13 Aug 2024

As the country is on a journey of transformation towards a knowledge-based and export-led economy, the cliché “a thousand mile journey begins with a step” has never been more pertinent than in the context of the Mindset Change Initiative that was launched by President Mokgweetsi Masisi in July last year.

Set with the ambitious goal of driving societal transformation through shifting attitudes and perspectives, as well as building a high performance culture among citizens, to aid in the attainment of the aspired transformation, the Mindset Change journey has now reached a year of a significant breakthrough in devotion and determination to the realisation of the initiative’s set goals.

The Chief of Staff in the President’s Office, Mr Boyce Sebetela, said in an interview with BOPA that the first 12 months were focused on creating the programme’s momentum and drilling the intended message into the citizens.

Mr Sebetela acknowledged that while it takes time and effort to shift people from their traditional way of doing things and viewing the world around them, he was optimistic about the impact made this far.

“The first year was to enthuse and drill all citizens to embrace the mind-set change as the right vehicle to use towards the realisation of the Vision 2036, which aims for a high income status and attaining prosperity for all, to tackle the challenges of unemployment, poor work ethic and low productivity, amongst others,” he said.

Mr Sebetela said the second phase will involve consultation meetings with communities, to get constructive feedback, paving the stage for an all-inclusive approach to continue to develop the initiative.

While the government has created the necessary framework for the initiative’s success, Mr Sebetlela emphasised the importance of all stakeholders joining in to keep up principles and values of botlhaga, bofefo, botswerere, botho, and bonatla, which are deeply rooted in the Setswana culture.

He said these principles and values could significantly contribute to reinforcing, and fostering a culture of self-reliance, innovation and sustainable growth for a continuous improvement in the country’s economic landscape. ENDS