The youth in Botswana say more needs to be done to up-skill and create better job opportunities for them. The continent’s biggest diamond producer will be holding its general election on Wednesday.
While Botswana has enjoyed relative political stability and economic growth since gaining independence from Britain in 1966, its commodity and agriculture driven economy has left it vulnerable to the volatality of the international diamond market.
The country is the 3rd most unequal in the world with unemployment standing at 18%. This is what local youths had to say.
“Our economy doesn’t include us. When you finish school you come back home and do nothing. There are no artisan jobs or any other job.”
“Many graduates finish school and sit at home. They can’t get any jobs but they have degrees. You end up working for 1 thousand. The minimum wage must also be increased. It shouldn’t be so low that a person’s income just pays rent and buys food,” what some people had to say.
The Business community in Botswana says more needs to be done to diversify the country’s economy to rid it of its reliance on commodities and agriculture. The continent’s biggest diamond producer is holding its general election on Wednesday.
The country faces a mammoth task of address the sluggish economic growth, inequality, poverty and unemployment. President of Business Botswana Gobusamang Keebine elaborates.
“Government’s import bill per annum sits at something between 4 and 6 billion pula and you look at some of the things that are imported and you ask yourself why can we do them here. We import almost 90% of anything we consume from South Africa and all over the world. For us to diversify our economy we will have to look at what are the easy to do. We can’t try to be in manufacturing if we don’t have the competency in that. We can’t try to compete with a power house like South Africa when we don’t have the competency,” says Keebine.
