14 Nov 2022

Government continues to invest in key water projects throughout the country to ensure equitable access to water, President, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has said.

Delivering the State-Of-Nation-Address yesterday President Masisi said government was further pursuing arrangements for cross-border water supply.

Key projects, he said included Mmamashia Water Treatment Plant, Lobatse Water Master Plan project, Gamononyane-Molepolole water pipeline construction, which were ongoing to improve water supply in Molepolole, Lentsweletau, Metsimotlhabe, Thebephatshwa, Good Hope and surrounding villages, to be completed during the first quarter of 2023.

Also, the President said a significant number of villages in the Tati district were benefiting from an improvement of water supply and the construction of a pipeline, taking water from the North-South Carrier to a series of villages in the Tswapong area, was on course.

He added that a feasibility study was being done to secure trans-boundary water resources on the bilateral and multi-lateral fronts through the Chobe-Zambezi Water Transfer Scheme as a Public Private Partnership.

On other issues, President Masisi said energy continued to be a key priority for government, with Phase 1 of the Northwest Transmission Grid Connection (NWTGC) commissioned last year. Consequently, he said Ghanzi and surrounding areas, as well as Okavango villages were now being supplied from the national power grid.

Furthermore, the President stated that in line with achieving the 30 per cent green energy contribution to the energy mix by 2030, government was in the process of developing renewable energy sources.

In that regard, he said, a total of six Power Purchase Agreements had been signed between Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and three private sector developers.

Of the six power purchase agreements to construct Solar Photovoltaic (PV) plants, he said, two were under construction in Bobonong and Shakawe, while the remaining four awaited funding, with further seven approved for citizen-owned companies.

“Let me remind you that transitioning to energy mix is not a preserve for companies. There is an opportunity for households to save more on their electricity bills and to participate as independent power producers through incorporation of solar panels in their building structures,” he said.

Regarding security in the supply of petroleum products, he said, Botswana Oil Limited (BOL) had identified alternative sources and supply routes.

To that extent, he said government was expanding fuel storage capacity through strategic infrastructure development in Tshele  in Kgatleng District, Francistown and Ghanzi.

He said the Francistown fuel storage facility was under construction and the tender for Tshele had been floated while the Ghantsi fuel storage facility tender would be floated by the end of the financial year.

With respect to village connectivity, he said as of November this year, 665 premises including schools, dikgotla, health facilities and other essential government institutions, were connected to high-speed Internet services and were operational.

“This is against the targeted 1 138 premises for this year. The connected premises and services are in 76 villages and towns out of the 142 promised last year and connectivity to the remainder of the villages and premises will be completed during 2023/2024 financial year,” he said.

On the digitalisation programme in schools, he said a three-phased School Digitalisation Plan with integration of ICT in teaching and learning had commenced and Phase 1 of the plan focused on building of infrastructure, platforms and capacity building.

He said Phase II of the project would target provision of ICT devices to junior secondary school teachers and learners on an individual basis, with the final phase to be provided to teachers and learners in upper primary with ICT devices.

“Mobile ICT labs will also be availed for use by lower primary and pre-school learners and the overall objective of the plan will improve the quality of education and results across all levels,” he added.

Notably, he said, a total of 269 099 individual Batswana were using the free high speed 100MBS Internet services provided by government schools, dikgotla and health facilities and that was becoming the standard in Africa and the developing world.

“We are making progress in our efforts to become a digital economy. In 2022, Botswana took the biggest leap in Africa in the Global Innovation Index,” he said.

Furthermore, he stated that as a result of Digital Transformation Strategy, government had been able to increase registered innovators from 400 to 2 000, a number he said was still growing.  ENDS