05 Nov 2023

This year’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) comes at a time when government developmental agenda is in full swing through the Transitional National Development Plan (TNDP). 

In his SONA address in 2022, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi said the TNDP aimed to be an agent of change towards economic transformation.

He said it was intended to align the national planning with the electoral process, a move he described to be in line with the Reset Agenda. 

“This means that the party which wins elections in 2024 will be able to set the development agenda according to its manifesto,” he said.

The TNDP is expected to run from April 2023 to March 2025 and was tabled by the Minister for State President in December 2022, with a budgetary estimate of P64.07 billion. 

It has been themed: Towards a High-income Economy, Transformation Now, Prosperity Tomorrow. 

President Masisi had paid emphasis on the need to reset and transform as demonstrated by his decision to realign the public machinery for economic recovery post COVID-19. 

This included rationalisation of ministries and upgrading of 22 subordinate authorities to fully-fledged councils. The process was done in two phases with the first implemented in the 2022/2023 financial year. 

The reforms translated into enhanced service delivery, good governance and accountability. 

This also saw establishment of the National Planning Commission responsible for national development, forecasting and prioritisation of policies and projects. 

Against this background BOPA engaged various stakeholders to reflect on the expectations, progress made and other developments ahead of the SONA. 

Sharing his views, chairperson of the newly established Tutume District Council, Mr Thatayaone Kehitile said upgrading of Sub-Districts to fully-fledged Districts was a positive move towards improved service delivery. 

Councillor Kehitile said the move had not only increased staff compliment, but improved the decision-making process, adding that they were also in the process of establishing a service centre. 

“We also have our own attorney; therefore, any legal issue will be dealt with urgently,” he said. He said with the upgraded authority, the council was now in a position to engage potential investors through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model with the view of engaging in income-generating projects that would ultimately bring more money into the coffers of the local authority and create employment. 

“Upgrading Tutume into a district has given the community a sense of belonging. They have even developed a District Logo, which is a true representation of their culture and lifestyle. We are working on growing ourselves and even our revenue sources,” he said. 

The SONA also comes at a time when the President had on several occasions, reiterated government’s wish to see the creative industry thrive. 

“This includes making efforts through the promotion and investment in the creative industry to preserve culture and generate a livelihood for artists,” he said. 

As such, when he launched the National Arts Council in May, a new dawn for the creative sector was realised to unlock its potential. 

Through an act of Parliament in 2020, the National Arts Council formation was facilitated to serve as an umbrella body overseeing development of the creative arts in Botswana. Not only that, efforts are being made to capacitate the creative sector for television and content production, especially for the youth. The move saw the refurbishments aimed at transforming the Mass Media Auditorium into a hub for local film and television production. 

Commenting on the development, Thapong Visual Arts Centre coordinator, Mr Reginald Bakwena said the Arts Council must explore means of financing the industry, adding that financial assistance was important in pushing the sector to run professionally. 

“The council must primarily focus on changing the industry for the better,” he said. The President is expected to further update the nation on the milestones attained from the vegetable import ban meant to support local farmers to increase national food security. Though faced with some contentions at the initial stage, the development has been able to encourage local vegetable production and improve horticultural competitiveness. 

Already, a group of farmers in Gaborone and other parts of the country have established a distribution centre named Farmers United. 

“The distribution centre affords the Gaborone community and other localities ease access to vegetables and horticultural produce,” said Farmers United Chairperson, Mr Ratsela Molefe. Currently, the facility has registered 120 members countrywide, who have created employment for 350 farm workers. 

Improving the national herd and its genetic merit also forms part of President Masisi vision to unlock the country’s economic potential. 

This saw government investing in procurement of breeding cattle for purposes of semen and embryo production from Texas, USA at a cost of over P28.4 million.

Giving testimony on the benefits of artificial insemination, 67-year-old Mr Motlhatlhobi Rankwe, a cattle baron at Gamajaalela said he had been able to improve the quality and genetics of his livestock over the past 20 years. 

Mr Rankwe is one of the farmers who would benefit further once the upgrading of Ramatlabama Artificial Insemination (AI) Laboratory and Training Centre is complete.

The over P93 million project is expected to be complete by March 2025 and will include upgrading infrastructure and introduction of AI in small stock as well as multiple ovulation embryo transfer in both small stock and cattle.

While government continues to invest in infrastructure development to support the different economic sectors and improve the country’s global competitiveness, President Masisi said adoption of the recently launched Development Manager(DM) was a mindset change focused on delivering projects of the desired quality, on budget and on time. 

The model will be used to execute major infrastructural projects such as roads and other institutions such as hospitals with the view to reducing waste, corruption, cost overruns as well as abandoning projects incomplete and delivering sub-standard projects. 

Assessing President Masisi’s tenure in office, one of the local economists, Mr Sennye Obuseng observed that when President Masisi assumed presidency, the primary challenge was growing unemployment among the youth, most of whom were tertiary graduates with skills mismatch. 

Other challenges include poverty, gender-based violence and challenges in the health sector. 

Therefore, Mr Obuseng said as President Masisi delivers his 6^th SONA, he must share with the nation the achievements of his initiatives in relation to, among others, creating employment, fighting poverty as well as developing an inclusive economy. 

With a landmark initiative, Mr Obuseng said Dr Masisi pushed for allocation of 100 000 residential plots during the past financial year.

He said despite his efforts, waiting list at various land authorities across the country continued to swell, therefore calling for relevant land reforms that would be at par with the challenge at hand. 

Though in agreement that the COVID-19 had been a stumbling block in the development undertaking of any nation, Mr Obuseng said the setback could also be used as an opportunity for a bold and ambitious plan to transform the economy.

Mr Obuseng is hopeful that the coming SONA will focus on what President Masisi has achieved following his roadmap reveal in April 2018 when he ascended to the presidency. Ends