Making millionaires: The thinking behind govt’s Middle-Class Strategy
A fortnight ago, government briefed on plans to create 100 new, young citizen millionaires in the next 10 years as part of a Middle-Class Strategy. The plans were met with criticism and even cynicism by many Batswana. Staff Writer, MBONGENI MGUNI engages Trade Ministry experts behind the strategy to get more details and answers Mmegi: What informed the development of the Middle-Class Strategy and when did the consultation on this start?
Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry (MITI): In 2018, the government decided to develop the Strategy for the Development of the Middle Class in Botswana. The idea was informed by the realisation that most government policies and programmes in the last 10 years were predominantly targeting groups like the youth, women and people living with disabilities. There were no programmes specifically designed and targeting the middle class even though they have a competitive advantage for entrepreneurship emanating from both tangible and intangible assets in their possession. The intangible assets include managerial experience, expert knowledge and education, while tangible assets include land, vehicles and housing, all of which may support business start-up. MITI was tasked to develop the strategy and undertook a situational analysis study for the development of the study. Consequently, the report from the study was used to draft the strategy.
The situational analysis demonstrated that the Middle Class in Botswana makes 34.8% of households, comprising 275,104 individuals. The situational analysis further demonstrated that many countries have the middle class. These include Rwanda (which considers the middle class as an entrepreneurial class), China, Canada, Ghana, Japan, Malaysia, South Africa and the USA.
Mmegi: Who was consulted for the strategy?
MITI: During the development of the Strategy for Growing the Middle Class, extensive consultation was undertaken covering across the country. The process of consultations started with stakeholder mapping to identify all critical stakeholders and Batswana who qualified under the definition of the middle class were drawn from the government, parastatals, private sector and civil society organisations as well as policymakers. A combination of data collection methods was used including direct interviews, focussed group discussions and key informant interviews.
Mmegi: Kindly explain the strategy’s broad targets? MITI: The major objective of the Middle-Class Strategy for Botswana is to empower the middle class to effectively participate in the country’s economic development through the creation of globally competitive businesses.
Focus Area 1 is about tapping onto middle-class competitive advantage for entrepreneurship. Focus Area 2 focusses on middle-class business opportunities and highlights areas of their potential business opportunities in the diverse sectors of the economy. Focus Area 3 is about middle-class contribution beyond formal employment and aims to facilitate the middle-class to see their skill, managerial experience and expert knowledge