Govt not doing much to fight poverty - clerics

MOGOMOTSI MOLOI
Correspondent | Friday February 8, 2008 00:00

They felt that instead of focusing on basic needs, the government seems to be interested in developing the infrastructure at the expense of the lives of the people.

The clerics were speaking at an inter-Church meeting called to discuss the 2008/09 budget allocations at Trinity Church Hall in Gaborone on Wednesday. The meeting was organised by  the Botswana Council of Churches (BCC) in partnership with Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC) and Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana (EFB).

Reverend Rupert Hambira of the United Congregational Churches of Southern Africa (UCCSA) was the first to fire the salvo. 'Our economic strategy has expired and should be changed with immediate effect to suit the lives of ordinary people,' said Hambira. He added that Batswana do not benefit from the country's wealth while foreigners lead expensive lives here. From the budget, it is clear that government does not care much about the people as the richer gets richer and the poor get poorer, he charged.

He said that Batswana deserve a better deal, adding that government should understand that the money they are administering is for the general public. Therefore, it should be allocated equally to serve the needs of the nation.

'There is this misconception that Batswana are lazy. But if we were lazy who is supplying the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) with cattle, who is digging the diamonds that Botswana is proud of?' he asked. He said there is no reason to build expensive infrastructures while people sleep on empty stomachs. He wondered why the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs continues to get a big share while it has returned money to the treasury as surplus.

Labour and Home Affairs Ministry became the second ministry to get the largest share of P1,326 billion. Hambira asked why they were allocated such a vast sum while they are evidently failing to utilise the funds. Pastor Owen Isaacs of EFB concurred. He said before thinking of infrastructure, there must be proper measures of accelerating poverty reduction programmes and creating employment.

He pointed out that Botswana is doing extremely well economically but it is surprising that most people live below the poverty datum line. Acknowledging government's efforts to create employment, Isaacs said it is not enough.

'The fact that people are still queuing at the labour offices hoping for employment shows that something is wrong,' said the pastor, adding that the 4.5 percent unemployment reduction, as the government claims, is not enough.

As much as statistics of employed people are revealed, the public needs to be aware of the unemployed, said Isaacs. He said it is embarrassing for old pensioners to get a mere P191, while their South African counterparts, where the population is huge, receive more than R500. He said he had expected the budget speech to come up with innovations. Instead, old programmes are reviewed. Businessman and economist Nathan Kgabi said that the budget does not offer much to ordinary man. The former Metropolitan chief executive officer (CEO) said statistically the budget is fine but realistically, it does not favour the general public.

He expressed grave concern that foreigners own most of the private companies with Chinese dominating the construction industry, but the government is silent on the issue.  'In a budget speech we cannot literally have policies pronounced but in one way or the other it should be clear,' said Kgabi. He explained that some poverty reduction programmes, like Namola leuba, are a drawback but the government continues to pour money into them.

Barulaganye Mogotsi, Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO) programmes manager, said agriculture remains the mainstay for majority of rural households but little is being done to motivate farmers. He said farming programmes should be clearly spelt out to farmers through an understandable media of communication. He lamented that rural dwellers do not understand English but civil servants continue to address them in the Queen's language.

Anglican Church's bishop Trevor Mwamba believes that churches should be proactive in advising government on socio-economic issues. He indicated that Christians play a very important role in developing the country. He said 72 percent of Batswana are Christians, so it is a reasonable number that could have a stronger influence on government policy. He said other than criticising 'churches should be partners with government in nation building'.