19 Sep 2019

Corruption has been identified as one of the major societal ills likely to impede the realisation of Vision 2036.

Reacting to a presentation by the Vision 2036 coordinating agency at during the Gaborone City Council (GCC)  meeting on Wednesday, councillors indicated that given its cancerous nature and the grave damage it could cause, it was vital to uproot corruption to ensure that it did not disrupt the development process.

Nominated councillor Mr Macdonald Peloetletse said realising the ideals of Vision 2036 would remain a far-fetched dream if some people in government still believed that white and blue collar crimes were the way to prosperity.

He noted in addition that it would be impossible to achieve prosperity for all when the focus appeared to be on empowering naturalised Batswana at the expense of indigenous citizens.

He said it was thus critical that in its public education campaign, the Vision 2036 coordinating agency targeted public officers to inculcate the spirit to shun corruption in all its manifestations.

Another Specially Elected councillor Mr Kagiso Ntime said it was apparent that the nation of Botswana lacked the intent to fight corruption. He said with no real action ever being taken against those who perpetuate corruption, it was clear that the societal ill would continue to derail efforts to move the country forward.

Mr Ntime decried what he termed the recycling of the same faces in the leadership positions of certain key entities and parastatals, something that he said denied the country the opportunity to benefit from fresh minds with new ideas.

He said it did not make sense to expect Vision 2036 to be a success when it was spearheaded by the same people who had failed to successfully deliver Vision 2016.

Marulamantsi Councillor Mr Sergeant Kgosietsile observed how it was important to make crime-fighting entities such as the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) fully independent so that they discharge their mandates effectively.

Mr Kgosietsile said Vision 2016 had been a dismal failure, and concurred with fellow councillors that corruption contributed to failure to deliver on the vision.

He said Botswana being classified to be within the middle-income bracket was a mere fallacy as many Batswana remained on the fringes of the economy.

Vision council chief executive officer Mr Chris Molomo had earlier informed councillors that among the many things the national vision sought to achieve was to push the country towards attaining a high-income status.

He stated that in striving towards achieving the ideals of the vision, the nation should capitalise on the lessons learnt from Vision 2016.

One of the lessons learnt, he noted, was that there was need to align development plans with the national vision, saying it had become clear during the implementation of Vision 2016.

Further, he said it was worth noting that successes attained during Vision 2016 were not necessarily indicative of future achievements.

Mr Molomo said such therefore called for the Vision 2036 coordinating agency and all relevant stakeholders to make concerted efforts towards attaining the vision. ENDS