Africa-Press – Botswana. Selebi Phikwe West MP, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse has tabled a motion requesting government to consider an unemployment benefit stipend.
Tabling the motion Friday July 21, Mr Keorapetse proposed that in light of the high unemployment rate that was causing abject poverty for many, government should consider coming up with a social protection provision for those unemployed.
He said there were unemployed graduates or those who lost their jobs because of liquidations, retrenchments or other means.
“The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) recommends the establishment of a sustainable unemployment benefit scheme based on best practices.
It suggests that there be a monthly allowance for unemployed Batswana to enable them to have a dignified life or basic standard of living in which they can afford basics such as food, clothing, shelter, water and electricity,” he said.
Giving a brief overview of the country’s unemployment situation to support his motion, Mr Keorapetse said the unemployment rate stood at around 25.4 per cent as per Statistics Botswana’s quarterly multi-topic survey of the 4th quarter of 2022.
In addition, he said extended unemployment, being a combination of those actively seeking and not seeking employment in the reference period, stood at 328 926 in the 4th quarter of 2022.
The most affected age groups, the MP said, were the 15 to 17 and 20 to 29 group.
The 2022 4th quarter analysis, he said, also showed that the age group 15 to 17 recorded the highest unemployment rate of 74.1 per cent followed by the 18 to 19 age group with 55.3 per cent whilst the age groups 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 recorded 43.6 and 31.1 per cent respectively.
Furthermore, he said secondary education holders were dominant with 60.1 per cent of the unemployed followed by university graduates and primary school holders with 12.5 and 11.5 per cent respectively.
Mr Keorapetse explained that the stipend would form a compensation paid to individuals to help them cover basic costs of living whilst they sought employment or received career training. The unemployment allowance, he said, was often offered to individuals as a fixed sum and was commonly paid to the recipient as a lump sum payment monthly.
“The motion is not without basis. It resonates well with all the basic tenets of a typical welfare state, hence the need to consider it with a view to cushion those who are affected.
A number of countries have been providing similar schemes for their people who are in similar situations, and that has allowed them to live relatively dignified, though modest lives,” he said.
The payment of the unemployment stipend for unemployed Batswana, the MP said, was likely to keep the unemployed out of abject poverty and deter many people from resorting to other means of living such as crime, anti-social behaviour and other unethical activities.
He said the stipend would also provide additional support to individuals who were unemployed during recessions, liquidations and retrenchment as well as help young unemployed single mothers to feed and clothe their children.
He added that it would also help young women to buy monthly necessities such as sanitary pads.
In the UDC’s view, Mr Keorapetse said the stipend would act as a form of replacement income for the unemployed as most did not qualify for destitute programmes because of stringent requirements in the guidelines, but remained impoverished.
Since it would come at a cost to the taxpayer, Mr Keorapetse said government must hasten to grow and broaden sources of revenue. Apart from the efficient and effective collection of taxes, curbing profit shifting and capital flight, he said there was need for accelerated beneficiation of minerals to at least 50 per cent to grow the economy and create jobs.
“Money can come from curbing leakages in tourism by making high value tourists to pay locally rather than abroad. We can also invest our pensions, insurance funds and other investments locally to build the economy,” he said.
In addition, he said the UDC suggested that the unemployment benefit could also be funded in part or whole through a special fund which government could find without tapping fully from the fiscus.
To prevent a situation where unemployment was encouraged by the monthly stipend, the MP said it should cover the basics, stressing that ‘the proposal is not to give an allowance that’s equal to a salary where staying at home can become an alternative.”
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