The Botswana National Front Youth League (BNFYL) has released a statement affirming its support for tertiary students demanding an increase in their monthly allowance from P1,900 to P2,500, while calling for “revolutionary patience” and cautioning against the politicisation of student struggles.

In a statement issued by the Secretary for Information and Publicity, Karabo Matonkomane, the youth wing of the BNF described the students’ demands as “just,” “moral,” and “righteous,” in light of the rising cost of living and worsening student welfare conditions.

“We recognise their right to demand dignity and improved material conditions, particularly around the urgent question of student allowances,” read the statement. “The rising cost of living exacerbated by inflation, housing shortages, and rising food prices makes it increasingly difficult for students to survive on the current P1,900 monthly allowance.”

However, the Youth League urged students and the public to take a sober view of the broader national context, pointing to the UDC government’s inheritance of what it described as a “broken and looted economy.”

“The revolutionary UDC-led government, under the capable and visionary leadership of Cde President Duma Gideon Boko, inherited a broken and looted economy, devastated by years of corrupt mismanagement and misrule,” the statement said.

The BNFYL commended the government’s “bold strides” in social upliftment, highlighting the increase in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) student allowances from P300 to P1,900 as a “revolutionary leap” and a major ideological win for economic justice.

“This allowance increase is not merely a policy adjustment; it is the ideological return of education to its rightful role as a tool of economic liberation,” the League stated.

The BNFYL also praised the recent increase in Old Age Pension from P830 to P1,400, calling it a “compassionate intervention” that exemplifies people-centred governance amid economic strain.

On the core issue of the P2,500 allowance for tertiary students, the Youth League said the promise had not been abandoned.

“We call for revolutionary patience and strategic discipline. The promise has not been abandoned—it has only been deferred, and the position of government remains firm that, once the economy stabilises, it will be implemented.”

While supporting students’ right to protest, the Youth League issued a warning against turning student struggles into “tools of political theatre,” urging unity and ideological clarity.

“We caution, sternly, against the politicisation of this noble student cause. We must guard against opportunists who seek to hijack student struggles for short-term political expediency.”