11 Dec 2022

Parliament on Thursday approved chapters one to five of the Draft Second Transitional National Development Plan which is due to be implemented over the government financial years spanning the period April 2023 to March 2025.

Thanking Members of Parliament for their deliberations ahead of the vote, the Minister for State President Mr Kabo Morwaeng said he was pleased that the majority were in agreement with the transitional plan.

Mr Morwaeng said there had been rationalisation with the moving of national development planning from the Ministry of Finance to his ministry with the establishment of the National Planning Commission.

He said this was done according to international best practices and would allow those who planned projects to work separately from those who focused on financing of the development projects.

Mr Morwaeng said the National Planning Commission was manned by highly knowledgeable technocrats with vast experience in economic planning and the civil service.

He said the two-year transition would allow for the NDP 12 to commence in 2025, the first government financial year following the 2024 general election and thus realign the five year development plans with electoral cycles.

Mr Morwaeng said the transitional plan would incorporate development projects in every constituency across the country, adding that since independence government had ensured that development planning was evenly distributed with no region left behind.

He further said water provision was being given attention, with the North-South Carrier as well as the rehabilitation of water wells and pipelines meant to expand water availability to communities across the country.

Mr Morwaeng noted that due to financial constraints not every development project envisaged by MPs could be incorporated into the transitional plan, but said over time, government would ensure their coverage in future plans.

Additionally, Mr Morwaeng said government was addressing citizen economic empowerment, poverty reduction, human-wildlife conflict and other challenges raised by MPs while debating the transitional plan.He said government had promulgated good policies and there was a need for improvement in the implementation phase. ENDS