28 Oct 2025

Jackalas I is positioning itself to become an economic role model capable of attracting investors across sectors such as health and agriculture.

Giving a keynote address during the re-launch of national Vision 2036 in Jackalas 1 recently, group director of Zambezi Group of Companies Dr Ishmael Nshakashogwe implored residents of Jackalas I to embrace and localise the vision by spearheading change in their own village.

Dr Nshakashogwe urged residents to understand that changing the state of their village, in sync with the national aspirations for change, required that they first change the state of their thinking and that they also teach their children that success was not imported but was rather cultivated.

He urged residents to move along with the rest of the nation by endeavouring to turn around the economy of their village. He called for them to be at the forefront of exploring partnerships that could get major companies including financial institutions like banks, health services providers and those within the agricultural sector to establish businesses in their village.

He said such partnerships would drive transformation of the local economy and even change the outlook of the village on the infrastructure development front.

Dr Nshakashogwe said the initiatives being considered for implementation in the village such as small enterprises like a guest house, agriculture for producing various crops, and adopting digitalisation for the marketing of local products, would require investors, hence the significance of partnerships.

“The private sector must also not see Jackalas 1 as a remote settlement but as a potential partner in inclusive growth,” he said.

Dr Nshakashogwe called for hard-work, unity and a sense of shared responsibility regarding the future of the village.

“Today, we gather here not to start over but to build upon the foundation that was laid by former leaders,” he said, noting that leaders such as former President Dr Festus Mogae aspired to lead the nation into becoming healthy, prosperous, secure and self-reliant.

He said the courage of Botswana’s leadership back in 2007 when the Vision 2016 (now Vision 2036) was birthed gave Jackals 1 residents and all Batswana a template about community building, with emphasis on the fact that developments should not wait for government, but should be championed by locals themselves.

Dr Nshakashogwe advised the people of Jackals 1 to consider benchmarking from people elsewhere who had successfully pushed for the development of their villages without sitting back and waiting for government to bring developments. He thus called for commitment on the part of residents, urging them to work hard to get what they want.

On the other hand, he highlighted that the village was strategically positioned as it formed a corridor for people transiting through Botswana to Central and North Africa. Motor Vehicle Accident Fund official Mr Kite Nkala addressed issues of safety on the roads, sharing concerns about continued loss of life on Botswana’s roads.

He noted that the fatalities on the roads were a threat to the envisioned progress and development of Jackalas I and the rest of the country’s towns and villages. ENDS