News of the imminent economic stimulus is now old news. It is said, to stimulate the economy, the Government intends to draw from foreign reserves. The nut and bolts of the stimulus are yet to be announced. The economic stimulus, as exciting as it sounds, is being installed in an economic system fraught with an array of challenges, challenges that may bring about absolute failure.
At this stage, the only comforting part of this plan is that the Government has attempted to do some consultation with Batswana. Although it seems all fortuitous. Logically, one is hampered from fully participating and contributing ideas when the full details of the economic stimulus are not available. Even without the full details, the Government has heard what Batswana have said and the concerns they have expressed and one hopes that the Government will, as a government of the people ought to, take that into account. If executed properly the economic stimulus may do some good.
In rolling out the program, the Government ought to observe certain principles in line with its philosophy of social justice. Batswana must have equal access to the benefits from the economic stimulus. There is concern that this might end up benefiting only the rich and powerful. The Government must develop inclusive methods that will ensure that the poor also benefit, those in rural areas benefit and people with disabilities also benefit. People in rural areas and those with disabilities are already placed at a disadvantage as they have inherent difficulties in accessing services. As citizens of this country, they too are entitled to reap whatever benefits they can reap from the country’s savings.
The greatest challenge that our country faces today is youth unemployment. Every year students who graduate from tertiary and technical colleges do not find jobs, they instead have to sit at home while their self-worth and dignity peels off. The stimulus must be designed in such a way that it opens up employment opportunities for the youth in both the public and private sector. Alternatively, the Government can introduce social security measures for the unemployed such as unemployment benefits.
The Citizen Economic Empowerment Policy must be part and parcel of the economic stimulus. In this Policy, there is an acknowledgement by the Government that there is little participation of citizens in the economy. The Policy exists to enable such participation. There are certain economic sectors, such as tourism, that Batswana are failing to penetrate. Here, the Government must revise some of its empowerment devices and come up with new effective measures. I have previously advocated for a law on citizen economic empowerment. Such a law will ensure that a uniform and consistent system is applied rather than the current uneven, fragmented and discordant approach we see to citizen economic empowerment.
This may be a good time to move such a law.
At the top of many Batswana’s minds is the clear and present danger of corruption. The concern is that corruption may be the main stumbling block in the economic stimulus achieving its ends. I do not think the concerns are without a basis. Our anti-corruption system has bred and fuelled the impression that some individuals are beyond the reach of the arms of the law. There are also credible allegations of interference or obstruction of justice in some cases. This needs to be corrected. As long as this remains the case, the belief that the stimulus is only meant for the few will impede its success.
Perhaps the greatest evil to the stimulus is “insider trading.” There is fear that some individuals already have inside knowledge of these details and they may use it to their advantage and to the advantage of those who are closer to them. We do not have laws to regulate these types of situations. This creates a fertile ground for corruption.
Public procurement is the main channel that the Government will use to stimulate the economy. Yet, there is rampant corruption in the system.
There is fronting, insider trading, improper disclosure of the engineer’s estimate and unfair evaluation of bids which results in the award of public works to companies that are incompetent to carry out the job. Contractors spend time in courts, the time needed to complete public projects. At times, you also have a clueless badly structured PPADB that simply aids and abets the situation. There is need to look into our public procurement system, and refine and do away with some of the bottlenecks ones finds in the system.
Regarding the citizen economic empowerment measures available under the PPADB, it is time to enhance them, clarify them and publish them so that all those interested may know of them. If not addressed, these concerns may cripple the program, or even worse, cause it to become a vehicle of corruption and enrich the few rich. The Government is advised to prepare and fix the problems first before implementing the idea. In the meantime, Batswana wait with hope.