07 Jul 2025

Government employees have been praised for their unwavering dedication and tireless efforts to bring about transformative changes that enrich the lives of their fellow Batswana.

President Advocate Duma Boko said Friday during a kgotla meeting in Tutume that the majority of the employees in question went extra mile despite being under-resourced.

“You have worked very hard even under difficult working conditions,” he said, appreciating the work put in by government employees.

In the same vein, President Boko acknowledged the political representatives for their commitment to seeking solutions to problems affecting society. He reminded the overflowing kgotla that it was the duty of any responsible government to ensure that people had access to their rights, regardless of their background.

“These fundamental rights are indivisible and interdependent and they are enshrined in Section 4 of the constitution of Botswana,” he said, adding that any nonconformity to give people access to their rights would be a gross violation and a classic case of dereliction of duty.

It was to this end that he informed the gathering that the government he led would be anchored on fundamental human rights. President Boko also reiterated the government’s stance to give P300 cash for upkeep to every newborn. He said any responsible government needed to take care of the well-being of its citizenry, including children under the age of seven, so that they grow up well-nourished.

Another aspect that the UDC government has resolved to undertake is to hold students attending brigades and technical colleges in high esteem and give them the same stipend of P1 900 enjoyed by those at other institutions of higher learning. Placing much emphasis on brigades and technical colleges, according to President Boko, was crucial, as this had the potential to close the significant gap in vocational skills currently experienced by the economy.

On the whole, Boko pledged the government’s commitment to correcting past mistakes where Batswana were left in the lurch by previous administrations. The incorporation of high-tech in interventions to scale agriculture and efforts to fight crime will be among the many vehicles that the government has resolved to employ to make headway and revamp the economy and the lives of Batswana, he said.

Earlier, Kgosi Tapson Madikwe and the Umbrella VDC Chairperson, Mr Norman Nkhwalume, had decried the long-standing promise of a 70-bed hospital facility by the government, which until now remained on paper. The President agreed that Tutume deserved a better hospital and was hopeful that this would be included in the National Transformation Programme, which had replaced the National Development Plan approach to development.

The two had also, on behalf of the Tutume district populace, complained about the slow developments taking place in their jurisdiction, something they said did not augur well with the recently acquired status of Tutume as a fully-fledged district. ENDS