30 Mar 2026

Government is shifting to a new approach to business engagement, prioritising targeted and results-driven dialogue to unlock private sector-led growth and drive economic transformation, Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe has said.

“The intention is to shift from broad, unfocused engagements to targeted, evidence-driven interactions that confront constraints to growth and competitiveness,” he said at the inaugural Presidential Business Roundtable on Friday.

The new approach will ensure each engagement has a clear purpose, measurable outcomes, and a structured mechanism for follow-up, and the National Development Plan (NDP) 12 and the Botswana Economic Transformation Plan (BETP) would serve as the basis for reporting, ensuring every dialogue is anchored on data, measurable progress, and practical constraints requiring attention, Mr Gaolathe said.  He said bi-annual meetings would be convened, with the President providing high-level strategic oversight and ensuring reforms remained on course, while quarterly HLCC meetings would be sector-focused, allowing deeper, solution-oriented discussions within each industry.

He said each sector would continue meeting between the bi-annual gatherings, maintaining momentum, monitoring progress, and ensuring issues were resolved in real-time and were not deferred.

“This proposed and strengthened model of engagement represents our commitment to a more agile, responsive, and accountable relationship with the private sector, one that accelerates economic transformation and delivers meaningful results for Batswana,” he said.

The current economic model, in which government identified and drove economic activity, has reached its limits, Mr Gaolathe said, adding that the country must reconfigure its economy to be decisively private sector-led.

He said NDP 12 and BETP assumed their full significance in this context, with the latter serving as a delivery mechanism designed to move from discussion to execution, from ambition to investment, and from intention to results. For a long time, the country has been recognised as strong in policy, planning, and disciplined thinking, but this strength had become a limitation, Mr Gaolathe said. 

“We have analysed, refined, and consulted sometimes to the point of delay.”

Through NDP 12 and BETP, the country was forcing reform through execution by identifying and resolving constraints, adding that the shift was economic and structural, with educational reform strengthening TVET to prepare a workforce that can power industries, build enterprises, and compete globally.

He said a private sector-led economy must be supported by a skills-led society.

World Bank country representative, Mr Liang Wang, said generating economic growth and restructuring the economy required productivity and job creation, with the private sector as the main driver.

Mr Wang noted that improving the business environment required sustained engagement between government and the private sector.

The inaugural presidential business roundtable was themed: Towards Economic Transformation: A Private Sector-led Growth Agenda for Botswana. ENDS