Gaolathe urges hope amid hardship
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday July 27, 2026 06:00
Addressing delegates at the party's conference in Palapye on Saturday, Gaolathe said Botswana's future remains bright despite the country's current economic difficulties. He emphasised that the 'new Botswana' would surprise those who have lost hope.
'I still believe that the new Botswana will surprise many who believe there is no hope. We are building a country that will succeed and become the envy of nations,' Gaolathe said.
Furthermore, he reminded members not to lose sight of the party's founding vision, saying it remains the guiding principle for transforming Botswana. 'Some people may have forgotten our vision in English and Setswana: Go nna mabonelo a tsotlhe tse di kopanyang batho, tsotlhe tse di tsholetsang matsheno a batho ba rona (to be a paragon of nation building and prosperity on the African continent),' he said.
Gaolathe added that if members remain mindful of where they came from and stayed committed to improving the lives of Batswana, the party would achieve its objectives despite the prevailing economic challenges. He said there was a time when people had no belief about the achievement of the New Botswana.
“However, we protected and nourished our vision of the New Botswana; our faith kept us alive, and we kept our faith alive. I remember when we wrote our first manifesto of the New Botswana. It was not about leadership giving down ideas. We went into the wilderness. We went to Ghanzi with Gomolemo Motswaledi. Engaging Batswana about the New Botswana. We went to Tsau, Gumare, Etsha; these conversations gave us a manifesto of the New Botswana,” he said.
He, however, encouraged people not to be discouraged about the work they are doing to build the New Botswana. “Hope kept us alive, and we kept hope alive. I am sharing this with you because in all we do there will be challenges; it is in the nature of leadership,” he said. However, he encouraged them to be the source of all that can uplift and improve the livelihood of Batswana. He said that, even though it is tough, difficult decisions have to be made for the benefit of Batswana.
Gaolathe told members that it was said by June 2026 their foreign reserves would be zero; now the foreign reserves are more than 50 billion. Moreover, he told his party members that lately there are conversations about tax, especially about health, that these are of negative impact to Batswana. 'I confirm to you that what we are doing is to uplift the country so it does not collapse. We acknowledge that there is a challenge with medicine supplies at the Ministry of Health, which is not working as it is supposed to. We had a Tax Pitso, Budget Pitso, Youth Pitso; we are going to have another one to change finance management in our country,” he said.
“We are going to have a pitso where Batswana can share ideas on how the nation can improve. The pitso will invite everyone for inputs and suggestions. The cost of general medication is high. Out-of-pocket payments – for instance, 10% payment for medical aid schemes. These we are working to solve as well. For this to happen, we have to do a number of things, not only to do with tax. E.g., engagement with stakeholders, direct subsidies,” he said.
He told members that medicine had VAT exemption; therefore, it means one cannot claim VAT. Instead, he said they need to continue to find ways for the country to bring in income, especially with the challenges of declining diamond sales. Furthermore, he said they undertook to go to neglected places, not to be a ‘Botswana o Mosha’ that ignores people in far away places. Therefore, he said as a movement they need to improve their finances.
He said their general principles include honesty in all that they do, fairness, respect for the sanctity of human life, servants of the people, listening to the voiceless, consultative and accommodative, and making decisions collectively. He, however, said there was a time when people joined the movement with the aim of standing for elections immediately. The party president said the waiting period for new members is two years, so they can appreciate their values and culture.
“Before sending representatives, they must have worked with their communities before we give a stamp of approval. No one should represent the movement without having attended at least three seminars of the movement to acclimatize,” Gaolathe revealed.