04 Apr 2024

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi on Wednesday addressed Heads of Missions, to give them an  update on the challenges faced by Botswana and the progress made, particularly in the economic sector.

Dr Masisi highlighted that Botswana had encountered difficulties since 2022, including a sluggish economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and threats stemming from climate change, both of which have had a noticeable impact on GDP growth.

While the domestic economy saw a growth of 5.5 per cent in 2022, this rate decelerated to an average of three per cent in the initial three quarters of 2023, compared to an average of 5.5 per cent during the same period the previous year, President Masisi said.

However, he said that in short to medium-term, there was an anticipation of the domestic economy rebound of 4.2 per cent and 5.4 per cent in 2024 and 2025 respectively as the global economy recovered.

Dr Masisi said the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war had exacerbated unemployment, mostly among the youth, which he said frustrated efforts at fighting abject poverty and equally gnawed on efforts at income inequality reduction.

“By the third quarter of 2023, unemployment stood at 25.9 per cent, and what remains key for us is  re-orienting expenditure towards investment and human capital to raise productivity, accelerate industrialisation, create jobs and diversify the economy from reliance on minerals to knowledge-based economy,” he said.

He said that this would also hopefully address the issue of pockets of poverty, especially among disadvantaged groups such as women, children and the youth.

With regards to the country’s  achievements, Dr Masisi informed the gathering that in the last two years, milestones such as empowerment policies and legislations were realised.

He said this was all in an effort to provide a solid foundation for Batswana to thrive and achieve prosperity. He said the theme for the Transitional National Development Plan 2 (TNDP 2) was also informed by the ambition to attain higher income status by 2036.

“We also believe that the informal sector has a role to play in the overall economic development and job creation, as the sector contributed 3.2 per cent to economic growth last year,” he said.

The President explained that the government trust in the informal sector had prompted the  establishment of  Chema Chema Fund.  Furthermore, government aims to expedite the execution of projects and initiatives focused on innovation and digital transformation.

Dr Masisi emphasised the importance of digitizing public services to enhance service delivery, mentioning that 170 online services had already been implemented with a goal of reaching 400 by the 2025/26 financial year.

Additionally, Dr  Masisi urged the envoys to provide information about trade and investment opportunities in Botswana to leverage the benefits of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

He also cited among successes in the last three years, the improvement on access to clean water, sanitation, electricity and improved road networks, especially in rural areas.

“So far 473 out of 565 gazetted villages have been electrified, reflecting about 83.7 per cent, and 70.2 per cent electricity access against a target of 100 per cent by 2030,” he said.

Meanwhile on the international arena, Dr Masisi said concurrent conflicts and global security threats that the world has suffered, had disturbed global stability and caused a clear regression in terms of humanitarianism and fundamental rights.

“There has also been an escalation of the largest ground war that Europe has ever seen since World War II, and an alarming geographical spread of the threat of terrorism as well as violent extremism across the African continent,” he said. Dr Masisi also said the global stability has also been shaken by the trade war between the East and the West, which he said threatened to alter the global balance of power. ENDS