Annah Motlhagodi, a sister comrade, often starts her address at the rallies by quoting the German born American physicist, Albert Einstein’s postulations:
“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
This aphorism should be germane when one makes an attempt to appraise the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) government’s performance in terms of her punted strategy at fighting poverty. The strategy that can be described at best as stillborn. For truth be told, poverty that has gripped our nation has been and continues to be architected by the moribund BDP. That the BDP can, after forty five years of rule, marshal a strategy that can ameliorate our people’s miserable conditions is a mirage. For the party has never been innovative is legendary. It, therefore, follows that the solutions are beyond Domkrag.
What should pass as trite is that Botswana economy is at the crossroads. And it is not at the crossroads for lack of natural resources, for those we have in abundance, it is not for lack of money because our god given resources are able to give us reasonably sufficient money to develop our people.
The nation is poor and deprived because those entrusted with power for the past forty-five years are dumb. Yes, they are dumb. They lack innovation. And have failed to take advantage of minerals to diversify the economy.
Asian economies not as endowed in minerals such as ourselves have been able to create better living conditions for their people primarily because they are able to use their brains.
Instead of facing the nation’s problems genuinely, the BDP government and its foreign surrogates have been able to construct a fa├ºade that this is a successful state.
How do you have a successful state when its population swims in poverty? The education system is in disarray, the health system is in disarray. And indeed nothing seems to be working. Unemployment problem is at its zenith yet the establishment’s conversation about this malady understates the magnitude of the problem. Typical of them. Isn’t it?
The official unemployment rate is at 17.8 percent. (Poverty survey 2009/2010). This is high by any measure though it has left out many who are looking for jobs but have given up and are now society derelicts in the villages. How cruel can the BDP be? A more honest figure about our unemployment should oscillate around 46 percent. This is people who range between 16 to 65 years without any meaningful income. Why the BDP cannot reduce old age pension to 60 years in order to mitigate poverty, particularly in rural areas, remains a mystery. This will also cover the retiring industrial class workers whom we know retire at sixty years without pension.
Faced with these complex problems, the BDP has just voted…one hundred and sixty millions of pula for Ipelegeng/Namola Leuba.
Our gripe with Namola Leuba is that it is tantamount to throwing money down the drain. This is because Namola Leuba does not inject any skills into the economy.
Botswana needs to create jobs that are a step into entering the modern economy. Namola leuba does the opposite. We need jobs that provide training , discipline, skills and opportunities that flow from that, as Ann Bernstein postulated in relation to South African economy on Sunday times of March 4 2012 Review page 5.
Botswana needs to make doing business in Botswana as friendly as is possible. We need to make our licensing laws friendly to doing business. Why should we keep our people out of jobs because of outdated licensing laws? It is really heart-breaking for our people to be suffering because of the issue of licensing. Botswana needs to customize her immigration laws to be attractive to high net individuals to come and invest and stay in the country. The current narrative by the BDP should transcend cheap talk to execution. Clearly, the BDP’s developmental trajectory is flawed.
What is even more amazing about the BDP is lack of genuine conversation between itself on the one hand and its President Ian Khama on the other. No one around Khama seems to be comfortable to tell him the truth.
To employ the century old metaphor of Emperor to buttress our point. All within the BDP are clapping saying he is dressed in the best outfit while the truth is that he is naked. Only the innocent like the child who revealed to the emperor can tell Khama that the rest are lying to him for his body is not covered. And indeed the innocent child is correct.
In pursuit of personal comfort those who should be Khama’s advisers are not giving genuine advise. His idea of building houses for the poorest of the poor reveals serious failure of policy.
The lynchpin of Khama’s initiative on poverty is to leave those that are poverty trapped to remain in the same conditions. His pet projects do not skill our people. We need to plead with BDP and her Leader, Khama, that the greatest weapon against poverty is Education, Skills development and entrepreneurship.
We should therefore plead with Khama to become not only a trade union of the poorest of the poor but everyone including the middle class. The role of the middle class in economic development is of paramount importance. We advice his Excellency President Khama that the position he occupies enjoins him to be the trade union of business, the self employed-above all the aspirant people, the ones doing well but aspiring to do even better. We ask and plead with Khama to engage with the resident foreign banks on behalf of the citizenry about their high interest rates, high bank charges and above all their inflexibility.
Our President should demonstrate concern when the citizenry are week after week “in the matter between columns of newspapers.” We implore the president to look at the issue seriously for it is the seed of poverty which he says he is concerned about.
Lo and behold! “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it:” Albert Einstein.
Diphetogo Magosh Maswabi is Botswana Congress Party Secretary for Economic Affairs.
