The Botswana Federation of Public, Private and Parastatal Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU), the country’s largest union, has raised objections to the National Development Plan 12 (NDP 12), saying it lacks clear strategies to tackle Botswana’s deepening youth unemployment crisis.
Responding to a presentation by the Minister of Youth and Gender Affairs, Lesego Chombo, BOFEPUSU Secretary General Robert Rabasimane accused the government of offering “vague and recycled promises” that fail to match the urgency of the problem.
In her presentation, the Minister outlined several initiatives aimed at addressing youth unemployment and promoting empowerment. She said the government would develop an Employment Strategy for special groups, namely: youth, persons with disabilities, and women, to enable a smooth transition from education into sustainable employment through upskilling and character development.
The Minister added that efforts would focus on expanding modern youth facilities for arts, sports, culture, digital skills, innovation, wellness, and entrepreneurship, while linking young people to financing schemes and ICT-driven opportunities.
She further noted that the Youth Development Fund (YDF) and the Botswana National Service Programme(BNSP) are being revamped into a coordinated platform for skills development, civic engagement, and transition to employment or entrepreneurship. Additionally, a National Youth Volunteer Movement will be launched to promote service, active citizenship, and employability among out-of-school and unemployed youth by providing structured placements in community and public initiatives.
But Rabasimane believes “the Minister did not clearly state how her government intends to create jobs for young people,” warning that the continued failure to generate employment opportunities for the youth poses a serious threat to national stability.
“Botswana is sitting on a ticking time bomb,” he cautioned, adding that the failure to create employment for the youth breeds anger, inequality, and the risk of social unrest, as witnessed in other countries.
Rabasimane also cited a 2024 International LabourOrganisation (ILO) report, which warns that global youth unemployment is increasingly linked to instability and conflict. The report notes that the share of young people living in conflict-affected areas rose from 2.9 percent in 2002 to 4.6 percent in 2024, a trend that mirrors Botswana’s growing frustration among the jobless.
While NDP 12 emphasises upskilling and character building, BOFEPUSU dismissed the plan as unrealistic in the current economic landscape. “The plan may look good on paper, but how many stable industries do we have that can absorb these skills?” Rabasimane asked. “Almost all industries depend on government contracts. What the country needs are decent jobs for the youth,” he added.
Rabasimane argued that skills training cannot succeed in isolation from industrial growth, private sector expansion, and the creation of sustainable employment opportunities.
BOFEPUSU further accused the government of recycling old talking points without implementing real solutions. “The Minister repeated the same rhetoric used by her predecessors,” Rabasimane said, citing the persistent problem of skills mismatch between graduates and industry needs.
According to the federation, this challenge can only be addressed through strong political will and a coordinated strategy combining economic diversification, educational reform, and targeted skills development.
Echoing similar sentiments, Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) Secretary General Tshepiso Mbereki said the 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA) failed to present direct and actionable strategies to combat youth unemployment.
“What appears to have been less emphasised in the SONA, save for the figures and acknowledgements, are the strategies to deal directly with youth unemployment,” Mbereki said. “While the recognition of youth challenges was welcome, the lack of specificity in policy direction suggests a continuation of broad statements without implementation. We had expected direct and targeted strategies, not general mentions,” he added.
During the 2025 SONA, President Duma Boko defended his administration’s job creation strategy, highlighting the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP) as a key pillar of the national development agenda.
The President said the BETP projects have “strong potential to generate jobs,” with plans to create approximately 512,000 employment opportunities, primarily targeting young people. He explained that the initiative aims to empower Batswana by linking industrial diversification with local value-chain development and investment in innovation-driven sectors.
Furthermore, the President outlined youth-targeted initiatives such as the Climate-Smart Horticulture Development Programme, a specialised capacity-building initiative aimed at developing over 500 smallholder farmers. The project seeks to help young farmers access markets, scale up production, and secure start-up funding.
The government will also establish a horticulture-specific fund in partnership with financial institutions. Beneficiaries will be supported to reach local and export markets through collaborations with key partner organisations.
In addition, several other youth-focused projects will be introduced under the Presidential Youth Empowerment Campaign, including the Textile Acceleration Programme, Government Automobile Maintenance Programme, and Digital Content Creation Hub—all featuring strong components of skills development, mentorship, and enterprise growth within priority industries.
