13 May 2025

Collaboration between government and non-governmental organisation (NGOs) will go a long way in addressing societal challenges and promoting issues of equity especially in rural areas.

This was expressed by some NGOs during a Voices of Maun dialogue event themed: A Community-based Situational Analysis of Human Rights, held in Maun recently. They were of the view that sharing of resources and expertise could bring about more impactful and sustainable solutions addressing social challenges and improving livelihoods of rural communities.

The organisations stated that as stakeholders, they knew the root cause of some of the challenges and as such, they could help to come up with solutions to the problems. The North West region, they agreed, was a vibrant hub for tourism, culture and diverse socio-economic dynamics, and the region had distinct human rights challenges and opportunities that deserve focused attention.

During the discussion, it was revealed that some government organisations were under resourced to take services to communities in rural and remote areas which denied the rural populace access to services just like any other Motswana. It was also reported that family structures were broken in remote areas with majority of children raised by one parent who at times failed to empower children to be independent.

To address such, some stakeholders emphasised a collaborative approach to ensure effective solutions which required participation of multiple organisations because one entity could not effectively address the challenges.

“Let us collaborate to take services to the people. As private sector, we are ready to assist with transport to ensure communities have fair access to resources and opportunities,” said Ms Sandra Rubins, community outreach manager at Natural Selection.

She said it was disturbing to learn that social ills were rampant in rural areas because the communities lacked information and knowledge on how they could tackle the challenges and where to channel reports.

Another participant from Botswana Tourism Organisation, Mr Thatayaone Mmapatsi emphasised the need to come up with appropriate strategies to address issues of concern. Citing poor sanitation and shortage of water as some of the challenges facing Maun and surrounding villages, Mr Mmapatsi said provision of potable water was critical considering the fact that the area was a tourism hub.

He said failure to provide fresh water posed a health risk on the communities and the sustainability of the tourism enterprises. Mr Mmapatsi said issues of climate change needed to be looked into, saying climate change had a bearing on water shortage as intense droughts disrupted water supply and caused floods among others. The dialogue facilitated by the Office of the Ombudsman aimed to gather actionable feedback and recommendations for the office to consider in future interventions. ENDS