Hope in summer of sorrow

Mmegi Editor | Friday November 6, 2020 14:34

Essentially a snapshot of how government and the economy are performing across the various sectors and priorities, the Address, is also an opportunity, traditionally, to outline the government’s plans or responses to persistent and emerging challenges within the economy and the citizenry.In recent years, the latter function of the SONA has admittedly played second fiddle to the former, and the Address has become an opportunity for an administration to extol its achievements, as reported by the various line ministries and numerous departments. To his credit, Masisi broke from the pattern last year, dedicating the bulk of his 274-point Address to forward-looking updates or commitments by government to tackling various developmental aspirations and challenges faced by Batswana.

On Monday, he will need to go even further. The country faced an unprecedented trial in COVID-19, which has drained budget revenues, sunk the economy into a record recession, overburdened the public health sector, crushed the private sector and decimated the livelihoods. COVID-19 has upended the plans and policies Masisi and his administration had, to the extent of forcing the creation of the P14.5 billion Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan (ERTP), which now effectively spearheads the remainder of the National Development Plan 11.

Were he to keep with precedent, Masisi would dedicate the lion’s share of Monday’s SONA on how government has intervened with both funding and policies to respond to the pandemic. And indeed, government’s response is commendable when set against the potential disaster that loomed over livelihoods and lives, a threat now appreciated in retrospect. However, in keeping with the standard he set in the last SONA, we expect and urge His Excellency (HE) to focus his address on Monday to taking Batswana into his confidence about how the ERTP will alleviate their current woes and set the economy on a new path. Thus far, the ERTP has only been communicated to the broader citizenry through snippets in the media and flashes from Parliamentary debates. This, considering that it was passed by the August House months ago. Key questions HE needs to answer include how the priorities mentioned in the ERTP will lead to job-creation, enhancement of the quality of living and sustainable growth for Batswana. Young graduates roaming the streets want to know how the ERTP will enhance their prospects, both in the current environment and the future.

The private sector wants to know what the ERTP means for current prospects, protections and the future investment climate. Masisi will have to clearly explain what a digital and knowledge-based economy means and how Batswana fit in and benefit. And most importantly, Batswana want to know how all this will be funded, particularly as the media snippets have spoken of higher taxes, lower subsidies and fewer tax exemptions. This aspect is critical, not just because of the weight of P14.5 billion on COVID-19 stressed households, but particularly because Masisi is essentially asking Batswana to hand over those funds in exchange for the promise of a richer, more sustainable economy. The crux of his second SONA!

Today’s thought

“Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees. And both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.”

– Henry Clay