Opposition question BDP priorities on collapse of mining sector

“Government had a very good opportunity to diversify the country’s economy from minerals between the 1980s and 1990s when commodity prices were good,” said tri-party opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) spokesperson Moeti Mohwasa.

He blamed the BDP government for channelling all the money earned from mineral sales into foreign reserves instead of investing into other productive sectors to diversify the economy. Industries such as agriculture, Mohwasa argued, could have helped diversify the economy had they been well looked after by government through proper policies.