Cynthia Thanda

The formulation of the National Development Plan (NDP) 12 has been deferred to financial year 2025/2026 on account of reforms that are in the planning process.

These reforms are meant to align national planning with the electoral cycle. The President Dr. Mokgweetsi Masisi announced this during the State of the Nation Address on the 14^th November 2022 at Parliament Buildings.

In the quest to reset and transform, Cabinet and Permanent Secretaries held a joint retreat in October this year, at which ways that will redouble efforts to deliver on promises made to Batswana were discussed.

The objective was to achieve more efficient service delivery, transformation and to realize more value with limited resources.

In addition, a National Planning Commission, which is an entity that has combined the functions of the National Strategy Office, Vision 2036 Council Secretariat, Government Implementation Coordination Unit and the planning function of the then Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, has been established.

Lately, the Government has approved the upgrading of twenty-two (22) Subordinate Authorities to fully-fledged Councils in an effort to bring services closer to the people and enhance local response to challenges and improve participation of local authorities in planning. Phase 1 of this reform is being implemented, while Phase 2 will be implemented in the next Financial Year.

The president commended Statistics Botswana on how they conducted the 2022 Population and Housing Census, despite the COVID-19 pandemic challenges. The Census marked a great milestone to the digitalization of Government services and processes as it was conducted through the use of technology.

The preliminary results showed that the population of Botswana has increased from two million twenty-four thousand nine hundred and four (2, 024,904) in 2011 to two million three hundred and forty-six thousand one hundred and seventy-nine (2,346,179) in 2022.

These numbers show an increase of three hundred and twenty-one thousand, two hundred and seventy-five (321,275) persons, which translates into an annual average growth rate of 1.4 percent.

The Census is meant to provide information on key issues and concerns of Batswana and it will help in navigating the planning, policy formulation and decision making. Contrary to population growth being a great factor for economic growth, Botswana is still faced with the rising cost of living such as high fuel and food prices.

However, the President stated that this is mainly due to the impact of Russia-Ukraine war, global supply chain constraints and other external factors. He said all these factors have placed an enormous strain on families and the economy.

The maturity of Botswana’s democracy has been highlighted through the Constitutional Review in which Batswana participated by proposing amendments to the Constitution. The Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Review of the Constitution submitted a Report on the 29^th of September 2022. The Report will be made public.

Regarding the escalation of crime rate and Gender-Based Violence, President Masisi concluded that the government is enhancing the capacity of the law enforcement institutions for effective response to crime.

He encouraged the redoubling of efforts to ensure that women and girls are treated fairly for them to reach their full potential.

(C) The PanAfrikanist2022