14 Aug 2024

A series of developments brought to North West and Okavango districts lately is indicative of the mindset change adopted by the government.

Speaking at the one-year anniversary celebrations of the Mindset Change Campaign in Seronga yesterday, His Excellency President Dr Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi pointed to the completion of the state-of-the-art Mohembo Bridge as a prime example of this shift.

He said the bridge, stretching 1.2 kilometers and valued at P1 billion, had eliminated the lengthy waits and queues at pontoons, directly benefiting over 10 000 residents on the eastern side of the Okavango. Its construction, which took six years, has also improved access to tourism in the pristine areas of the Okavango Delta, he said.

Additionally, the President  said, the newly operational Shakawe Hospital stands as another testament to the government’s holistic embrace of the mindset change.

“Re chenchile re tshwanetse gore dithupa re di amogele re le puso gore e ne ekete re huraletse kgaolo e e ka kwano,” he stated, assuring constituents of his personal commitment to ensuring that further infrastructural projects, including the Shakawe-Seronga bitumen road, come to fruition.

Dr Masisi announced that the ever-changing approach to developments by the government, such as the resolve to embrace the development manager model, had proven to be the solution.

This strategy, he said  addressed numerous legal challenges caused by aggrieved bidders seeking court intervention over stalled projects.

In a bid to mitigate human-wildlife conflict in the Okavango District, the President said government had established partnerships with non-governmental organisations and international entities.  

To bolster community safety, he revealed that three vehicles would be allocated to the villages of Seronga, Eretsha, and Gudigwa. This is part of a concerted government effort to combat crime, particularly addressing the issue of cattle rustling that has plagued the local farming community. 

All these positive changes, according to President Masisi, should come as a challenge to Batswana to also do their best in their various engagements so that the country could forge ahead towards achieving aspirations contained in Vision 2036.

He said therefore, it was imperative, for Batswana to reflect on the mindset change drive launched last year in Zutshwa to bring about changes if need be, so that the road to a prosperous Botswana by the year 2036 is effective.

Kgosi Maedze Maedze of Seronga echoed Dr Masisi’s words in his welcome remarks, saying the district was replete with developments thanks to the Mindset Change initiative.

“Re bua ka Mindset Change campaign. Re dumela gore re chechile thata segolobogolo morago ga COVID-19,” he said,

Moreover, Kgosi Maedze said the people of Seronga and  the entire Okavango District had embraced the mindset change approach to life and are now able to fend for themselves and their families using natural resources in their environments, reducing too much dependency on the government.

“We have seen so many developments coming into our district courtesy of the government, and we are happy about the positive development,” he said.

Pastor Isaac Ncana, who is a member of the Mindset Change Committee in Okavango District, also commended the government for the Reset Agenda, especially the notion to change people’s mindsets, which he said had generated a lot of positives.

As a committee spearheading mindset change in the area, his committee had delved into two thematic areas, namely, cleanliness as well as best business approaches by groups of people with the view to bring community solutions and create employment for residents.

“Re ne re batla go lwantsha mogopolo wa go bereka ka bongwe ka bongwe mme re rotloetsa Batswana go bereka ka ditlhopha,” he said.

He said other than a business proposal that focused on tourism, the committee had approved the proposal to utilise reed, which is strewn all over the district, groundnuts and their value chains, basketry, as well as biogas production.

All these business ideas he said had great potential to create employment for the people of Okavango and generate wealth.

Meanwhile, in the cleanliness competition, Sowa Township was awarded the cleanest town in Botswana. The capital city was crowned the cleanest city, while Bobonong walked away with the cleanest district headquarters. ENDS