10 Dec 2014

Government is determined to move Botswana forward through policies and programmes based on people-centred development.

The Vice President, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi said when responding to the State-of-Nation Address that government was committed to building a republic in which all thrived and realised their dreams as per the roadmap outlined by President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama.

Mr Masisi said the President’s priorities were job creation and agricultural renewal that will ensure food security; expanded access to land and housing ownership; access to world-class quality education; and citizen economic empowerment.

Other priority areas were the eradication of abject poverty, zero tolerance to corruption, government reforms that leveraged on the application of new technologies as well as uphold of the rule of law. He said through these priorities, government was offering Botswana a new deal in moving the country forward.

The VP further urged Parliament to work more effectively and efficiently to promote diversification and beneficiation in the mineral sector, domestic enterprise through procurement and incubating the growth of small businesses and transformation of educational system at all levels.

He also urged members to support coordination of rural development through the upgraded conservation and sustainable use of natural resources and continued expansion and localisation in the tourism and hospitality sector.

On other issues, the Vice President also said the migration by De Beers in partnership with government of diamond aggregation and sales from London to Botswana was an outstanding achievement.

“Such massive translocation from developed to developing world, from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere remains unparalleled,” he said.

He said government’s ongoing efforts in facilitating the associated expansion of downstream industries and services had opened an exciting new chapter in the country’s efforts to further diversify the country’s economy as a leading global ‘mines to market’ centre for diamonds.

He also said the state owned Okavango Diamond Company was testimony of the government’s commitment to ensuring that individual citizens benefited and continued to benefit in future from the country’s mineral endowment.

He said the company was established to better manage the countries’ emerging opportunities for further diversification in the mining and beneficiation of additional mineral commodities such as copper-nickel, silver, iron, coal and coal bed methane. ENDS