President Duma Boko’s State of the Nation Address on Monday, November 9, presents an important opportunity to account for his government’s performance since taking office in November 2024. We need more than ambitious promises and explanations of inherited economic difficulties. We deserve measurable results.
The President should begin with the commitments that helped propel the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) to power. The promise to create 100,000 jobs within 12 months, raise the minimum wage, increase old-age pensions, provide free sanitary pads, distribute tablets to learners and reopen BCL Mine all demand a clear progress report. How many jobs have actually been created? What has happened to the promised tablets and sanitary pads? Where is the BCL reopening plan?
The President must provide an update on the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme, foreign investment commitments and the actual implementation of promised projects.
There have been achievements worth acknowledging. Government increased old-age pensions, increased student allowances and introduced water-bill relief. These interventions have provided tangible assistance to households. But social spending must be measured against its sustainability, particularly when public finances remain under pressure.
The President must also confront two particularly embarrassing missed deadlines. He declared that Air Botswana and Botswana Railways would return to profitability by December 31, 2025. Neither delivered. To date, Air Botswana has failed to achieve profitability, while financial and administrative problems at Botswana Railways continue to pile up. What went wrong, who is accountable and when can we expect these entities to stop draining public resources?
The economic outlook also demands serious attention. With diamond revenues under pressure, unemployment stubbornly high and the cost of living rising, what concrete measures will government implement to diversify the economy? The President must provide an update on the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme, foreign investment commitments and the actual implementation of promised projects.
Above all, Boko must embrace accountability. His administration cannot indefinitely invoke the failures of its predecessors while governing the country. The electorate gave the UDC a mandate to deliver change, not simply diagnose Botswana’s problems.
Healthcare deserves equal prominence. We want to know when hospitals will have reliable supplies of medicines, equipment and essential medical consumables. The continuing Foot and Mouth Disease crisis also requires a credible recovery plan for farmers and the beef industry.
Above all, Boko must embrace accountability. His administration cannot indefinitely invoke the failures of its predecessors while governing the country. The electorate gave the UDC a mandate to deliver change, not simply diagnose Botswana’s problems. The SONA should therefore contain figures, deadlines, responsible institutions and explanations for missed targets.We have heard enough about what government intends to do. We now want to know what it has actually done.
