Dr Tšeliso Moroke
We are yet to be counted, yet even before the numbers are confirmed, we already know the story they will tell.
We are told that a census is a powerful national instrument. That it equips those entrusted with the budget of this country with the information and knowledge necessary to plan effectively, allocate resources equitably, and improve service delivery. It is meant to reveal population densities, identify pockets of need, and guide the distribution of developmental projects. In theory, it is a tool to create jobs, reduce inequality, and eradicate poverty.
However, one must ask: will it truly achieve that?
For years, we have relied on population projections ranging from 2 million to 2.2 million people. We are, by any measure, a small nation. A country of this size should be agile in governance, precise in planning, and deliberate in execution. It should be easier to manage resources, easier to target interventions, and easier to uplift communities. Yet the reality we face stands in stark contrast.
We are engulfed in persistent poverty. Unemployment continues to rise at alarming levels, particularly among the youth. Inequality remains deeply entrenched. The question is unavoidable: how does a small nation struggle so profoundly to meet the basic needs of its people?
It cannot be that we lack data. It cannot be that we do not understand where the problems lie.
Even with the resources at our disposal, particularly something as strategic and valuable as water, this country should long have transitioned into a thriving economy. Water alone presents opportunities for industrial development, energy generation, regional trade, and job creation. It is a natural endowment that many nations would leverage to transform their economic fortunes. Yet we have failed to fully harness it.
This brings us to an uncomfortable but necessary truth: a census, in itself, will not solve our problems.
We will not wake up to a transformed economy simply because new numbers have been collected. We will not suddenly feel the impact of budgets that are informed by the realities of poverty, inequality, and unemployment. Data does not automatically translate into action, and information alone does not guarantee change.
The problem lies within the system.
Our budgeting framework is rigid and largely unresponsive. It is not malleable to the evolving needs of the country, nor is it sufficiently adaptive to both domestic and global developments. Instead, it appears structured to maintain the status quo. Serving the interests of a narrow elite rather than the broader population.
This rigidity is evident in how we respond, or fail to respond, to global dynamics. The geopolitical tensions affecting global oil and fuel prices were not unforeseen. They were present long before the budget was tabled and appropriated. Yet, despite having ample time to anticipate and adjust, we proceeded without meaningful safeguards against volatility. This is not merely an oversight; it is a failure of foresight and intent.
As a result, there is little to no tangible return on investment from public spending for the ordinary Mosotho. The economically active population, along with the most vulnerable, has been conditioned, directly and indirectly, to rely heavily on government for survival. However, the same system that encourages this dependency does not empower citizens with the tools, opportunities, or environment needed to become self-sufficient. Instead of enabling productivity and enterprise, it perpetuates stagnation.
At the same time, there is a growing perception that public resources disproportionately benefit politically connected individuals.
Whether acknowledged or not, this perception erodes public trust and weakens the social contract. When citizens believe that budgets serve a select few rather than the nation as a whole, disengagement and disillusionment inevitably follow.
But perhaps the most critical issue is one we seldom confront: the erosion of our collective agency.
What happened to our ability to organise ourselves as a people? What happened to community-driven development, where citizens actively participated in shaping their own economic and social outcomes?
Budgeting, by its very nature, should be consultative. It should be inclusive and participatory, reflecting the voices, needs, and aspirations of the people. Yet increasingly, it feels distant, centralised, technocratic, and detached from lived realities.
We are, in effect, denying ourselves the authority we inherently possess over our own resources.
Public money must serve the public good. It must be directed toward initiatives that stimulate economic activity, create sustainable employment, reduce inequality, and meaningfully address poverty. This requires not only better data, but better governance, stronger accountability, and a genuine commitment to transformation.
Until we fundamentally rethink how this country moves, how it plans, how it allocates, and how it prioritizes, no census, no matter how accurate, will alter our trajectory.
Counting people is important.
But changing their lives is what truly matters.
Summary
- That it equips those entrusted with the budget of this country with the information and knowledge necessary to plan effectively, allocate resources equitably, and improve service delivery.
- It is not malleable to the evolving needs of the country, nor is it sufficiently adaptive to both domestic and global developments.
- There is little to no tangible return on investment from public spending for the ordinary Mosotho.
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