GUARDIAN comment: Masisi’s SONA must inspire hope

All eyes will be on President Mokgweetsi Masisi next week when he delivers his State of the Nation Address ( SONA). During his past addresses Masisi reiterated on numerous occasions his government’s commitment to boosting the economy and kick- starting employment generation.

The country is faced with a myriad of problems top of which is youth unemployment. Every single year universities are churning out graduates in large numbers. This is something to be celebrated, but the sad reality on the ground is that a good number of these graduates find themselves roaming the streets without employment. We hope the President will next week when giving an update on the status of the country, move away from the usual rhetoric and touch on the bread and butter issues especially on how his government will create jobs. Government’s quest for employment creation should not be overshadowed by rhetoric. The president must inspire hope.

Job creation should be a major concern for Masisi. Job creation should be top on the list of priorities for any government. Until sustainable jobs are created this is a topic we cannot stop addressing. In the past Masisi gave assurances that his government has no greater priority than the urgent need to reduce unemployment and underemployment, including among our youth. However, actions should talk louder than words. President Masisi’s Reset Agenda was hyped last year as key instrument for growing jobs as well as the economy. We expect the President to give an update regarding the Reset Agenda which went into full swing in his last SONA.

During his last SONA Masisi expressed government’s desire to achieve a knowledge- based economy, driven by digitalisation, which will transform Botswana into a high- income country by 2036.

We also call on government to create an environment conducive for private sector growth. We appreciate that the president is making efforts to make sectors such as that of agriculture a high priority area to further stimulate the economy and create jobs.

A vibrant agriculture sector will surely help in the creation of jobs and also help in reducing the increasing numbers of people migrating from rural areas to the cities. Agriculture sector has for a long time been neglected by government, yet it has the potential to become the bulwark of our economy. Once a major contributor to the economy; the sector, has since the advent of diamonds plunged into a decline and is currently contributing a paltry fraction to our Gross Domestic Product.

Of course we now notice a paradigm shift in the way both the nation and government see agriculture. And obviously a drastic change in policy is needed.