Ngakas utterances disturbing
Saturday, May 31, 2014
After defeating Filbert Nagafela in the 2013 by-election, some young people were happy that Ngaka, with IT training would boost the participation of youth in the national assembly. Barely 12 months after his swearing in, the youthful MP was slapped with charges of assaulting his wife and injuring her. We will not comment further on a matter that is now before the Molepolole Magistrates’ Court.
A few months earlier, Ngaka was making headlines in a local tabloid – again, for wrong reasons. Can someone please save this young man from self-destruction! Over the weekend, Ngaka reportedly told a political rally during the launch of Gaotlhaetse Matlhabaphiri that opposition members should stop taking Anti Retroviral drugs. He said this is because opposition members criticise government schemes, among them provision of ARVs.
These are not ordinary times. Yet, history reminds us that this nation has navigated difficult waters before and did so by clinging firmly to the principles of prudence and macroeconomic stability. From independence in 1966, Botswana chose a path few resource-rich countries managed to sustain. Diamond revenues were not treated as windfalls for reckless expansion, but as capital to be managed with caution. The establishment of fiscal rules,...