20 Nov 2025

Botswana  Economic Transformation Programme (BETP) is structured such that 60 per cent of its projects are purely private-sector projects, while the remaining 40 per cent were led by government.

Speaking at the showcase of BETP projects eventin Gaborone on Wednesday, Vice President, also Minister of Finance, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe explained that for the 60 per cent private sector-led projects, government’s role focused on facilitation and creating an environment where investment could happen efficiently.

This facilitation, he said included resolving issues of land allocation, change of land use, business permits, market access, and inter-ministerial coordination that often dampened progress.

“This design reflects Botswana’s commitment to shifting from a public sector-dominated model to a private sector-powered economy. This is the only path toward resilience, innovation, and long-term prosperity,” he said.

Mr Gaolathe said momentum was building up such as at The Xinii Resort project, which had encountered challenges but had finally progressed from concept to site alignment.

He said various projects including TEMCO Hospital, Centre for Nuclear Medicine and Theragnostic, strategic rehabilitation of the Botswana Railways main line, the redevelopment of the Glen Valley wastewater plant and the expansion of Maun Airport had attracted strong investor interest.

Mr Gaolathe explained that BETP goes beyond being just another government initiative; rather it is a representation of a complete redesign of Botswana’s economic architecture, setting a blueprint for a future in which Botswana is more diversified, more digitally integrated, more industrially competitive and more deeply connected to global markets.

“The Botswana Economic Transformation Programme is built precisely on these principles. It is our strategy for positioning Botswana at the frontier of emerging economic opportunities,” he said.

Mr Gaolathe where the focus was on the six economic sectors of tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, financial services and digitalisation, energy and mining as well as infrastructure and the accompanying three social priorities of healthcare, education, and social protection.

Showcased to acknowledge Botswana’s new economic path, each sector has its own True North to ensure full alignment with government’s transformation vision, the Vice President revealed. He said with Parliament’s approval of BETP, government was now transitioning into implementation stage.

“This is the stage where national aspirations become measurable outcomes, where planning must give way to productivity, and where intention is transformed into real progress,” he said.

Government received 6 925 submissions from across the country and beyond borders, one which Mr Gaolathe said has been the largest citizen and investor-driven economic design efforts in Botswana’s history.

He said from the submissions, 186 high-impact, evidence-based projects were refined through the BETP Labs; the labs being the intensive working sessions that brought together government, industry, academia, and partners.

“Some of the BETP projects are not new, many were previously planned or initiated by government and private investors, but their progress stalled over time due to weak coordination, excessive red tape, or capacity constraints,” Mr Gaolathe said, adding that some projects were already operational and now sought to scale up their reach and deepen their impact.

He said projects such as the A1 Highway upgrade, Milk Valley farm and the National digital ID were now moving forward after years of uncertainty.

Furthermore, Mr Gaolathe said the 186 projects under the BETP represented an investment pipeline valued at P514 billion over the next decade. He said no transformation of such scale, anywhere in the world, had ever been financed by government alone.

BETP Through Parliament’s approval, BETP has begun establishing its secretariat under the Ministry of Finance. The secretariat will operate as the nation’s central delivery engine for BETP projects, with a mandate to coordinate action, monitor progress, remove barriers, track performance, and accelerate implementation.

The BETP portal is also setup at www.betp.gov.bw. The platform provides comprehensive sector overviews, detailed project profiles, investment information, and partnership opportunities.

It invites investors, institutions, development partners, and every Motswana to explore the opportunities available and to initiate conversations with project leaders and with the BETP Secretariat. ENDS