03 Nov 2026

Education must be regarded as a comprehensive preparation for life rather than a narrow guarantee of immediate employment. 

Speaking at the 20th Institute of Development Management (IDM) joint graduation ceremony held at Royal Aria conference facility on Friday, Minister for State President, Defence and Security, Mr Moeti Mohwasa urged over 1 400 graduates from Botswana, Lesotho, and eSwatini to maintain resilience, humility and adaptability as they entered the professional sphere. 

Held under the theme: Thriving as a Continuous Learner in an Ever-Changing Environment, the milestone event celebrated two decades of regional cooperation and family reunion in human capital development across the three partner nations. 

The success of IDM’s regional model was underscored by the robust synergies between key regulatory bodies including the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA), Lesotho’s Council of Higher Education, and the Eswatini Higher Education Council which ensured the comparability and high standard of qualifications offered across the region. 

“Preliminary results from Statistics Botswana’s 2024/25 Multi-Topic Household Survey place overall national unemployment at 21.0 per cent, while youth unemployment stands at 28.9 per cent. We must never become so accustomed to discussing unemployment in statistics that we forget the human beings represented by those numbers,” said Mr Mohwasa. 

He emphasised that a qualification equip individuals with critical cognitive tools to navigate difficult circumstances, question assumptions and recognise unseen opportunities even when the job market delayed initial entry. To counter structural employment hurdles, Mr Mohwasa said government was actively driving economic transformation through the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP) and the Twelfth National Development Plan. He said the transformation programme had identified 186 high-impact projects, targeting the mobilisation of P514 billion in cumulative investment and the generation of increased employment by 2036. Beyond macroeconomic strategy, Minister Mohwasa challenged graduates to cultivate deep professional humility and integrity, warning against self-importance and professional arrogance. He advised graduates to remove the blinders and avoid confining themselves to narrow disciplinary boundaries, noting that modern careers required cross-functional competence, such as project managers understanding technology or public health professionals mastering data and community development. Furthermore, he paid glowing tribute to parents and guardians who endured sleepless nights and heavy financial sacrifices to support the graduates. 

Tracing the historical roots of the institution, Minister Mohwasa recalled that IDM was established in 1974 through the visionary foresight of Sir Seretse Khama, King Sobhuza II and King Moshoeshoe II. As Botswana and Lesotho mark 60 years of independence this year, Minister Mohwasa noted that the joint graduation served as a testament to enduring cross-border solidarity. Although this marks the final joint graduation ceremony to be hosted by Botswana with the baton officially passing to the Kingdom of eSwatini for October 2027 leaders emphasised that regional institutional bonds and human capital partnerships remain unshakable. ENDS