07 Dec 2023

Parliament on Wednesday adopted a National Planning Commission Bill. 

The Bill is intended to among others, make provision for national planning through the development of national visions and national development plans, as well as to establish the National Planning Commission (NPC) and provide for its powers and functions. 

Presenting the Bill, the Minister for State President, Mr Kabo Morwaeng said it came about as part of government's rationalisation exercise where the decision was made to establish NPC to address government's fragmented and duplicated efforts in planning and implementation across government agencies. "The commission is intended to become an apex advisory body that will progress our long term planning and drive the national development agenda," he said.  Mr Morwaeng also said the legislation would allow alignment of planning and electoral cycles, hence allowing the elected administration to have an influence on the content of the National Development Plan (NDP). "This Bill will also address misalignment between districts and national development planning," he said.  He said the Bill would establish the governing body, governor general, thematic working groups and their responsibilities. Mr Morwaeng said contrary to some legislators’ fears, the NPC will not be biased when distributing development projects as it would be composed of skilled experienced people with the right qualifications, who have also been involved with government panning in the past. 

He also allayed fears that NPC would exclude ordinary people from national planning, saying the model would still accommodate the bottom up approach. 

"The NPC will still consult Village Development Committees and District Development Planners to get their contributions before making its decisions," he said.  Mr Morwaeng also said the establishment of NPC would improve national plannings and service delivery as it would focus solely on planning. ENDS