04 Mar 2015

Government Implementation Coordination Office (GICO) coordinator, Dr John Mothibi says government is committed to achieving Vision 2016 milestones where no citizen is left behind in realising prosperity for all.

Speaking at the Vision 2016 forum on March 3, Dr Mothibi said Botswana should strive to achieve zero mark unemployment rate just like in countries such as Malaysia where there was one per cent poverty and unemployment rate.

He also said factors such as adultery, divorce, multi sexual relations and drugs, among others, contributed to the spread of HIV and hence the nation should join hands to fight such social ills. “This is a critical stage for the vision and all stakeholders need to share experiences and advice on how and where to improve,” he said.

Vision 2016 coordinator, Dr Charity Kruger said as Botswana counted down to 2016, it was important to reflect on the milestones and further assess shortcomings so as to fill up gaps ahead of the big moment.

Giving an overview on the progress thus far, Dr Kruger stated that there were certain gaps that could be accelerated ahead of the 18 months countdown through forums that convened key stakeholders who contributed in monitoring progress.

She said Botswana had made a considerate investment in education given the high enrolment at primary schools in the country of late.

The coordinator stated that Botswana had made strides to achieve an educated and informed nation with the advent of technology having made information accessible with internet prices having reduced and hence resulting in internet connectivity in the country.

Also, she said despite the economic crisis in 2008/09 Botswana was recovering well though the county continued to be haunted by the high unemployment rate which stood at 19.9 percent.

Further, Dr Kruger indicated that the HIV/AIDS pandemic continued to worry the nation as the prevalence rate had increased in females of under 39 years and males between 44-64 years.

She added that achieving a safe and secure nation also remained a challenge in that the crime rate had escalated in Botswana with 5017 cases in 2007 and 5535 cases in 2013. However, she said Botswana had experienced an upward trend in terms of participation in elections compared to the past where there was voter apathy.

“We celebrate cultural diversity, religious freedom and sport and culture has also united as we see more Batswana positioning us on the global map in sport arenas and beauty pageants.”

Dr Kruger said to mark the countdown, they had come up with a countdown strategy implementation where a proposed Vision 2016 torch will traverse through Botswana so that Batswana felt and share their experiences with their Vision. ENDS