15 Jun 2025

The capacitation and resourcing of Botswana Vaccine Institute (BVI) remains government priority in an effort to position Botswana as a vaccine producing powerhouse.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Tlogatloga ward in Gaborone Bonnington South constituency recently, Vice President Mr Ndaba Gaolathe indicated that BVI had proved to be one of the region’s leading producers of animal medicines with the potential to emerge as the leading exporter to the entire African continent.

He highlighted that it was through strict adherence to international vaccine standards (OIE) and having in place a sound quality management system and customer-centric approach that BVI broke through the international market, a move, which, he said, was commendable.

“From its humble beginnings, the BVI of today is a company that has grown in leaps and bounds and has positioned itself as a force to be reckon with in the fight to unlock Africa’s vast livestock potential by producing livestock disease vaccines that have for many years contributed towards food production,” he said.

Mr Gaolathe, also Minister of Finance indicated that BVI had expanded its mandate to transform in to a national, regional and global player providing sustainable animal health solutions and find pride to be leading the fight in unlocking Africa’s vast livestock potential by preventing livestock diseases that have for many years hampered growth of this sector.

He thus said it was against this background of significant importance for government to resource the institution and further solidify Botswana’s trade presence in the vaccine production space. Additionally, he said it was of high priority in government agenda to ensure value for every Pula allocated to State-Owned-Enterprises (SOEs) by transforming them into high performance organisations that fully delivered on their mandates.

“We intend to pay delicate and special attention to our SOEs with a view to bring out the best in them, and to use them as a lever to significantly reduce costs of doing business in the new Botswana. We are also determined to transform our SOEs into engines of wealth creation for the larger population by reconfiguring and up-scaling some of them into becoming truly global players,” he said.

Further, Mr Gaolathe emphasised government commitment towards fostering an inclusive environment where ordinary citizens can actively participate and thrive within all industries. He said that reaffirmed government deep commitment to enhancing consultation with all stakeholders, recognising that meaningful dialogue and collaborations for effective policy-making.

“We are a government built on consultation and this is our government, all of us, we must build our nation together, in our own way, we must build our economy together in our own way and we must rise together,” he said.

Mr Gaolathe said government was keen on transforming the country to one of the best-managed states in the continent and a paragon of unity, fairness and prosperity. He therefore said government would not succeed alone as a lot rested on frequent consultations with the nation and forging partnerships with the private sector.

The country, he said had regressed on many fronts including health and education outcomes adding that corruption had become endemic. He thus stated that the nation had a collective responsibility to not only chart a course for nation’s economic recovery but to also restore the trust and faith on government. ENDS