03 Apr 2018

President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who ascended to the presidency on Sunday (April 1), has assured the nation that many government programmes and interventions would continue during his tenure.

In an address after taking the oath of office, President Masisi said agricultural programmes such as ISPAAD and LIMID had grown over the years, and had since inception contributed significantly towards improving agricultural output.

President Masisi thus stated that government would continue to strive for commercialisation of the agricultural sector in order to enable it to contribute to economic growth, diversification and the achievement of food security at household and national levels.

He said government would in the next financial year embark on an aggressive programme of land use intensification, a process during the course of which the inalienable rights of land holders would be protected.

As for the tourism sector, which he said had potential to contribute to the growth and diversification of the economy, he pointed out that government would continue to monitor the adherence to the tourism regulations of 1996 to accommodate the reservation of some license category to citizens with the objective of subsequently increasing their participation in the sector.

He said government would rejuvenate the capacity of citizens to participate more meaningfully in the sector, adding further that steps would also be taken to promote game farming as an attractive and profitable enterprise.

On health, President Masisi said government would continue the HIV/AIDS interventions in the form of treatment, care and support.

He however decried the setbacks brought about by the alcohol and drug abuse, which he blamed for increased crime incidences, teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

He also blamed alcohol and drug abuse on the failure by some patients to adhere to life-saving treatment provided for such conditions as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

Regarding land management, President Masisi noted that the function of spatial planning and access to land in line with the National Spatial Plan 2036 would be accelerated in order to give meaning to the aspirations of Batswana, especially the youth.

He observed that Botswana Land Policy, which was adopted in 2015 to protect and promote land allocation through the establishment of an up-to-date land information management system, was meant to facilitate better land management, adding that the policy had been adopted because the management and effective use of land was of paramount importance in determining the economic fortunes of the country. ENDS