06 Feb 2017

Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Kenneth Matambo, says the budget proposals for 2017/ 2018 financial year cater for human capital development, which is another priority area for NDP 11.

Delivering the budget speech in Parliament yesterday, Mr Matambo said in order to facilitate efficiency and effectiveness of the education system, which is instrumental in driving human capital development, there had been a separation of ministerial portfolios with creation of two ministries being basic education as well as tertiary education, research science and technology.

He noted that provision of basic education for Botswana would continue to be guided by the 2015 Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP).

“In the area of tertiary education, priority during the 2017/2018 financial year will be on ensuring that there is direct link between skills development and the needs of the domestic job market,” he said.

To that end, he said the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) has been working on sector plans for agriculture, tourism, mining and health.

Mr Matambo said in the priority area of social development, the 2017/ 2018 budget provided for achieving government’s objective of eradicating abject poverty by December 2017.

He said additional packages had been added to the menu of social protection measures which include the layers project, fisheries and aquaculture projects and the Kgalagadi sand building blocks.

“Efforts are being made to support People Living With Disabilities (PLWDs) through various programmes and schemes such as specific assistance to graduates living with disabilities to find employment within government and revision of National Policy on Disability,” he noted.

Minister Matambo stated that affirmative action was also applied in assisting people living with disabilities when they applied for poverty eradication projects and alternative packages.

“The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is running a programme to empower PLWD economically and help accelerate accessibility to government programmes and services,” he added.

Again, he said sustainable use of national resources as one of the national priorities and part of a broader principle of sustainable development had been the hallmark of this country’s development strategy.

Also, he said in order to achieve sustainable development, which entailed expanding the economic base without sacrificing the environment, the country had been focusing on two broad areas of environmental protection and sustainable management of natural resources.

He highlighted that a number of initiatives in such areas were undertaken during NDP 10 and would continue going forward.

He said a notable initiative was the Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystems Services (WAVES) programme whose main objective was to take stock of available natural resources and provide economic indicators for their use or depletion.

“Good governance and observance of the rule of law are prerequisites for development, hence the need to continuously reform, invest and improve on national safety and security of the country,” he said.

He said government would continue to nurture Botswana’s participatory democracy by encouraging dialogue among citizens and promoting transparency and accountability in the operations of the public sector.

Further, he said additionally, measures would be undertaken to capacitate the safety and security agencies in order to address the emerging crimes associated with the development of the economy.

To that end, he added, details of programmes and projects proposed for the 2017/ 2018 financial year to address the national priority on good governance and national security were provided under the section on development budget.

“Government, in collaboration with the World Bank is developing a National Monitoring and Evaluation System,” he said.

The minister also noted that the system which would be implemented during the 2017/2018 financial year, was expected to assist government to strengthen implementation processes of programmes and policies, track achievement of national development goals.

It would also facilitate evidence based decision making in resource allocations. ENDS