Africa-Press – Botswana. The democratisation of wealth and resources is ideal for maintaining a sound and sustainable economic growth for the betterment of livelihoods.
Addressing a High Level Business Engagement Forum in Gaborone yesterday, organised by Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE), President Advocate Duma Boko spoke of the need to reduce economic inequality and increasing shared wealth by avoiding creation of huge amounts of wealth for a small number of people.
“We have an economy that has presented the nation with jobless growth and minimal growth over the years, hence the need to reimagine the country’s economic status and democratise wealth,” said President Boko.
He said those at the low margins of the country’s economy ought to be recongnised and their economic social status uplifted through creating an economically inclusive government that would strive to enrich them.
“It is disheartening that majority of Batswana are still living below the poverty line with no decent jobs to enable them to play a meaningful role in the country’s economic growth,” President Boko observed and described poverty as a violation of human rights that government should acknowledge.
He thus reaffirmed his commitment to fight poverty.
“We are a country of divided citizenship, those who access dilapidated public services and the well-off elites. I therefore, make a pledge to the less privileged members of the society and the country as a whole that I will fight for, promote and uphold Batswana’s fundamental rights, which is the right to decent living conditions and the right to be treated with dignity and respect,” he said.
To ensure that every citizen is treated with dignity and respect, President Boko made an appeal to the business community to come on board and offer decent jobs with decent wages. He said he would always unapologetically speak of the P4 000 minimum living wage because it marked and defined the lowest level that people must subsist at and not below. President Boko explained that economic data marshalled by leading economists indicated that adequate reward of the workforce would translate to excellent staff retention.
“Aside from the fundamental human rights preset, it also makes so much economic sense to pay and pay well because when you reward labour, you minimise absenteeism and substantially raise the levels of productivity therefore, there is every reason to pay P4 000,” President Boko added.
He applauded BSE for bringing in to the mainstream of the economy, those on the down side through the pronouncement of the SME fund establishment, a bold move in forging a durable sustainable partnership that would fast-track the much needed democratisation of wealth.
President Boko further underscored the importance of policy reforms aimed at creating a more competitive and investor-friendly business environment saying, it was government’s vision to speed up the economic transformation agenda.
He emphasised government’s commitment to facilitate domestic and foreign investment through streamlined regulatory frameworks and targeted incentives as well as the significance of strategic partnerships between the public and private sector as catalysts for sustainable economic growth and job creation. Government is dedicated to fostering innovation, enhancing infrastructure and leveraging Botswana’s unique economic strengths to drive long-term prosperity, President Boko said.
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