Mbaakanyi Lenyatso
We have mastered the art of counting the unemployed. We publish statistics, we debate percentages, and we design elaborate policies around “job creation.” But we are asking the wrong question.
The real question we must confront is: Who is actually producing in our economy?
When you look closely, a troubling reality emerges. Who is growing the vegetables we eat daily? Who is building our homes? Who dominates welding, carpentry, landscaping, hairdressing, brick moulding, informal trade, and small-scale production? In many cases, it is not the citizens.
At the same time, we import maize meal, chicken, pork, vegetables, and basic goods. We rely heavily on external supply chains for our sheer survival, yet we celebrate employment in low-value service jobs. This is not an unemployment crisis; it is a citizen participation crisis in production.
The Missing Middle of Our Economy
Every strong economy is built on a solid base of small-scale producers, skilled tradespeople, agro-processors, and informal entrepreneurs who eventually grow into formal businesses. In Botswana, this middle layer is noticeably weak.
Instead, a clear contradiction exists: citizens queue for jobs, while non-citizens create them.
Often, we say “education is the solution.” But we must ask what kind of education we are producing. Education has become the silent architect of our problem. Our system has unintentionally created job seekers instead of job creators, compliance thinkers instead of problem solvers, and risk-averse graduates instead of entrepreneurs.
When a Motswana sees regulations, licensing requirements, and lengthy land processes, they hesitate. When an informal migrant sees the same barriers, they start small, they adapt, and they grow. This is not about intelligence. It is about a mindset shaped by necessity versus a mindset shaped by structure.
Regulation Paralysis and Rational Behaviour
Botswana is over-managed and under-executed. Opportunities are frequently blocked by lengthy land processes, environmental approvals, complex licensing systems, and institutional hesitation. Yet, despite these barriers, informal actors find a way to produce, and the market continues to function.
This raises a critical question: Are our systems enabling citizens, or discouraging them?
Citizens avoiding production is not an issue of laziness; it is rational behaviour. Production is avoided because returns are slow and uncertain, social status is disproportionately attached to office jobs, and our systems simply do not support small beginnings. Failure in our society is punished, not tolerated. Consequently, citizens choose the security of cleaning, retail, and security jobs. This happens not because they lack ambition, but because the system makes low-risk survival vastly more attractive than high-risk production.
A Hard Truth and a Path Forward
We must accept a hard truth: Botswana is not yet a production and manufacturing society. We are largely a consumption-driven, service-oriented economy highly dependent on external producers. Until this fundamental reality changes, unemployment will persist, imports will dominate, and economic transformation will remain painfully slow.
We are ignoring a vital lesson from the informal economy: Start small. Use what you have. Produce first. Formalise later. This is exactly how many informal entrepreneurs, including migrants, build sustainable livelihoods. If our most educated decision-makers cannot think with this level of practicality and urgency, we will not transform at speed.
To shift this paradigm, changes must happen now:
- Create Low-Barrier Production Zones: Open land for immediate use with minimal bureaucracy. Let citizens produce first, and regulate progressively.
- Reward Production, Not Just Employment: We must shift incentives toward those who grow, build, and manufacture.
- Reform Education: Embed production, entrepreneurship, and practical skills from the early stages. The ultimate aspiration must be ownership, not just employment.
- Change Institutional Mindsets: Every public officer must stop asking “Why can it not work?” and start answering one question: “How do I make this work?”
- Normalise Starting Small: The national narrative must shift from the traditional “Degree → Job” pipeline to a new model: “Skill → Production → Scale.”
Botswana will not industrialise through policy documents alone. It will industrialise when more citizens produce, when more citizens build, and when more citizens take ownership of economic activity. Until then, we will simply continue to measure unemployment without fixing the system that creates it.
The future of this country will not be decided in offices. It will be decided in fields, workshops, factories, and markets. The lingering question remains: Will Batswana lead that future—or simply watch others build it?
