Ad imageAd image

Budget expectations

Daniel Chida
WHAT'S IN THE BAG: Minister Serame (c) to deliver the 2023 Budget Speech this afternoon

Minister of Finance, Peggy Serame will this afternoon (Monday) deliver government’s budget speech during the 2nd Meeting of the 12th Parliament. The Voice Reporter, DANIEL CHIDA engages different leaders to get their expectations.

  • Dithapelo Keorapetse- Leader of Opposition

With this budget, Umbrella for Democratic Change predicts an unprecedented bonanza for the few and gnashing of teeth by the many for this is a government of the few, by the few and for the few.

Batswana should manage their expectations, lest they get disappointed. The budget proposal comes at a time when the cost of living is very high and still rising amid circumstances of poverty, unemployment and income and wealth disparities as well as crisis in health and education.

- Advertisement -

Recurrent budget has been increased by almost P7 billion and Development revised upwards by about P5 billion. In terms of the draft estimates of expenditure from the consolidated and development funds, government intends to spend P76, 917,447 007 as recurrent budget and P21, 007, 860, 353 for development.

Batswana hope that this increased budget will solve the crisis of unemployment and underemployment, poverty, wealth and income inequalities and citizen economic disempowerment as well as crisis in health and education. UDC takes a position that failure to set measurable targets will result in less action and insignificant impact of this year’s budget.

UDC takes a view that the bulk of the development budget will as a matter of fact enrich more foreigners and naturalised citizens than indigenous black African Batswana and a few connected political elites who will receive kickbacks will also smile all the way to the bank. We won’t realise greater diversification of the economy with this budget!

I don’t think we have begun to transform into a technologically advanced society with an economy that can withstand shocks. The expectation of the UDC is for the government to address health crisis with this revised estimates to address shortage of drugs in public health facilities and to maintain these facilities as well as to procure equipment and other basic equipment.

We hope for more employment of doctors, specialists, nurses and health support staff. UDC expect an announcement of increased hospital beds to ease pressure in health facilities. We expect that part of the P10.3 billion to be allocated for Ministry of Health under recurrent funding to result in more ambulances.

  • Tumisang Healy – Member of Parliament for Gaborone Central

National Development Plan (NDP) 11 is coming to an end after running for six years and one of the worrying things about it was the P50b deficit that we experienced.

- Advertisement -

It is a concern because we were spending more than we were earning. There is an urgent need to diversify and it will be interesting to find out how our Minister is going to try to diversify the economy. Parliament passed the Transitional National Development Plan as a temporary replacement for NDP 12 and at P64b , it is the largest budget to have ever been passed by our parliament.

So we are excited with expectations for great infrastructure projects for 2023/2025. Another expectation is that Batswana will benefit from the budget. The major concern is how the money is going to be spent and should go alongside President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s Reset Agenda. We know that big money means big temptations for corruption and one thing that I need to address is how we are going to tighten screws when it comes to corruption so that this budget empowers our people instead of being looters paradise.

  • Letlhogonolo Makwinja – COSBOTS CEO

As COSBOTS, I believe we would want to hear more about the Creative Industry Facilitation Programme, which was stated in the reset agenda and an update on the status of the State Theatre’s construction. Three years ago, it was declared in Parliament that land for the State Theatre had been obtained, with a budget of P5 million set to begin building.

The overall budget for the Department of Broadcasting Services will also be critical because they have recently launched two additional television channels, which necessitates the procurement of local content, the construction of studios, and the hiring of freelance personnel for in-house productions.

We would also want to hear how the government intends to support and give capacity to the knowledge-based and creative sectors and pay royalties due to creators in the speech.

- Advertisement -
  • Tlamelo Kgomotso- Politics student: Department of Political and Administrative Studies

The budget should include job creation initiatives for the many unemployed youth and also project implementation particularly focusing on infrastructural development and maintenance. There is need in addressing the budget deficit occasioned by high imports compared to exports.

It should show initiatives to diversify the economy and increase local production to minimise high imports. 4. It should also address widening inequalities in society and demonstrate the much talked about citizen economic empowerment to redistribute the wealth.

We expect to see budget allocation for new ministries that were set up to drive the reset agenda and the economic gain to be expected from those ministries. It also has to address the issue of unadjusted salaries for University of Botswana for the last five years and detail out how the university pay structure will be aligned with other public universities such as BUAN and BIUST to address the huge disparities between UB and other institutions.

We also expect the minister to address how the budget will cushion citizens against high inflation and cost of living.

 

Leave a comment