Gaborone — The 2026/27 budget deliberations in Parliament have revealed a division among lawmakers, with government defending its heavy investment in healthcare and economic diversification while the opposition warns of recycled promises and fiscal sabotage.
Contributing to the debate, Assistant Minister of Health, Mr Lawrence Ookeditse, told Parliament on Wednesday that government remained resolute in its goal to improve the well-being of Batswana through operationalisation of the National Health Insurance (NHI), which is intended to provide equitable healthcare access for all.
To address long-standing service gaps, Mr Ookeditse, also Nata-Gweta MP, said plans were underway to privatise the Central Medical Stores (CMS) to ensure a steady flow of medication and the ministry also digitising healthcare records to streamline service delivery. He dismissed claims of negligence, noting that the ministry had received the largest share of the budget to capacitate facilities and secure medicinal supplies. He also indicated that government was on course to revitalise and diversify the economy through the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BTEP).
He said BTEP would take time but would eventually pay off with spill offs in job creation in future. "We found a dysfunctional economy and we acknowledged that we have challenges and we are working hard to restore this economy," he said. On other issues, he said government would continue improving the social safety nets and ensuring that the less privileged were taken care of.
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Supporting the budget, Minister of Environment and Tourism and MP for Francistown South, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi, highlighted that BETP had already attracted 186 projects, which showed a shift toward a private-sector-led and export-oriented economy. Mr Mmolotsi also said government prioritised healthcare and allayed allegations that government was not prioritising healthcare delivery.
He condemned leaders that trivialised the medicinal issue as a political gimmick to the extent of alleging that government did not care about lives lost.
"This is the reason why the biggest share of the budget is going towards health ministry," he said.
He emphasised that government was intentionally moving away from a single-commodity economy by diversifying tourism and moving beyond traditional wildlife into dam and city tourism while also forging new links with international investors to boost income generation.
However, MP for Nkange, Mr Motlhaleemang Moalosi did not support the budget, arguing that it was unsustainable, citing dwindling revenue and rising debt levels. Mr Moalosi raised concerns over the suspension of Government Purchase Orders (GPOs), which he termed economic sabotage. He argued that the move had paralysed essential services, noting that wildlife officers in Tutume were currently unable to respond to emergencies due to the centralised GPO system.
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He further argued that his constituency remained neglected, lacking both a referral hospital and reliable water access, while land allocation delays continued to fuel generational poverty. Mahalapye West MP, Mr David Tshere, also Minister of Communications and Innovation, applauded the Minister of Finance for its prudent spending following the GPO suspension.
Mr Tshere also advocated for a modernised, data-driven tax collection system to bolster national revenue. He maintained that taxation was a tool for development, not a means to impoverish citizens, though he joined others in calling for urgent fixes to widespread electricity shortages in his constituency. BOPA
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