Opposition Critiques Vision 2016

EDWARD BULE
Correspondent | Monday September 20, 2010 00:00

 

Touching on education, democracy and accountability, morality, tolerance, national unity, security, prosperity, innovation, compassion and justice, among other things, Vision 2016, no doubt an ambitious undertaking, is a broad framework for development.

With less than six years to go before the target year of achievement, many people doubt whether the vision is achievable. A retired civil servant who spoke on condition of anonymity said that however hard he looked, he could not find enough evidence to show that the country will not fall short of achieving the Vision.

He insisted that as long as some ethnic groups are downtrodden culturally, Botswana could never be a united and proud nation.

He praises government efforts to provide computer lessons to all schools.

But he is worried that the so-called cost sharing could deprive many children of their right to education since some parents are too poor to pay school fees.

The publicity and information secretary of the Botswana Congress Party, Taolo Lucas, says that when Vision 2016 was conceived in 2000, the BCP made it clear that its pillars were very relevant and appropriate.

He added that his party made public its position that the ruling Botswana Democratic Party lacks the required pedigree to deliver the Vision to the nation.

Taolo's forecast is that by 2016, 'the majority of Batswana will still be wallowing in abject poverty,' adding that 'unemployment will have reached scandalous levels by 2016' because, in his view, the government has failed to diversify the economy.

He says that Ipelegeng, as opposed to permanent jobs, will continue to be a source of livelihood for the majority of the poor. Lucas says that any serious government should be ashamed of this undignified way of treating its own people.

According to the BCP, the BDP, under Ian Khama, does not care about the national vision 'but it is preoccupied with the President's pet projects and the 5Ds'. He added that the realisation of the ideals of Vision 2016 have to be preceded by a change of government.

The national chairman of the Botswana People's Party (BPP), Richard Gudu, says that for a nation to be innovative, its youth need education.

He regrets that instead of exposure of the youth to as many educational and training opportunities as possible, the government has decided to invest less on education by cutting down the number of students it sponsors to tertiary schools. Gudu finds it difficult to believe that by 2016, the unemployed people earning P360.00 per month at 'namola leuba' will be prosperous.

On democracy and good governance, Gudu says there has been a progressive constriction of the democratic space since Khama took office, and he does not see how the current situation will suddenly change for the better before 2016. The BPP leader says that it is critical that the Vision continues to be monitored.

The president of MELS, Themba Joina, says that his party participated in the crafting of Vision 2016 by offering an alternative vision.

He avers that the current vision is not achievable because 'the economy is run by a rapacious cabal intent on enriching itself at the expense of the people. Whenever money is used, it should be for the benefit of the society and not individuals,' he sates.

Moeti Mohwasa, the publicity secretary of the Botswana National Front (BNF), says that his party always maintained that Vision 2016 was a propaganda tool used by the BDP to steal the thunder from his party's Social Democratic Programme of 1995. He reveals that when the Vision committee was selected to draft the blueprint, Botshabelo Bagwasi, then BNF Mayor of Gaborone was included but the party decided to distance itself from the vision by pulling him out.

Mohwasa says that although the pillars are noble, the BDP is not the right vehicle to deliver the people to the promised land. The BNF spokesperson said that the Vision can only be delivered by a people centred government, adding that 'the BDP was formed to defend western monopoly capital.'

Publicity manager of Vision 2016, Charity Kgotlafela. however, noted that  a recently published performance report showed that there is a lot of progress across all the seven pillars.

She points out that the country has lately been enrolling more children at primary school level and sending more to tertiary schools. She is quick to add though that the Vision council has to seriously address the problem of quality in education.

She says that the two ideals of achieving 100 percent employment and a zero level transmission of HIV by 2016 is not possible.