An Examination of the Ipelegeng Programme as Poverty Eradication Strategy in Botswana

Since independence, Botswana’s economic growth has been impressive. However, there remains concerning levels of poverty, inequality and unemployment. The government has introduced various programmes and policies to reduce or eradicate poverty, but these programmes use up a significant portion of the annual national budget that is allocated for eradicating poverty and creating employment for beneficiaries. Academic literature assessing the government’s poverty eradication programmes and policies is limited, therefore this article sets out to assess the sustainability of one of the popular poverty eradication programmes, the Ipelegeng programme. In assessing this programme, the authors undertook a desktop review of available literature ranging from government policy documents and official reports to journal articles. They argue that the said programme, due to its temporary, untargeted nature, does not resolve the problem of unemployment. The Ipelegeng programme does not equip the beneficiaries with long-term life skills but is only a source of cheap labour for the government. The article concludes that this programme is financially unsustainable and has none of the tangible trade-offs expected from a programme of its magnitude.