16 Sep 2018

 Debswana managing director, Mr Balisi Bonyongo has challenged University of Botswana (UB) alumni to be real agents of change that could move Botswana forward in many respects. 

Giving a keynote address at the 18^th UB Foundation Dinner Dance on September 14, Mr Bonyongo said the responsibility was upon them all to be the initiators of knowledge revolution that would move Botswana forward with a sense of formation and urgency. 

He regretted that since the discovery and mining of minerals, the national economy had become predominantly reliant on the industry, particularly diamonds as its main revenue driver. 

He warned that such assets were however both finite and increasingly vulnerable to macro-economic turbulence that had become a norm in recent years. 

That, Mr Bonyongo therefore said made it imperative for the alumni to think differently about a new development trajectory for Botswana’s economic progression into the second half of its century post 1966. 

He said although diamonds had ensured the country’s success, they alone could not retract the nation from what was described as the middle-income trap and therefore had to face and overcome some challenges which the country was facing. 

Challenges included high unemployment levels, especially among the young people, and income inequality.

Another challenge, he noted, was that poverty levels were still high for an upper middle-income country, especially in rural areas and affecting mostly women-led households. 

Further, extreme weather conditions also made access to clean water extremely costly in the more arid parts of the country. 

Mr Bonyongo also said, compared to other upper-middle income countries, Botswana had not been doing well in term of competitiveness and ease of doing business. 

Meanwhile, Mr Bonyongo said there were a myriad of questions which one should ask to come to the rescue of the country. 

Such, he said inluded problems, which if solved, can trigger disruption to the way society, industries, governments and economies function, thereby increasing efficiencies.

"Do we have the skills to solve these problems; and do we comprehend the extend of our holistic knowledge library that exists across the entire continuum of academia, commerce, government and society?"

Meantime, he said, the country and the alumni should position the education systems and talent development interventions appropriately to capture prevailing opportunities. 

Above all, he said, they must collaborate with partners who are technological and innovative in orientation in order to succeed in tsuch aspirations. ENDS