As part of its efforts to diversify the economy, Government will embark on a mandatory Public Service outsourcing programme, involving office cleaning, grounds maintenance and landscaping, and security services, Finance and Development Planning minister, Kenneth Matambo, has said.
Addressing parliament on Monday in his budget speech, Matambo said that this would be part of a wholesale diversification programme.
According to Matambo, the public service would have to outsource some of these services, which are not its core-business and would relieve government of the Administrative pressure that comes with providing them. He said that cabinet approval on the issue is yet to be made.
In an address that lasted over two hours, Matambo said that government will also be privatizing Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) and the National Development Bank (NDP).
Matambo also told parliament that poverty eradication is cornerstone issue and has thus decided to introduce anti-poverty programmes such as Destitute Housing, Ipelegeng, Self Help Housing Agency (SHHA) programme, Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture (ISPAAD) and backyard gardens to name but a few.
He said that an additional P100 million would be drawn from the Alcohol Levy Fund for financing poverty eradication initiatives during this budget year.
The minister also disclosed that his ministry was waiting for cabinet approval on the Citizen Economic Empowerment Policy.
Matambo further said that government is concerned about the level of unemployment among graduates. He said this is caused by, among others, a mismatch between what the Education systems produces and what the labour market requires.
He said that government is in the process of developing a comprehensive human resource development strategy which he said would eventually assist in ensuring that ‘labour demand matches the supply of skilled and educated human resources’.
Government intends to focus on completing ongoing projects as well as maintenance and refurbishment of existing facilities.
“The priority areas include: completion of ongoing projects, poverty eradication programmes, maintenance and efficient operation of existing public infrastructure, especially health, education and sewerage systems,” he said, adding that the objective is to follow an expenditure path that is consistent with the commitment to reach a balanced budget by 2012/13, which was made during the 2010 budget speech.
He also said that cutting down on the deficit required serious belt tightening as well as efficient resources utilization.
Matambo also told parliament a few new projects, which are deemed critical, would be covered through a special dispensation. These include the construction of sewerage networks in Kanye, Kasane, Molepolole and Serowe, as well as construction of burnt down school facilities and refurbishment of some border posts.
“While emphasizing the cost effectiveness of government spending that is focused on national priorities….we are demonstrating that government has the discipline to limit its expenditure and therefore the budget deficits…” said Matambo.
“We are committed to doing more with less and proving that we can live within our means…In much the same way that a private business must prepare business plans for its ongoing operations, and bankable feasibility studies to justify new projects to its shareholders and financiers, each Government ministry must continue to demonstrate that its spending plans are the best use of public funds provided in the recurrent and development budgets,” he added.
The minister said that government had not been advised on whether civil servants’s salaries need to be adjusted.
He said that he was, however, aware that bargaining was still ongoing, adding that the negotiating parties need to take into account the difficult budgetary conditions.
“They should also take into account the adjustment in public service salaries arising from the increase in working days for Public Service employees that was made in October 2010 but applied retrospectively from 1st May 2010,” he said. “The new salaries are now part of the wage bill in the budget estimates for the 2011/12 financial year.”
