It's Govt's role to create jobs - Gaolathe

Umbrella for Democratic Change Vice President, Ndaba Gaolathe has dismissed claims that the principal role of government is not to create jobs directly.

Gaolathe stated that Government has to be at the forefront of employment creation. Gaolathe was reacting to the 2017 Budget speech delivered by Finance and Economic Development Minister Kenneth Matambo on Monday this week.

Matambo said the role of Government is to provide a conducive macroeconomic environment to facilitate the development of the private sector. “The private sector, in turn, is expected to take advantage of such an environment to undertaken investment, which would contribute to the growth of the economy and creation of sustainable employment opportunities,” said Matambo.

Gaolathe, who is also Member of Parliament for Gaborone Bonnington South, said this is the first mistake that government is making. He said creating a conducive environment is part of the government assignment. He said government should venture into partnerships with investors for job creation. Gaolathe indicated that government should pursue the same route it took in the mining sector to create jobs.

“At the UDC we believe government should do as they did with mining where they went into partnership with the likes of De Beers. Government should set aside a reasonable amount of funds that should be channelled towards creation of jobs,” said Gaolathe.