His threat comes as the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) grapples with the implementation of the P4,000 minimum wage it had promised in the 2024 election manifesto. Speaking in Parliament this week, he said companies that are not prepared to pay workers the set amount will have to be shut down. “There is no way you can declare huge amounts of profits and say you can’t pay workers. That means you are going back to slavery, which we don’t want, you are not supposed to declare high profits at the expense of our people,” Tshere told Parliament. “If a person spends the whole day at the office making money for you, the least they can earn as a salary is P4,000. As I said, this one is not negotiable, it is either you pay P4,000.00 living wage or you close shop. It is as simple as that.” He said some companies give excuses that if they pay P4,000 their businesses would suffer.
Tshere said it is very clear from the UDC pledges that they are going to make sure that companies pay the P4,000 minimum wage. “At the moment, we are still talking about this but there will come a law which will focus on making sure that everyone who works formal employment doesn’t earn anything less than P4000. This has to be clear because the way I hear these business owners they remind me of the 15 and 16th centuries slave owners,” Tshere added. The Mahalapye West legislator said slave owners wanted high profits by not paying slaves for their work. Tshere noted back then people were paid with food and labour costs were almost zero. He said it cannot be acceptable for companies to be still speaking slave owners' language this late in the 21st century. “We are going to come up with a law, they should be prepared, it is either you pay the living wage of P4000 or close shop. That is the reality coming their way. It is not negotiable, that is how it is. It’s the promise we are going to keep as the UDC,” he highlighted.
Tshere emphasised that if companies are not ready they will have to close shop and pave the way for others. “Others who understand that people have to earn better living wage will open,” he said. Tshere’s warning to companies comes after Choppies Botswana launched the P4,000 employee living wage on January 25, 2025. The company solidified its commitment to its promise of raising the living wage of its employees to P4,000. The UDC government has been critisised by the main opposition party, Botswana Congress Party (BCP), for failure to implement the P4,000 living wage it had promised leading up to the elections.
