Botswana’s government has approved a dramatic pay increase for participants in its main drought-relief program, a decision that underscores the tension between rising social demands and mounting warnings from international lenders about the country’s swelling wage bill. The long-running Ipelegeng program, which has for years provided short-term work to some of Botswana’s poorest households, will be rebranded as the Ikageng Public Works Programme (IPWP).
Officials say the redesign will shift the scheme from a basic relief model to one focused on performance, skills development and community-driven projects. Yet it is the scale of the pay increase that has drawn the most attention with monthly wages jumping from P617 to P2,500.
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