11 Nov 2025

 The government is undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of the social protection system with a focus on efficiency and sustainability.

This includes the operationalisation of a Single Social Registry, for beneficiary registration and introduction of Proxy Means Testing to ensure that support reaches those most in need.

President Advocate Duma Boko said yesterday when delivering the State-of-the-Nation-Address, noting that in keeping with the digital transformation agenda, Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs was automating key processes to enhance access, transparency, and accountability.

These reforms, grounded in a thorough review of existing programmes he said, would culminate in a unified Social Protection Policy, developed in collaboration with the international partners and the private sector.

President Boko said the government, would also operationalise the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme as a key strategy to enhance food and nutrition security among learners while boosting local agriculture production.

“This initiative will provide two nutritious meals per day to support the health and academic performance of our children. Importantly, it will create reliable markets for local smallholder farmers, fostering rural economic growth and reducing poverty,” said President Boko.

As a commitment to improving the well-being of vulnerable children, he said the new Child Support Grant would provide monthly financial support of P300 to children under the age of one, starting in the next financial year.

President Boko said the programme was designed to ensure children received a strong start in life, explaining that as of July, records indicated a total of 39 525 eligible children. Government is working hard to ensure that all eligible babies are covered, President Boko said. He said government was also transforming Ipelegeng programme into a modern, skills-based Public Works Programme, to be fully implemented by end of the year, a representation of a shift from a traditional relief work to a model that contributed directly to national development. President Advocate Boko revealed that participants would gain vocational skills in sectors like the arts, culture, tourism, and environmental conservation, enabling them to transition into formal employment or self-employment. To advance inclusive development, he stated that the government had prioritised review of the Remote Area Development Programme (RADP) and formulation of a Policy for Indigenous People in Botswana.

The measures, he said aimed to address long-standing social and economic marginalisation, particularly of the indigenous Khoena/ne/n communities, who for generations had faced displacement, exclusion, and limited access to essential services.

Through the review and new policy, the government aims to promote social justice, affirm their rights and ensure their full participation in national affairs.

“We have just written a new chapter of inclusivity and cultural preservation into our history books, a milestone that had seemed out of reach for decades. To ensure all our citizens access vital information and participate fully in our national discourse in a language they understand, this government has introduced programming in SheKgalagari, Ikalanga, Shiyeyi and Naro through our public broadcast platforms,” said President Boko, adding that there were intentions to add more languages in a second phase.  The development, is a concrete step towards reflecting the diversity of the people and strengthening the bonds that hold the nation together.

For the most vulnerable enterprising members of society, President Boko said government had taken concrete steps to deliver on their promise of dignity, by converting the Chema-Chema programme into a grant for all recipients who had already signed contracts and received funds, to free them from debt and empower them to truly grow their businesses. ENDS