27 Apr 2016

Government is embarking on innovative avenues to intensify the use of technology to bring services nearer to the people and expedite service delivery.

Speaking at a kgotla meeting in Kanye on Monday, Minister of Infrastructure, Science and Technology, Mr Nonofo Molefhi, said such a move would improve the economic landscape of Botswana.

He said the Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation (BITRI) was formed to identify and develop appropriate technology solutions in line with national priorities and needs of Batswana.

BITRI was formed from the merger of the Rural Industries Promotions Company (RIPCO) and the Botswana Technology Centre (BOTEC).

He said BITRI made research that sought  to ensure that science and technology allowed Batswana to better their lives.

He challenged Batswana to harness technology to improve their lives, adding that technology could change their lives as well as the economic landscape of the country.

Minister Molefhi said state-of-the-art technology was capable of creating wealth for the country and make Botswana competitive in the global market.

He said importing technology from other countries is expensive. He said the country’s future rests on technology.

He said it is critical for Batswana to invent useful products and services that the country can be known for. He said such inventions could be exported to bring money into the country.

Minister Molefhi said given that Botswana is blessed with a lot of coal, the government is eyeing opportunities to make plastics, fertilisers, petrol and tarmac using coal.

He spoke of the need to amalgamate indigenous knowledge and modern technology to minimise side effects and harm to the environment.

He said it is of paramount importance for Batswana to document their inventions for copyright and intellectual property protection and generate income from their products.

He said BITRI would test ideas for feasibility.

He spoke of telemedicine and cattle movement monitoring systems as some technologies that bring services nearer to the people while expediting service delivery. ENDS