21 Oct 2018

Human capital is said to be a key element necessary for Botswana’s transition from a middle-income to an upper middle-income country.

Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Ms Bogolo Kenewendo observed at the ministry’s excellence awards on October 18 that recognising and appreciating human capital would add impetus to the efforts to transition the country’s economy to an upper-middle-income status.

Ms Kenewendo commended the ministry staff of whom she said a considerable number had excelled in their area of expertise and had moved out of their comfort zones.

She said by moving out of the comfort zone, they had been able to move boundaries to bring about the much-needed transformation in the bid to improve service quality in the workplace.

The minister noted that Botswana, like other developing countries, aimed to promote inclusive growth and competitiveness through diversification, competent human resources and the creation of sustainable jobs.

“In order to achieve this, our implementation approach must be driven by productivity, creativity and innovation. This calls for continuous improvement on methods and processes for delivery,” she said.

She noted that in the quest to fast-track economic development and effectively contribute towards attainment of the ideals of Vision 2036, the ministry had resolved, during its leadership forum held in May, to move away from the conventional way of executing its mandate.

Ms Kenewendo said they had resolved to refocus the implementation approach and initiatives through a purposive apex model; the objective of which she added was to ensure a more coordinated approach towards SMME development, investment promotion as well as export development.

“Initiatives under the three apexes include but are not limited to provision of streamlined services to the SMMEs, providing a supplier directory by region, building anchors of growth per region guided by each region’s available raw materials and opportunities,” she said.

Minister Kenewendo further pointed out that the ministry was also reviewing its footprint country-wide to ensure a balanced and inclusive service provision by taking advantage of its infrastructure for the benefit of the consumer.

She said the ministry was strengthening its investment promotion approach and initiatives as well as marketing locally manufactured products and services in Botswana and across borders.

Giving a word of motivation, coordinator of SPEDU revitalisation strategy Ms Linah Mohohlo said with Batswana having worked hard to attain the level of income status the country was currently at, they had every reason to work even harder to attain a higher income status.

Ms Mohohlo concurred that the apexes mentioned by the minister were intended to aid efforts to attract investors to the country as embodied in Vision 2036.

She said in order to realise these, Batswana needed to continuously assess if they were up to the task; by, from time to time evaluating if they were moving towards the benchmarks they had set for themselves.

Ms Mohohlo implored the ministry staff that as they discharged their responsibilities, they should avoid unnecessary bureaucracy, which she said was on its own not a bad thing if done intelligently. She also encouraged them to apply their minds as good thinkers often tended to solve problems and never lacked ideas that could build organisations.

Proposing a vote of thanks, Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Moiseraele Goya shared similar sentiments that human capital was any organisation’s greatest asset hence it would forever be crucial to acknowledge and recognise employees for their contribution to making their organisations what they were. He thanked the ministry’s employees for having worked hard to place the ministry among the country’s high performing ministries, noting that each one of them was worthy of commendation for their contribution no matter how modest it may have been.

Mr Goya further encouraged the spirit of teamwork, saying while most of the prizes were won by an individual, it was important to not lose sight of the fact that behind every winner was a strong and cohesive team.

The awards included amongst others, distinguished officer award, best performing department, best performing district, best performing district office, permanent secretary’ special award and minister’ special award. ENDS