A budget for the ages: Time for Botswana business plan change

Overhaul needed: The country’s economic model needs a revamp PIC: THALEFANG CHARLES
Overhaul needed: The country’s economic model needs a revamp PIC: THALEFANG CHARLES

Last week Friday 21st January 2022 edition of Mmegi, ran an article quoting a World Inequality Database Report showing that the richest one percent of Batswana earned more than 20 times the average Motswana.

This statistic has been steadily worsening with Botswana ranked one of the most unequal countries in the world. Unemployment has steadily been climbing over the past 15 years to reach 24% officially (unofficially I suspect if you remove Ipelegeng and other 'internship' programmes you probably get close to 35% and maybe even 45%-50% when only looking at youth).

The COVID-19 pandemic has also shot inflation through the roof, with no respite expected as oil prices continue to soar, Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) continues to lobby for tariff increases, parastatals like the Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) push up rentals and food prices continue to rise whilst incomes remain stagnant and retrenchments loom.

Editor's Comment
GBV: The big elephant in the room

Sadly, the country seems not to have proper tools and the extent to which women and the girl-child are being abused is not adequately measured.Almost every week there are reports of women being attacked by their significant others and while men are attacked as well, women seem to be more on the receiving end.On May 24, 2023 news broke that a woman who was receiving support from the Botswana Gender-Based Violence Prevention Centre in Gaborone, was...

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