UDC must tread carefully

Yet, the controversial appointment of 81-year-old Motlatsi Molapise as a special advisor to the President threatens to shatter that promise entirely. This is a glaring example of the very cronyism the UDC vowed to eliminate, and it signals a dangerous departure from the principles of good governance, where leaders seem to be keen to share the spoils amongst themselves.

Consider the timing. Botswana’s economy is contracting. Our nation’s development is frustrated by low global demand for diamonds, a key resource. The unemployment rate is a crisis, with over a quarter of Batswana and nearly half of our youth without work. In this climate of national sacrifice, the creation of a new, highly-paid position for a party loyalist is profoundly insensitive. It tells struggling citizens that the government’s priorities are not with them, but with rewarding its own inner circle. How can a government justify spending an estimated P100,000 per month of public money on this role when so many are suffering?