09 Jun 2019

While education is important, global dynamics dictate that for the country to move forward, it is critital to be armed with technological and innovation skills, Vice President Mr Slumber Tsogwane has said.

This, he said called for a need to redefine the country’s road map.

The Vice President was officiating at this year’s Debswana Diamond Dream Academic Awards (DDAA) in Jwaneng on June 7 .

He noted that when the country gained independence, it had one of the lowest adult literacy rate in Africa and that its technological advancement was also low, which hampered its global competitiveness.

 Mr Tsogwane therefore urged the students to gather as much insight as possible on how Knowledge Based Economy could revolutionise the country’s development agenda.

He indicated that contrary to many doubting it, the country was prepared and ready for knowledge based economy as resources were available, and that government was confident that it would take over at the end of the diamonds era. 

“As one of the top producing diamond countries in the world, it would be a shame that Botswana’s legacy in the diamond industry should be devoid of knowledge in the value chain,” he said. 

He advised that such human development into technology should start at an early age to improve the country’s productivity on high valued goods to compete at the global level. Mr Tsogwane also said government was ready to partner with the youth, academia and experts across all sectors of the economy to redefine the future of the country and speed up economic transformation through any possible means. 

He appealed to teachers to support government in achieving knowledge based economy . 

Mr Tsogwane indicated that the world had moved away from the system where economic transactions were based on production and distribution of goods and services transcending through ports and borders to ownership of knowledge and information through patenting of intellectual property and licence rights. 

He therefore, said that was the space that Botswana equally needed to aggressively venture into. Mr Tsogwane also appreciated Debswana Diamond Company for heeding government’s call in delivering a sustainable socio-economic development programme to the citizenry through the corporate social investment under which DDAA falls.“I am grateful that your CSI programme aligns with our NDP with great focus on areas of education, agriculture and empowerment of vulnerable people such as the girl child, youth and the elderly,” he said.

 He also said the awards would go a long way in helping the country forge ahead with its attempts to diversifying the economy, and applauded the fact that since the awards started three years back, there had been significant increase in the academic performance in schools covered. He therefore urged other players in the private sector, to emulate Debswana and also applauded the Ministry of Basic Education for recognising value in partnering with the company towards a common goal. 

For his part, Basic Education minister, Mr Bagalatia Arone indicated that despite just three years into existence, it was assuring that the awards had already turned around the academic fortunes in schools covered, something that he said the ministry greatly appreciated. 

He said it was the ministry’s desire that such positive results could be replicated countywide. 

Mr Arone said the ministry was addressing the existing challenges that continued to hamper the desired academic improvement, and that a solution would be found in due course. 

He said one of the strategies was to provide an overall policy and strategic sector framework for the education sector that would play a pivotal role in the development of a modern sustainable, knowledge based economy that supported inclusiveness and diversity. Mr Arone also applauded teachers for their selfless hard work that prioritised the interests of students over their own, and urged them to keep up the spirit. ENDS