HOW THE BUDGET SPEECH EXCLUDES THE QUEER COMMUNITY

On February 7th 2022, history was made when Honorable Minister Peggy Serame, the first ever woman to be the Minister of Finance and Economic Development in Botswana, delivered the 2022/2023 budget speech. I congratulate and agree that it is indeed significant to finally have the first female MoFED after 56 years of Independence. It truly does show the strides Botswana has made towards being inclusive to women. However, it is vital to highlight the shortcomings of the speech in that it was neglectful of the LGBTIQ+ community of Botswana.

As mentioned in the speech, the annual budget aims to propel Botswana towards achieving its VISION 2036. It is therefore important to note that within our VISION 2036, under pillars 2 and 4, exists potential opportunities and mandates that could be used to make Botswana LGBTIQ+ inclusive. The second pillar which speaks to Human and Social Development aims to have a tolerant and inclusive society that provides opportunities for all, and in all spheres; politically, socially, financially and spiritually. The pillar has a social inclusion mandate that aims to empower marginalized people and socially protect them, and it also speaks to the importance of gender equality. The LGBTIQ+ community is not only affected by gender inequality but it is also one of the marginalized and vulnerable groups in Botswana. Under pillar 4; Governance, Peace and Security, there is a mandate to ensure promotion and protection of Human rights, one of the ways being through civil society engagements. The LGBTIQ+ community is one of the groups that needs their rights protected, especially after the Court of Appeal last year expressed that section 3 and 15 of the constitution should be inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity. To begin with, the speech highlights that there will be a population and housing census in March 2022 of which the results will be used to guide provision of public services and infrastructure. However, there was no indication of increased budget allocation to include the LGBTIQ+ community. Census usually does not reflect the trans diverse community, and this is perpetuated by referencing of identity documents that are not often reflective of trans people’s true gender identity. The heteronormative line of census questioning also leaves out the queer community. While the census may not truly depict all of the LGBTIQ+ community, there is still a need to include them in the process and go the extra mile of finding ways to efficiently collect such information. Otherwise, LGBTIQ+ voices will continue to be left out in informing ways to achieve VISION 2036 inclusivity. The proposed budget also speaks to the need for social infrastructure that will advance the mandate of social protection, however there is no mention of building shelters for victims of domestic violence and the LGBTIQ+ community. Queer people also experience domestic violence; from their partners and homophobic family members. They get kicked out of their homes and have nowhere to turn to. The LGBTIQ+ community are also left out of the psycho-social support budget catered towards victims of gender based violence and those affected heavily by the covid-19 pandemic. Transwomen should also be a listed targeted group of women when tackling GBV against women. The LGBTIQ+ community was also heavily affected by covid-19; they were left unemployed when covid-19 limited the activities of the informal sector where majority are employed, and they are and were forced to be home with homophobic family members, which all caused mental health issues that will go unattended because the budget does not provide for them. Not only that, but the budget also does not reflect economic allowances for LGBTIO+ under the social protection schemes handled by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. Furthermore, the budget allocated to the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security to drive the safety and protection of citizens and promote human rights does not make any mention of training law enforcement officials on handling HR violations of queer people. This impacts pillar 4’s aim to recognize the voices of disadvantaged communities, as the LGBTIQ+ community will continue not utilizing law enforcement agencies when their rights are violated. The other avenues to have mentioned LGBTIQ+ issues are; under the mandate of the proposed Botswana National Public Health Institute, government’s commitment to care for and support vulnerable segments of the population and the Botswana National Strategic Framework for HIV and AIDS 2019-2023. I however look forward to, “system e down” after moving government services online and I feel sorry for the interning youths that will deal with technologically challenged elders in government institutions.