Botswana’s President, Duma Boko, has delivered a compelling address, confronting the nation’s harsh economic realities while laying out a vision of dignity, housing, and structural change.
Speaking with striking honesty, President Boko highlighted how low wages have entrenched inequality in Botswana, noting that someone earning P20,000 monthly already ranks among the country’s top 1%.
“We have operated a low-wage economy across for a very long time,” he stated, urging the nation to treat this as a “grave concern.”
He made it clear that poverty in Botswana isn’t just about personal hardship—it’s the result of a deeply flawed economic structure. “When we complain, with good reason, we need to understand that we are dealing with a structural problem,” he said. “We must face up to it and address it structurally.”
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At the heart of his message was the Bonno Housing Scheme—a new government-backed initiative aimed at closing the housing gap and ensuring dignity for all.
“The bold ambition of this programme is to ensure home ownership, that no person in this country be without a decent house,” Boko declared. He emphasized the painful reality that many retirees “retire into penury, into poverty,” and pledged to change that narrative.
Far from offering mere political promises, President Boko’s speech signals a fundamental shift in how his administration plans to tackle inequality and social welfare.
