The fly in the ESP�s ointment

In as much as the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP),, first announced by President Ian Khama last month, is meant to salve the country’s economic wounds, a fly in the ointment threatens to render the fiscal remedy ineffective.

As pointed out by commentators at the National Assembly after Monday’s State of the Nation Address, the ESP is not the first wide scale intervention of its kind in the country’s history.

In fact, it is only the latest in intermittent initiatives by government to keep citizens from disasters due to the fluctuations associated with being a single-commodity economy.

Editor's Comment
Let’s put the fight against crime in action

But as the conference concludes, Batswana must ask: Will this be another talk shop, or will it spark real change? The answer lies in whether every stakeholder, from the President to community leaders, transforms rhetoric into action.The President rightly highlighted that crime, especially GBV, thrives in private spaces. His call to empower churches and counsellors as early warning systems is sensible. But good ideas mean little without funding...

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