24 Jun 2025

The Acting President, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe has underscored the need to reshape Rural Development Council (RDC) into a more agile institution capable of addressing today’s complex challenges.

Giving a keynote address during the official opening of the RDC members’ orientation in Gaborone yesterday, Mr Gaolathe who is also the Minister of Finance said the council as it stood before, was built for yesterday’s problems, hence the need to re-forge it sharper and more strategic to meet the firestorm of today’s complex challenges.

“From this moment on, RDC is not a forum. It is a taskforce of transformation. Its functions must evolve, not in theory, but in how we act and deliver. We are reimagining this council as a policy innovation lab, a national convener and catalyst as well as a driver of a whole-of-government and whole-off society rural renaissance,” he said.

To that effect, Mr Gaolathe said work in terms of reviewing the structure and composition of the RDC and revision of the 2002 Revised National Policy for Rural Development (RNPRD) undertaken by the Botswana Institute Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) was nearing completion.

He noted that the future demanded institutions that listen, move and deliver and as a result, government should build strong Institutions for the purpose of decentralised, transparent community-anchored governance. Also, the Vice President said government has declared war on rural stagnation in an effort to reimagine and rebuild the soul of the nation, starting in the villages. He said government was steadfast to invent the future of rural living, through considering ‘rural’ as the new frontier of green growth, food systems, cultural pride, job creation and climate leadership. 

“We must ensure our young people see opportunity in the village not just in the city. Let us give them reasons to stay, build and lead,” he said.

Mr Gaolathe stated that government had identified key enablers of successful rural transformation with clear lessons that converge around the principle of land clarity and equity and productivity. He thus highlighted the need to modernise agriculture through smart irrigation, quality inputs and tech-enabled training, adding that drought should no longer be a crisis, but rather a catalyst for climate-smart farming. Mr Gaolathe said building foundational infrastructure in rural areas like roads and broadband was critical towards such area’s livelihoods upliftment. 

“These are not luxuries, they are non-negotiable enablers of growth and we must build resilient value chains that reward producers and create rural jobs,” he said.

Mr Gaolathe said he was aware that the ministry of local government and traditional affairs was working diligently to get the decentralisation policy across the line. 

“This policy is not just administrative, it is foundational to giving rural communities the power to shape their own destinies,” he said. ENDS