Masisi’s bumpy road
2 years in office, the administration struggles to fulfill most of the 2019 promises COVID- 19 is a major disruptor of possible deliverables BDP racing against time to deliver ahead of 2024 national polls
Today, President Mokgweetsi Masisi and his administration have been in office for two years after being democratically elected during the 2019 general election.
With many promises made in the build- up campaign, Masisi has had a rather bumpy road with little achieved in the agenda that was set when canvassing for votes from Batswana.
While the COVID- 19 pandemic might have been one major setback that prevented the implementation of promises contained in the Botswana Democratic Party ( BDP) manifesto, the ruling party failed some sections of the society and the economy.
Masisi, who has since 2019 promised to tackle escalating figures of unemployment especially among the youth, economic empowerment, collective governance and the Constitutional review, has seen these lagging behind even though he promised to deal with them as a matter of urgency.
During the party retreat at Notwane farms in April this year the President revealed in his Reset Agenda that forms part of his Transformation Agenda, that these are some of the priorities for his government, in addition to saving the nation from COVID- 19 through rigorous vaccination. The president has done well in the vaccination priority so far.
President Masisi and his administration have however upset many in the two years in office, especially during the State of Public Emergency.
He was seen to be excluding the opposition and labour movements in the running of the country. Many viewed Masisi and his administration as reckless, due to the spending by government ministries and departments, while the country and its purse were under strain from the pandemic.
Secrecy on direct appointments for tenders, procurement by the government which had nothing to do with fighting COVID- 19 caused anxiety within various sectors of the society.
All these were happening when people were losing their jobs, lives and businesses closing. The big question now is whether Masisi will be able to get out of the woods and redeem himself and win back the confidence that Batswana had in him in 2019.
Especially now, in the midst of the difficult economic conditions characterised by skyrocketing unemployment, collapsed businesses and socioeconomic hardships that have plagued the populace. With the remaining two and half years ahead of the 2024 general election, President Masisi will have to double his efforts to address these pressing issues.
Masisi has explained that employment creation remains Botswana’s top priority, hence the continued exploration of opportunities to create sustainable and decent jobs for citizens.
“Government is fully committed to the promotion of decent work as demonstrated through the signing of the Botswana Decent Work Country Programme for 2020 to 2024 by Government, employers’ and workers’ representatives, as well as the International Labour Organisation ( ILO) in February 2020.
“The programme is anchored on three pillars namely, Creation of Sustainable and Decent Employment, Enhanced Social Protection and Conditions of Work as well as Strong Labour Market Governance Institutions,” Masisi said in his State of the National Address in 2020 when the country was battling to contain the COVID- 19 spread.
In the past two years, there has been no employment creation with the biggest employer in the country, the government, freezing recruitment due to unavailability of funds.
It is the same government that is struggling with reducing its wage bill which is above the set threshold. The private sector which is supposed to be rescuing government on the burden of employment creation is also on its knees. Unemployment which is a ticking time bomb is at its all- time high at 23.30 per cent in 2020 from 18.2 per cent in 2019, according to Statistics Botswana. There has been low inclusiveness with regards to governance, which has seen the opposition complaining that the current administration wants to run a solo show even where the COVID- 19 pandemic is concerned, disregarding their suggestions. This resulted in the opposition questioning the motive behind an SoE which had to run for 18 months. Leader of Opposition Dumelang Saleshando has on several occasions expressed concern about the failure of Masisi’s administration to allow the opposition to assist with ideas on how best to tackle the pandemic even though he has promised to work with the opposition to best serve Batswana and contain the spread of the virus.
Political parties and civic societies are also worried about the slow pace in the comprehensive review of the constitution as promised. Not much has been done on the part of the Government.
The government’s non- committal attitude as to when the process will start has also raised eyebrows as to whether there is a political will to start the process, which is likely to take long as many stakeholders want to be taken on board.
The promised resuscitation of the All- Party Conference still remains a dream after only one meeting was held, excluding the meeting which was held to consult political party leaders on the introduction of the SoE.
The All- Party Conference which collapsed years ago was promised to be a platform where there would be an exchange of notes by political parties and at the time of the pandemic was seen as the best platform as a starting point.
In his State of the Nation Address in November 2020 Masisi reiterated that as Government, they will strive to attain a diversified and inclusive economy that will ensure a free, fair and prosperous Botswana guided by the principle of ‘ Leaving No One Behind’.
“This being the first time that I report on our progress in the last twelve months, immediately after the adoption of the Mid- Term Review of the Eleventh National Development Plan ( NDP 11) by Parliament, it is critical that we put in place measures that will ensure an effective implementation of our national transformation strategy,” he said.
He revealed therefore that during the implementation of the remainder of NDP 11, “we will be focusing on the following thematic areas which were agreed by Parliament: Economy and Employment; Social Upliftment; Sustainable Environment and; Governance, Peace and Security. I urge Honourable Members of Parliament to continue supporting Government to take this country to greater heights”.
The President will also be expected next month during the SONA to share progress following the adoption of the economic relief package. The government developed an Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan ( ERTP), which was approved by Parliament in September 2020.
Masisi had indicated that the ERTP is an addendum to the Mid- Term Review of NDP 11 and it is aligned to the National Vision 2036. The Plan, he said, is expected to re- boot the economy and cushion it from the unprecedented shock brought about by COVID- 19.
“Government has allocated P14.5 billion for the implementation of the ERTP. The amount will be spread over the remaining years of NDP 11. The government is currently looking at several options to finance this additional expenditure, with a preference for domestic borrowing and additional revenue mobilisation. Where necessary, Government will consider other financing options to accommodate any outstanding needs,” Masisi said.
While abject poverty continues to swell, the President has indicated that poverty eradication is one of the Government’s key policy deliverables. He explained that in this context, the government has broadened the scope of measurement of poverty to include the Multidimensional Poverty Index ( MPI), which measures non- income deprivation levels of the poor in the areas of education, health and living standards.
It will take Masisi a robust approach with his cabinet to ensure that the missed- out time is covered. If this fails it would come back to vindicate those who have maintained that all these were false promises designed to buy votes from the gullible electorate.
With the population census expected to start soon and the Independent Electoral Commission ( IEC) also expected to start its voter registration and the educational campaign between next year and 2023, the ruling party might find itself under pressure to deliver and prepare for the 2024 national polls.