16 Nov 2021

Botswana National Productivity Centre (BNPC), Government Implementation Coordination Office (GICO) and the Vision 2036 Coordinating Agency have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that aims to achieve excellence in doing business.

Lack of implementation, lack of delivery due to low productivity levels which render Botswana uncompetitive despite good policies and development plans, are some of the challenges the country is faced with and were identified at the formulation of Vision 2036.

It is such challenges that birthed the partnership labeled, Vision 2036 Business Excellence Project.

Speaking during the signing of the MoU in Gaborone on Thursday, Vision 2036 chief executive officer, Mr Christopher Molomo said technology and information management and sharing as well as increased use of innovation would ultimately impact on the competitiveness of any business, its sector and the nation.

Mr Molomo said the three partner-organisations had agreed to jointly define a business excellence model that would guide the implementation of modalities to achieve business excellence, develop and implement an awareness and communications strategy.

He further said the model would train and certify Business Excellence Consultants through BNPC, and jointly formulate governance and implementation structures for the initiative as well as jointly source funding, including establishing biennial Vision 2036 Business Excellence Awards.

Going forward, he said they would formulate sustainability strategies, and continuously explore other possible areas of collaboration to productively drive delivery of service for Vision 2036.

Mr Molomo said one of the key anchors of the initiative was multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilised and shared knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources.

He said there was a close relationship in the mandates of the three organisations, adding that the relationship was in their convergence of service delivery.

Considering the organisations’ mandates, he said the partnership aimed to establish a framework in which participants would conduct their cooperative and collaborative relationship to promote their respective pursuits in service provision and striving for the attainment of Botswana Vision 2036 through the use of Business Excellence Model.

“Vision 2036 was a transformational agenda that defines aspirations and goals of people and it aims to achieve prosperity for all by transforming Botswana from an upper middle-income country, to a high-income country by 2036,” Mr Molomo said

He therefore, said in order to recognise the importance of Vision 2036 as a national development agenda for transformation, all were challenged “to do and act to deliver.”

BNPC executive director, Mr Christopher Diswai said the three’s resolve to align their mandates and intentions would catapult the nation to excellence.

He said the initiative would equip locally based organisations to become excellent organisations and attain aspirations of Vision 2036 for prosperity for all, as well as attain national competitiveness. He noted the partnership was aligned to the

President’s RESET Agenda and the Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan among others.

Mr Diswai further said because of the devastation that COVID had brought on the economy, there was need to work together to regain what the country had before the pandemic and or even better.

“Only by working together can we improve our competitiveness,” he said.

Mr Diswai pointed out that Business Excellence remained a methodology that had proven to lead to increased productivity and competitiveness the world over, therefore Batswana needed to pursue it in earnest.

“Business Excellence is all about outstanding results in everything we do at both business (profit making) and non-profit making organisations and across all sectors of the economy,” Mr Diswai said. Ends