corrupt and arrogant government is on a path to enrich a few with national assets while the majority of Batswana wallow in poverty.
The net effect has been an erosion in the quality of the lives of our people. It must go in 2024.
5. Abuse of Power - This is demonstrated through interference with election processes – elections are now run by DIS but not IEC, judiciary being manipulated, hostility towards opposition from within and outside the BDP and de facto Domkragization of Radio Botswana, Daily News and Btv.
The latter have not only become bastions of BDP propaganda but are also exclusive platforms and burial theatres of departed BDP members. It is here that the opposition is demonized and chastised without giving them the right of reply. The corruption and arrogance must be stopped before it leads the peace loving citizens to explode out of frustration.
If a government closes the doors to opposition as the Smith Regime in Zimbabwe and the Apartheid regime did in South Africa, such a government is calling for violence. As the UDC we are against violence and call upon the BDP to stop this provocative behavior. Masisi is arrogantly going around the country campaigning for BDP using our taxes.
They used government resources to go to their Congress in Tsabong in 2022.
1. The BDP government should be reporting substantial reduction in unemployment, poverty, inequality, just transition to renewable energy and progress on Vision 2036 and SDGs and move away from unnecessary basing and demonization of the opposition.
2. We call upon all progressive forces of our nation – the workers, the farmers, students, the youth, women, the unemployed, the clergy and dikgosi to rally behind the UDC to remove this arrogant, corrupt and selfish regime that has let our country to fall deep into poverty, violence, crime, inequality and indebtedness.
3. All those who want meaningful and real change should rally behind the people's project. There is no doubt that the UDC is going to win if we have a free and fair elections in 2024.