Year 2016 will be remembered for a record slump in employment, the historic closure of BCL Mine, a crippling agricultural collapse driven by El Nino and all manner of social-economic malaise. There was very little to celebrate during a 2016 overshadowed by massive job losses and depressed economic performance, a year kicked off by a shock dispute between the Law Society and the Judiciary. A year of numerous fatal road accidents, of scandalous crime including an execution of a notorious murderer and diplomatic tensions within the region over governance. Batswana in general were the biggest losers in 2016, emerging poorer, more demoralised and more disgruntled, their pockets threadbare and hopes for a brighter future wavering, if not shattered. The New Year, however, presents an opportunity to usher in change, starting from the individual, up to the institution of government. At individual levels, Batswana will need to start adjusting to the fact that going forward, government revenues will simply not be able to provide the same level of subsidised support in areas such as education and health. Declining mineral revenues, worsened by the effects of climate change and the absence of viable alternative revenue streams, present a simple arithmetic picture of lower subsidies. On the roads, behaviour has to change to curb accidents, in the homes, crime prevention has to include greater vigilance, especially through neighbourhood watches and not hiring illegal immigrants or attempting to corrupt police. At institutional level, corporate Botswana has to come to the party in terms of supporting government programmes, and filling the gap left by declining government revenues. It must be said that current levels of social responsibility and local procurement by corporate Botswana are far below what they could be, with many entities happy to simply reap profits from Batswana, without a single thought of ploughing back into the economy. Many believe their obligations to Batswana do not extend beyond providing goods, services and employment and the absence of moral suasion and even regulations, means they continue to act as visitors to the communities that support their profits.
Let 2017 be the year corruption is rooted out, beginning at local authority level, all the way to central government. Cursory evidence suggests entrenched corruption within government, particularly at local authority level, where brown envelopes regularly float between officers and contractors, leading often to substandard projects, poor supervision and under-delivery. As the organ constitutionally tasked and funded to realising the country’s collective development aspirations, in 2017 government needs to wrestle corruption, wasteful expenditure and bureaucratic inefficiencies. The change should begin now.
