Serame’s meteoric rise

Friday, September 27, 2024 | 300 Views |

High flyer: Serame’s progress was never based on the gender card, but it was purely on the basis of her shrewdness as an economist PIC MORERI SEJAKGOMO

In Setswana, our generation of forebears have deliberately coined a proverb that aptly foretells one’s good fortunes from a tender age. The Setswana proverb, “…ntsanyana ya maitaya/tshwara sebatana e bonwa mabotwabotweng” or roughly translated, it’s easy to tell what someone will become from an early age. Mmegi Staffer RYDER GABATHUSE writes that whoever coined the proverb probably had the case of Finance Minister, Peggy Serame, in mind

This Setswana proverb resonates very well with the words of former Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Solomon Sekwakwa, who from an early stage was able to foretell that Serame, Botswana’s Minister of Finance, was destined for greater things in life.

Serame was elevated in a 2021 Cabinet reshuffle to preside over the national purse and its development trajectory listed as the 10th minister, breaking male domination of the position. She rose after Dr Thapelo Matsheka was dropped from Cabinet after a fall out with the principal, President Mokgweetsi Masisi.

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