09 Apr 2025

Government is committed to ensure equitable distribution of resources  and economic justice for all across the country, says Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Mr Ketlhalefile Motshegwa.

He said that some communities were custodians of natural resources yet such wealth did not reflect in their lives.

He made the remarks on Tuesday, during the official opening of Nkashi Knowledge Centre in Beetsha, Okavango District, that will serve as a hub for vocational training and preservation of traditional knowledge.

Mr Motshegwa said the government was doing all in its power to bring the economy back to life for the benefit of all Batswana, including those on the margins of the economy.

“We have realised that some communities, though living within mining and tourism regions, befit nothing and instead were displaced in favour of those developments which they were supposed to be a part of,” Mr Motshegwa said.

Residents learnt that a cabinet committee on inclusive growth and social justice was recently established, to ensure an inclusive economic growth and achieving social equitable development that benefits all Batswana.

Mr Motshegwa said governments did not want to see Batswana struggling to access basic services and that implementing of the decentralisation policy was a step in that direction as it would promote equitable and sustainable development that enhanced citizen participation, by transferring decision making powers and resources to councils.

Also, he said that the government was reviewing Village Development Committee (VDC) guidelines with the intention to empower them. Kgosi Bonang Karundu of Beetsha complained of lack infrastructure development which limited villagers to exploit opportunities that could turn their lives around.

He said the Okavango Delta was their main source of economic activity and asked that campsites that were promised to villages of Gudigwa, Beetsha, Eretsha, Gunotsoga and Seronga, as well as other developments, should not be abandoned.

“We are pinning our hopes on the new administration to fulfil the promise and address challenges faced by villagers far from services,” said Kgosi Karundu. ENDS