The fly in the ESP ointment

Mmegi Editor | Tuesday February 16, 2016 15:01

NDP 10 in particular will be remembered as a planning period in which billions of Pula were spent askew, due to poor project implementation, supervision and accountability.

The Finance ministry, as the custodian of the treasury, had noble and indeed prudent intentions at the start of NDP 10. The intention was for Botswana to spend its way out of the global recession, by raising government spending on critical public projects and thus support an economy dependent on public spending. The implementation and supervision, however, has been a ‘how-not-to’ in public spending, with bungling of major and minor projects ranging from the Morupule B power station and Sir Seretse Khama International Airport to Shakawe Senior Secondary School and Dibete Police Station.

This nightmarish experience was the fly on the walls of the tents as President Ian Khama launched the Economic Stimulus Programme in the heat of the Machaneng sun on Saturday.

As with the NDP 10, the ESP has noble intentions. From a gradual recovery since the recession, the economy is once again flatlining, with a one percent growth projected for 2015/16 and a delicately precarious outlook for 2016/17 and beyond.

With mining sluggish, other sectors yet to come to the party and traditional revenue streams such as SACU also in doubt, the future will be tough on jobs, growth and Batswana.

The ESP, which aims to boost economic growth through increased government spending in identified sectors, is thus a welcome initiative, which is also indicative of a hands-on and sensitive government. This year, the first of the three-year ESP, government expects to spend P1.4 billion on the various activities under the programme, with further billions more due to be spent up to 2019.

The funds are being drawn from the P35 billion government has in international savings, managed by the Bank of Botswana and for use as both a buffer against economic turbulence and also a nest-egg for a ‘diamondless’ future.

According to its plans, the Government Implementation Coordination Office will monitor the ESP, while the DCEC and Financial Intelligence Agency are also involved in the procurement process. A Presidential Inspectorate Task Team is also to be set up to ensure delivery. Implementation and supervision have been the millstones on the treasury’s neck. The taste of the deficits and subsequent losses under NDP 10 are still in Batswana’s mouths.

This time around, the losses will be far graver, as the funds being used for the ESP are literally being taken from future generation’s pockets.

The president’s statements in this regard brings hope, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.

Today’s thought

“The major preoccupation has been to address the impediments that have been facing project implementation so that we don’t fall into the same trap of failure to implement an otherwise well-thought out and well-intended programme.” 

– President Ian Khama