Budget is too consumptive - MPs
| Thursday February 13, 2014 20:12
MP for Palapye, Moiseraele Goya argued that the current situation of the economy meant the government should look for alternatives to support the economy.
“We need to pay attention to this situation and find alternative solutions.
MP for Francistown South, Wynter Mmolotsi said although Botswana is regarded as the best developing country as compared to other countries the development is not satisfactory. “Although we are regarded as the best developing country in other countries our development is a pity”, he said. Mmolotsi said the budget does not address the unemployment rate of the youth. “The youth does not see the significance of the budget because they have not been promised anything better to improve their lives”.
He said the money that is allocated for the Tirelo Sechaba could have been invested on something that can create jobs. “Why should the youth spend 10 years in Tirelo Sechaba to get a job, this money could have been used to build factories to create jobs for Batswana”, said Mmolotsi.
On his part MP for Lobatse Nehemiah Modubule said Botswana’s economy is risky as it depends on one source of economy. “Our economy is risky because we are depending on one source of the economy so it is upon the leaders to see what can be done to solve the situation”, he said.
Modubule said although the government is coming up with initiatives to diversify the economy, these initiatives are not effective. “Jobs are not created but rather the youth are made servants. the government has now shifted from employment creation and now people are made destitutes”. He said the government could be retaining the local companies and marketing them to the international market.
Presenting the budget, Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Kenneth Matambo said with the prevailing high unemployment, there is need to balance the importation of skills from foreigners and the need to train locals for skills that are in short supply. In that way, Government would ensure that any employment opportunities created by private investment in different sectors of the economy contribute to the reduction of unemployment in the country.
He explained that the 2011 Population and Housing Census also indicated that, of the total population of 2,024,904 persons, 43% of the population was aged below 20 years, while 35% was aged between 20 to 40 years. Such a population structure poses a challenge for human capital development in terms of resources required to train the youth, but also in terms of creation of employment opportunities to absorb them in the labour market. “However, as indicated in successive budgets, Government has demonstrated its commitment to the development of human capital by providing substantial resources for training and skills development, as evidenced by the annual budgetary allocation to the education sector”, he said.
Matambo said government can promote inclusive growth by adopting appropriate policies and strategies to encourage domestic and foreign direct investment, and also investing in strategic sectors that facilitate the development of the private sector.
The recent positive growth rates in some non-mining sectors are welcome developments as they reflect some success in our economic diversification efforts. Moreover, these non-mining sectors have greater potential for employment creation. “Government will thus, continue to devise strategies to promote inclusive growth in the non-mining sectors of financial and business services, construction, agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing”.
As a small open economy dependent on the export of primary products, mainly diamonds, Botswana is susceptible to economic developments in the major and emerging economies.
My Ministry will therefore, continue to monitor developments in the world economy, with a view of determining their likely impact on the proposed budget and suggest mitigating measures where necessary, particularly to comply with our fiscal rule.
However, I remain optimistic that the global and regional growth forecasts will be realied, thus obviating the need to adjust our proposed budget for the next financial year.