Every February, the Minister of Finance presents before parliament and the nation a budget speech through which the government outlines what they intend to do with the national money over a period of 12 months.
We may disagree on the priorities, but ultimately it is for the elected government to make leadership decisions on behalf of the country.
At least on that score, there is no disagreement.
One outstanding and enduring criticism of the way this budget is prepared though is that it is shrouded in secrecy.
A strong section of the nation feels very strongly that the way the budget is prepared is not only undemocratic but also deliberately sets out to exclude the great majority of the people it intends to serve.
This is not an altogether unfair criticism.
We think a way has to be found every year to give the public a platform through which they would engage the Minister of Finance directly on what they want to see incorporated into his budget speech.
We are not calling for a cosmetic, window dressing exercise.
What we are calling for is a genuine platform of ideas exchange which, by all intents and purposes, will mean the tips given to the minister by the public ultimately finding their way into the final speech he presents ever other February.
Of course, there are many ways of doing it.
It is a matter of public knowledge that, by and large, the national budget is informed and dictated by National Development Plans.
But we doubt that is a plausible reason enough to give as a reason to exclude the population in making input through the Minister well before he comes up with the final speech.
As things stand, the way the budget is prepared is a disgrace to our culture of consultation and participatory democracy.
Rather than creating a culture of ownership, the budget estranges the people with its exclusivity.
The South African experience of preparing a national budget is a rich culture from which Botswana can borrow and learn a lot.
Long before he prepares his budget, the South African finance minister goes around the country inviting input from various special interests including the youth, women, minorities, businesses and the like on what they would want to see government doing for them through the budget speech.
While this is not cheap, it, in the long term, creates a feeling of national ownership among the public that, difficult as it may be, at least the government takes their needs, their plight and circumstances seriously.
Another thing, it is also important for government to show goodwill by opening a channel through which theory could engage opposition parties in the buildup towards producing a national budget.
Of course, cynics would argue that this is not a government of national unity, but it is our firm belief that such a step would go a long way in reducing political polarity as well as creating a feeling that “we are in it together.”
