Ntuane lambasts opposition critics

Lerato Maleke | Friday March 7, 2014 17:11

 

Commenting on the 2014/15 budget for the Ministry of Education on Tuesday, he said: “When you hear noises of criticism and condemnation,  it is unfair when they do not balance such condemnation with the great progress we have made in terms of delivering education to Batswana with all its attendant benefits,”

Ntuane was Leader of Opposition from June 2011 as a member of the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), until he defected back to the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) during the winter of 2012.

Debating the budget, he said that there is a big deal of progress aimed at improving the education sector in Botswana. “This is consistent, like I always say in the House, with the founding philosophy of this government,” he said.

Further, Ntuane said that it was wrong for some members to accuse the ministry of not doing enough with its budget, saying the bottom line is that the BDP is committed to the attainment of social justice and creating an equal opportunity society.

“As I indicated about how we are building a middle class in this country, it is something that is not often mentioned in this House,” he said.

Ntuane argued that the more people the BDP government educates, the bigger the middle class they will be able to create, and therefore the BDP’s investment in education cannot be said to be in vain. argued Ntuane.

He said that when  government  introduced free education,  it was the most profound public policy intervention in the history of this country and it remains so to date. He said that in Sub Saharan Africa, it is only in Botswana where government provides free education.

“Imagine a government that says we can take a child from the remotest Bundu rural area in Botswana to the best university in the world, and their parents would not know how much has been paid in pursuit of that education,” he asserted.

He cited a recent confusion in South Africa where he said universities were opened but there were insufficient resources as government did not have money to sponsor qualifying students, adding that this has never been a problem in this country at the start of any academic year. 

Ntuane lambasted opposition parties for implying that nothing positive is ever done in this country, and that it is all doom and gloom, adding that the fundamentals are in place in terms of how they are focused on delivering education.

“You will have your blips in a particular year when due to a combination of factors, our learners do not do well,” he said.