17 Feb 2019

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has reiterated the government’s commitment in prioritising investment in research, science, technology and innovation in order to trigger economic transformation into a knowledge-based one.

Speaking at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the government of Botswana and Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA on February 15, President

Masisi said the MoU would play a pivotal role in the country’s efforts to transform the economy, enhance the implementation of policies and improve public service delivery.

“It will also contribute a great deal to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals such as the eradication of poverty, gender equality and women empowerment, among others,” he said.

Dr Masisi expressed appreciation to Rutgers University for supporting the government’s commitment to transform the country’s economy from being resource based to being knowledge-based through the implementation of the MoU.

He said the two countries continued to enjoy bilateral relations and cooperation.

He added that it was through such collaborations at various levels that Botswana had reached the middle-income status.

“The strategic partnership with Rutgers University will go a long way in contributing to government’s roadmap and the aspirations of the country’s long term National Vision 2036,” President Masisi said.

For his part, President of Rutgers University Prof Robert Barchi through a video conference call indicated that the signing of the MoU expressed a level of commitment on both sides. He said the partnership would not be one way, but would also be beneficial to his university and academic community.

“Through the MoU, we will learn about the impact of culture, history, climate and geography on the implementation of transformational initiatives in Southern Africa,” Prof Barchi said.

He added that as the university, they could make available to Botswana a broad range of technical expertise and personnel initiatives that would help Botswana move forward.

He however advised that as the country moved from a resource-based economy to be knowledge-based, there would be obstacles along the way.

In his welcome remarks, Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration Mr Nonofo Molefhi said the collaboration, which would run for a period of five years and renewable, was designed to address issues of capacity building, leadership enhancement, and knowledge transfer in areas that were critical to the achievement of Botswana’s strategic goals.

Mr Molefhi said the Implementation Plan of the MoU had been drafted and would be finalised next month.

He indicated that following the signing, both teams from Botswana and Rutgers University would have bilateral engagements on details of the collaborations and finalise the plan. ENDS