Stimulus package rollout starts next month
Isaac Pinielo | Wednesday October 21, 2015 15:36
Giving a keynote address on Monday at the inaugural Botswana jobs summit in Gaborone, Masisi said the ESP was meant to diversify the economy and create jobs. He said the programme was open to everyone who might want to give ideas and suggestions. “ESP is not a closed book,” he said. “We are open to suggestions that can be brought up.”
He also said the onus of job creation lies with the private sector, meaning that the number of jobs would increase when the private sector is successful and vibrant. Unemployment rate in Botswana was 20 percent in 2013, 17.8 percent in 2010, the average was 18.4 percent between 1991 and 2013, with an all-time high of 23.8 percent in 2006 and a record low of 13.9 percent in 1991. Masisi said the government would provide a conducive environment for the private sector, adding that it had the budget and the political will to resolve unemployment in Botswana.
From the P88 billion in foreign exchange reserves, P43 billion directly belongs to government through their investment account as at July this year.
While government has invested substantially in major development projects across the country, the quality of spending has often come into question with poor implementation and monitoring blamed for delayed and non-delivery of projects.
“Public project implementation has a chequered history in Botswana, hence, one can only hope that there will be stricter monitoring and control of project implementation. With the right amount of control, the increased expenditure should translate into more economic growth and job creation also help the economic diversification efforts,” public finance expert at the University of Botswana, Prof. Emmanuel Botlhale said recently. Botlhale was, however, quick to caution against haphazard withdrawals of the reserves as the Botswana economy was still susceptible to the current headwinds faced by the global economy.
Due to the uncertainties in the global economy, and in particular the diamond market, the 2015 economic growth forecast has been halved while this year’s budget has slipped into a P4.03 billion deficit from an earlier projected surplus of P1.2 billon.
Economists have previously also said there is an increasing need to formulate rules on the use and management of the country’s reserves in the Pula Fund as revenues from diamonds are gradually diminishing.
In a 2013 economic report, economist Keith Jefferis said what was needed at the very least was some public debate on what the purpose of the Pula Fund and government’s savings should be. “Are they simply for budget and balance of payments stabilisation purposes, or are they intended to accumulate financial assets to be bequeathed to the future?,” he asked.
The summit, which ended yesterday, was meant to create dialogue and generate practical solutions for job-creation in the country. Experts in different sectors of the economy took part in the discussions, sharing ideas on the economy as well as coming up with resolutions to create sustainable industries for job creation. The summit was held under the theme: “A roadmap to sustainable job-creation”.