05 Mar 2020

Chief Executive Officer of Vision 2036, Mr Christopher Molomo says one of Vision 2036 ambitions is for Botswana to be a high-income country with prosperous people living in the enjoyment of their potential.

Addressing the on-going Central District Council meeting on March 3, Mr Molomo said the ambitious aspirations needed all Batswana to be committed and work together for a common goal.

 He highlighted that Vision 2036 was a transformational agenda that defined the country’s aspirations and goals as a people, which, he added, included transforming the country from an upper middle-income to a higher one by 2036, and sets out a vision of how the future would look like.

He therefore said as a collective response, people should answer three questions; what kind of Botswana do they want to build by the year 2036?

What kind of person would a Motswana like to be in 2036 and in order to achieve these dreams and aspirations, what should be done, and by who?  

The vision, he explained, builds on Vision 2016, the country’s first national vision from 1996-2016.

Mr Molomo indicated that vision 2016 ambition was to move Botswana ‘Towards Prosperity for All’, during the Vision 2016 period, Botswana enjoyed a long period of economic growth with significant advances in the quality of life of its citizens and in the reduction of poverty.

He stated that most Vision 2016 pillars were attained, saying Batswana had also realised the important role that a national vision played in unifying the nation and guiding national development.

While acknowledging that the country had made strides towards prosperity for all, he however, noted that challenges remained.

Mr Molomo said Vision 2036 embraced a new era characterised not only by clear plans, but by a deliberate and clear efforts to emphasise implementation of strategies and initiatives.

“The vision is strengthened by four pillars of sustainable economic development, human and social development, sustainable environment and governance, peace and security,” he noted.

The call for implementation, Mr Molomo highlighted, required the participation of government, private sector, civil society and individuals.

The vision, he said, embraced lessons from inequality, unemployment, poor service delivery and inefficiency.

Mr Molomo also implored Batswana to have faith in themselves and to stop over reliance on consultants in order to transition to a high-income status.

For Botswana to attain high-income status, he urged the private sector to take a leadership role and produce quality goods and services. Vision 2036, he also pronounced, would have robust and effective monitoring and evaluation systems to track progress made.

He however, said through Vision 2036, Botswana was choosing a path of prosperity, a path that recognised crossroads and that made deliberate choices.

Mr Molomo said the challenges that remained were of low productivity, which rendered uncompetitiveness. “Our starting point therefore is to be passionate about productivity as a nation,’’ he said. Commenting councillors came up with different views, some criticised the vision’s pillars while some appreciated them.

Some councilors indicated that if all stakeholders could cooperate, the country would move from middle income to the upper one.

Some councillors said Vision 2016 had failed and anticipated that even Vision 2036 would not succeed. They said technology was still lacking in Botswana.

They stated that the weak education sector in the country was worrisome, adding that school buildings were dilapidated, there was acute shortage of classrooms and civil servants accommodation. ENDS