30 Mar 2025

Bobirwa MP, Mr Taolo Lucas has tabled a motion requesting government to conduct social justice audit to assess and proffer proposals for addressing inequalities obtaining in the country.

Presenting the motion on Friday, Mr Lucas said the intention of the audit was to assess the prevailing differences in livelihoods and come up with mechanisms to do away with or reduce the identified gaps.

He said poverty, unemployment and social differences between the rich and the poor were among the leading societal differences in the country.

Mr Lucas said there were enormous differences that one could identify when looking at among others, the livelihoods, distribution of wealth and resources among the different communities in the country.

He said some constituencies were well catered for in terms of developments that were provided by government while others appear to be not getting enough.

Mr Lucas said it was without doubt that tribes in the country were not accorded equal status as some were deemed majority and others minor, and therefore under the authority of certain tribes.

He said a comprehensive social justice audit would reveal how the so called minority tribes were affected by the in-balance and what they meant to their livelihoods, economy, tribe statute and culture.

Mr Lucas said the country had its people divided by income classes. He said the audit would determine what such differences in remuneration meant to one’s livelihood, especially those who were lowly paid.

He also observed that the development agenda was focused on certain localities in the country, while others were left in the dark.

Mr Lucas said in some cases, people travelled more than 600km to access a health facility, while others were spoilt for choice as such a service was congested in their locality.

The Bobirwa MP said the audit would guide the development agenda going forward. He said it was disheartening to witness the challenging environment that other people in the country were subjected to, while some were well serviced.

Mr Lucas said poverty was better in cities, towns and major villages while people in less developed areas were subjected to abject poverty where Ipelegeng was the only form of employment.

Mr Lucas said settlements were greatly affected by unemployment and poverty.

“You will find the only people who were employed were those working at the village kgotla and school, while the rest will be scrambling for the limited and short term employment under Ipelegeng,” he said.

Mr Lucas said access to health facilities was also a challenge and added that the disparity between those with medical aid and those without it was enormous.

Additionally, Mr Lucas also said children in rural communities and less developed areas were mostly not doing well at school compared to those in urban areas, as the quality of education they were receiving was questionable.

He said people with disabilities were mostly affected by the said difference as most were not well catered for and could not have facilities to help them live a better life. He said the Basarwa tribe was one of the most marginalised in the country, and said the new government must take advantage of the comprehensive social justice audit to guide its development agenda.

Furthermore, he said it was unfortunate that the resources of the country were enjoyed by a few.

Mr Lucas said the small businesses in the streets and the informal sector were affected by the injustice as they were constantly forced out of their areas of doing business.

He said even in the agricultural sector, subsistence farmers and commercial farmers were not accorded equal treatment.

Mr Lucas said a commercial farmer would be paid for damage to crops by wild animals while a subsistence farmer will only receive mere compensation.

Responding to and debating the motion on behalf of the Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services,  Mr Nelson Ramaotwana said during the State of the Nation Address, President Duma Boko had adequately pronounced the government approach to promote human rights based development agenda.

He said President Boko underscored the need to expand access to social services among others.

He said the 2024 report by the World Bank stated that despite the relatively high income status, poverty remained wide spread, and job creation had not kept up with unemployment, which was persistently high at 27.6 per cent as per the first quarter of 2024.

Additionally, Mr Ramaotwana said the country faced significant inequality ranking amongst the highest globally and said the situation was worrisome and plans were underway to address it.

He reaffirmed that the Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs had committed to promoting equity, social inclusion and justice for all citizens. Also, he said there were on-going efforts to reduce poverty, improve access to education, health and social protection and ensure fair treatment of citizens across all sectors.

Mr Ramaotwana said the ministry was working on the development and implementation of an inclusive, shock responsive and adaptive social protection programme.

He said government was in agreement with the motion since it was touching on challenges that government was equally determined to address.

Debating the motion, Vice President and Gaborone Bonnington South MP, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe said he was in agreement with the motion that a social justice audit was necessary.He said the social injustice affected the small businesses that were doing their all to sustain their families and build the country’s economy.

He said Mr Lucas’s motion was focused on addressing a concern that affected all. Mr Gaolathe said government was equally concerned and had taken a step to establish a ministers committee called Social Justice, of which one of its mandate was to address the differences in the society.

He said there were studies on-going to look at poverty levels, unemployment, income differences, as well as developmental challenges. He said the motion would help update and nourish studies in place that were aimed at addressing such challenges as well as measures to address them. Mr Gaolathe said addressing social justice challenges would also involve all loopholes that were leading to financial leakages affecting the development agenda, and by so doing, ensure equal distribution of resources. ENDS