FMD crisis: A tale of two countries

JACKALAS NO. 1: In the heart of Jackalas 1, the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) crisis has brought livestock farming to a grinding halt. The community is reeling from the devastating impact of the disease, which has spread rapidly across the border from Zimbabwe.

With the border fence destroyed, cattle are roaming freely, infecting healthy animals and spreading the disease further. In an interview with a Mmegi news crew, Jackalas 1 Farmers’ committee chairperson, Dignity Mtombeni, highlighted the challenges posed by the destroyed border fence, which allows for unrestricted movement of people and animals between Botswana and Zimbabwe. These are not ordinary times.

Yet, history reminds us that this nation has navigated difficult waters before and did so by clinging firmly to the principles of prudence and macroeconomic stability. From independence in 1966, Botswana chose a path few resource-rich countries managed to sustain. Diamond revenues were not treated as windfalls for reckless expansion, but as capital to be managed with caution. The establishment of fiscal rules,…