19 May 2022

Urbanisation and increased use of technology has obliged the government to introduce policies that are aimed at protecting the family. 

The Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Mr Mabuse Pule said this during commemoration of International Day of Families held under the theme: Families and Urbanisation in Francistown on Tuesday. 

Urbanisation, he said, should be well managed so it could benefit families, and ensure cities and human settlements were inclusive and safe. 

This year’s theme was aligned to the ministry’s Strategy and Transformation Plan that sought to revamp social protection as well as the ongoing national digitisation agenda he said. 

So critical was this transformation that, the President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi was himself leading it through his RESET Agenda, whereby digitisation was prioritised as a means to bringing about efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery. 

Mr Pule said both urbanisation and new technologies were megatrends that required focus for a proper analysis of their impact on family life, and to find appropriate ways to counter their negative effects. 

He added that government had prioritised the development of Family Policy in the current National Development Plan. This he said was geared towards providing policy direction for families as well as addressing emerging challenges that societies were dealing with. 

Mr Pule said technology had made life a lot easier for people, citing online teaching and learning, transacting with money, which included easy payments of vital services such as water and electricity, as some of the services that could be done at the click of a button and from the comfort of one’s home. 

“I am very happy to state that the City of Francistown in collaboration with BITRI, has not only embraced the use of technology to serve its urban population but further facilitated free internet access to the public,” he said. He said that Social Protection and by extension, family welfare in Botswana was currently undergoing major Policy Reforms. 

This was in alignment with the recently adopted National Social Protection Framework (NSPF), Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan (ERTP), National Development Plan 11 Outcomes, Vision 2036 as well as the President’s RESET Agenda. ends