While Batswana are in total agreement that Botswana must be self-sufficient in the production of vegetables and school uniforms, they are divided in the manner government approached the noble causes of achieving the said self-sufficiency. This because the approaches have had devastating and unintended consequences for the respective sectors together with the consumers. Those who are pro the approaches argue very strongly that for the noble causes to be achieved, the nation must be prepared to experience severe ‘labour pains’ of sorts since good things in life are no delivered on a silver platter.
A fair proposition some would argue. Those who are anti the approaches argue very strongly as well that it is the severity of the unintended consequences that have negatively impacted their small businesses on the vegetables side and the high cost to the now hard-to-find school uniforms particularly at this important period of the beginning of the school year.
While I fully concur with the nobility of the causes, I however agree with the latter view with respect to the negative impact of the approaches and the attendant unintended consequences. In short, I strongly argue the knee-jack reaction by government has brought the country where she is on many negative fronts: the country may have lost considerable amounts of revenue in the form of taxes from lost business generation consequent to the bans in question together with customs tax on the importation of vegetables and school uniforms from South Africa or elsewhere for that matter. I am however not oblivious to the exorbitant import bill caused by the importation of the two products. What is knee-jack reaction?
Sheri Cyprus defines knee-jack reaction as ‘an emotional rather than an analytical response to something. Critical thinking is the discipline of taking time to examine the situation critically before taking action. A critical thinker uses observation and objectivity to come up with a response to something while a person prone to knee-jack reaction tends to react emotionally and subjectively to a situation or problem’.
This definition accords well with how government has now and in the recent past attempted to deal with policy formulation on a variety of socio-economic issues with the key objectives of firstly empowering Batswana to be the key actors in the economic trajectory of the country and secondly creating the much sought sustainable jobs for Batswana. The most important question which arises is whether critical thinking….and time to critically examine the situation before taking action was the overriding thinking.
The confused state of how the vegetables and the school uniforms issues were treated by government compellingly suggests critical thinkers where observation and objectivity were absent leading to emotions and subjectivity to the issues. Using other examples to buttress the knee-jack reaction, it is common knowledge how food parcels were shambolically issued during Covid-19 lockdown period where a lot of would-be beneficiaries were left out with some of the food parcels ultimately going to waste. The country is currently undergoing a serious lack of chronic medications in public health facilities. The same is not the case in private health facilities. All in all, government is deeply consumed by trial and error approaches the result of which is knee-jack reaction.
Why should Botswana and Batswana suffer unnecessary ‘labour pains’ when such were avoidable had critical thinkers applied themselves? Botswana has been a large importer of both products (vegetables and school uniforms) for the longest time. Government and Batswana have known all along that at some point in our political and economic development journey, we will have to be self-sufficient. It was important therefore that a well-informed, sustainable research on our capacity to satisfy our self-sufficiency in the two products and others was undertaken with the genuine engagement and concurrence of key stakeholders brought on board in order to avoid the trial and error modus operandi government has resorted to in the past and the present.
Did government conduct a well-informed study or research to determine what negative impact would be caused by the abrupt banning of the importation of vegetable and school uniforms on the overall economy? If so, what were the results? Did such results dictate it was economically and otherwise logical and viable to apply abrupt ban on the products? Would it not have been appropriate for government to publish the results of the study/research such that she takes the nation into her confidence on the ultimate decision she takes to ban the importation of the products? None of the foregoing appears to have been the thinking hence the prevailing morass.
Listening to the Chief Executive Officer of Business Botswana Rre Norman Moleele on Duma FM a week ago, I immediately formed the opinion from the tone of his interview that his organisation was not as fully consulted as it would have been desirable in the current school uniform conundrum. Using the analogy of Botswana as a country suffering from self-sufficiency in milk, he said that information at his disposal indicated Botswana requires 68 million litres of milk per year while the local capacity could only churn out a mere 6 million litres per year. That means the country must first produce 60 million litres of milk per year for her to be self-sufficient in the same before a ban could be imposed on the importation of milk. It follows from this piece of statistics on milk that Botswana cannot ban the importation of the same while she has such a huge shortfall.
Applying this analogy to the current situation of vegetables and the school uniforms, it begs the question what capacity at the time of the imposition of the ban did the local vegetable producers vis-à-vis the imported stock obtain. This question was readily and conclusively answered by the lack of capacity of the local producers immediately the ban on vegetables and school uniforms was implemented.
In the case of school uniforms, it is fair to say the requisite sufficient time for the local uniform suppliers to prepare themselves was not given. There is widespread cry from parents that they are struggling to access school uniform for their school-going children. It goes once more without saying that an elaborate risk assessment on whether the local school uniform manufacturers and suppliers were so capacitated if at all to pluck the gap that would be created by the ban. And once again, the answer that local producers were and are still not adequately capacitated is borne out of the sheer lack of school uniforms as palpably demonstrated by the parents themselves.
The same principle of supply and demand applies herein with parents crying foul that prices are too exorbitant to their affordability. The Sunday Standard reports in this weekend’s edition that ‘A cursory examination of prices reveals that uniform prices have risen by up to 200 percent. Shirts that used to cost around P 34 in Pep have risen to P 120 at Choppies…..’ Like in the Covid-19 windfall where a few made a killing and became instant millionaires, it is evident some few have made a killing from the school uniform windfall as well. The deleterious consequences of the knee-jack reaction by the powers that be are clearly seen by all and sundry. So what is the cause? It is simply gross incompetence. It also shows the appalling character of persons whose duty is to take rational decisions on our behalf on a variety of socio-economic issues.
It is reasonable to suggest the country’s ruling political leadership is eyeing the 2024 general election as already alluded to by endearing itself to the electorate. Such leadership knows fully well that the gullible who I suspect are usually in the majority, would flow with mantra that they are being empowered. While the initiatives are noble in their nature as understood in the context of primarily empowering Batswana in different sectors of the economy, it is the downside of the manner the initiatives are carried out.
It is high time the political leadership approaches initiatives it seeks to roll out to citizens that short-term political gains do not become the end game but that critical thinking and not emotional or subjective thinking is the overriding imperative. Batswana do not deserve to undergo unnecessary ‘labour pains’ when it is absolutely possible such are avoidable if critical thinking is applied. I am prepared to be persuaded otherwise as always. Judge for Yourself!
All the best in the New Year.
