24/09/2025
PRESS RELEASE
๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐: ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) urges the government to learn from mistakes of the past, which we as a former ruling party acknowledge, and act more wisely for the public good. We note the declaration of September 29th, 2025, as a public holiday in celebration of our recent athletics victory. While we fully recognize and celebrate the achievements of our athletes, we are deeply concerned about the economic and procedural implications of declaring abrupt national holidays in the current climate.
Botswanaโs economy is still struggling to regain full momentum. Declaring sudden holidays, especially those not embedded in economic planning frameworks, disrupts business continuity, weakens investor confidence, and stalls critical national operations.
In this particular case, the declaration results in a virtual economic shutdown of nearly six days;
โข ๐
๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ (when most organisations close early before the Independence weekend),
* ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ฒ (non-working days),
* ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ (Public Holiday),
* ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ (Botswana Day),
* ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐๐๐ซ (public holiday and travelling back to work stations to resume normal economic activities.
This paralyzes:
โข Cross-bank transfers (local & international)
* Payroll processing for month-end salaries
* Customs and port operations
* Logistics, retail supply chains, and food distribution
* Time-sensitive agricultural and manufacturing processes
* The cumulative cost of lost productivity, delayed payments, and frozen transactions could amount to millions of p**a, a cost that directly affects the private sector, government operations, and ordinary Batswana.
๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ง๐๐
We call on the current government to;
โข Resist populist decisions that disregard economic realities.
* Consult stakeholders, including the private sector, before declaring disruptive holidays.
* Consider alternatives such as symbolic recognition, public ceremonies, or a future commemorative day planned within the annual calendar.
* Exercise economic prudence and act in a way that reinforces investor confidence, institutional stability, and policy consistency.
Surprisingly, the President has attempted to abdicate responsibility by suggesting that it was the athletes themselves who โdeclaredโ the holiday. Our alternative proposal as BDP is that the President should declare ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ each year as National Productivity Day, a day in which all Batswana will draw renewed inspiration from the hardwork of our athletes which has yielded national pride.
The BDP remains committed to sound economic governance and evidence-based decision-making. We believe patriotism is not shown through abrupt declarations, but through policies that protect jobs, stimulate growth, and strengthen national systems, especially during times of economic fragility.
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐:
๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ
