06 Aug 2025

The roll out of  Botswana  Economic Transformation  Programme  (BETP) is  in full swing with  the  launch of  economic laboratories  planned for  August  11.

Speaking during consultation  with government accounting officers  yesterday,  Vice  President, Mr Ndaba  Gaolathe said BETP was moving into the third of its four phases, during which cross sector teams would meet over four weeks to develop execution-ready  projects and unblock delivery constraints.

Outlining the four phases of BETP, two of which have already been completed, he explained that phase one, the diagnostic phase, involved consultants conducting an in-depth analysis of Botswana economic status, identifying policy gaps, structural challenges and under-performing sectors.

Mr Gaolathe who is also Minister of Finance said a call for projects was launched on July 15 and 1 317 project proposals had been received to-date. 

“We have received proposals from citizens, the international community, social entrepreneurs and innovators. 

This is an evidence that the energy for change exists,” he said.

Mr Gaolathe said with regard to the second phase, which was the strategic alignment, a strategic cabinet workshop was convened to agree on national direction.

“It has surfaced that the nation desired a high-income Botswana that was digitally-enabled, export-driven and economically diversified, where every citizen was employed, empowered and fulfilled,” he said.

The Vice President said Phase Four, which would be the execution plan, would involve finalised projects that would be placed into a national roadmap, with key performance indicators, timelines and clear accountability structures.

He indicated that the current economic challenges presented a pivotal opportunity to break from the past and rewrite Botswana’s growth story and to ignite a bold new era. 

“We have no other option but to reimagine our growth model, diversify our economy, and build resilient industries that can unlock the full potential of our human capital,” he said.

By confronting these realities head-on, Mr Gaolathe said the nation was poised to usher in a bold transformation that shifted it from dependency to dynamism and from stagnation to inclusive and sustainable prosperity.

He thus reaffirmed government’s full commitment to a transformation agenda rooted in fiscal discipline, infrastructure revitalisation, state owned enterprises reform, skills development and artificial intelligent enabled governance.

The Vice President cautioned that many ideas with strong economic fundamentals had been immobilised not for lack of value but by red tape, indecision, or institutional fragmentation.

Mr  Gaolathe  pointed  out the  relationship between the BETP and National Development  Plan (NDP) citing that some outputs of  the Economic Transformation Programme would be  infused into the NDP to bring in more  technical rigour to the  country’s planning process.

“Traditionally, NDPs have been vision-based, setting broad aspirations for economic and social development. 

The new NDP, influenced by the BETP approach will be action-oriented, with specific and measurable targets, and transparent progress tracking mechanisms,” he explained.

 He therefore pleaded with accounting officers to lead this transformation with decisiveness and unity of purpose.  ENDS