29 Jul 2024

Gaborone City Council (GCC) and Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the city’s prosperity. 

The MoU will cover initiatives such as smart farming systems, a green city and urban farming systems which are part of the plan to make Gaborone resilient and sustainable.

Speaking during the MoU signing in Gaborone on Friday,   BUAN Vice Chancellor Professor Ketlhatlogile Mosepele said  according to Statistics Botswana study of 2017, Gaborone was cited as having low prosperity compared to other cities globally.

He said the indicators of low prosperity even though similar to those of other cities around the world included  high demand for housing, sewage systems, energy, transportation networks, public works and education,  adding that the challenges were to increase in 2026-2036.

The Vice Chancellor said  though performing below global standards, the city was rated best in quality of life, equity and social inclusion while environmental sustainability was the worst performing dimension. 

Further, he said other weak areas that needed prioritisation were economic agglomeration, social infrastructure, street connectivity, health, economic equity, air quality, sustainable energy and public participation. 

 As such, he said the MoU was the best pathway towards ameliorating developmental challenges facing the city and further noted that the partnership would give GCC access to expertise reposed at BUAN for the benefit of the city.

“BUAN takes pride in fostering innovation and contributing to the well-being of the citizens. Working with GCC will make communities self- sufficient in food and nutrition security. When we make Gaborone prosperous, Botswana will benefit,” he said.

He said the MoU would be able to foster engagement and interactions aimed at community empowerment and socio-economic growth. 

This, Prof. Mosepele said included inculcating social inclusion and reducing societal disparities and economic inequity. 

Therefore, he said it was imperative that mitigating measures were implemented to ensure goals set forth to achieve Vision 2036 were attained.

He said it was crucial to join forces to make Gaborone prosperous by anchoring initiatives on sustainable economic development, human and social development, sustainable environment, peace and security. 

Prof. Mosepele said at BUAN, sustainability was the basic framework towards addressing major challenges facing urbanisation at local and global scales.

He said the university was deliberate in implementing initiatives aimed at facilitating achievement of SDGs in Botswana. 

The City Mayor, Mr Austin Abraham said GCC was optimistic about the possibilities that the  partnership could bring.

He said their commitment to improve the outlook of Gaborone as a sustainable and global investment hub was anchored on the partnership with BUAN.

He said the institution’s location at the entrance of the City made it attractive and spectacle, with its Agrivoltaic solar panels. 

He said the 21st century presented challenges and opportunities that could be addressed through research and development.

Mr Abraham said BUAN had an exceptional record and was a force to reckon with for GCC in addressing challenges such as flooding, carbon emissions, and the city illumination. 

He said collaboration could fully harness opportunities in renewable energies and landscape management.

The Mayor further said through the MoU, projects such as the agrivoltaic project, the first of its kind in the country, could contribute to the city's electricity grid.

Thus, he said the signing of the MoU by the two institutions symbolised a partnership which would lead to many new joint initiatives in the years ahead. ENDS