Council formulates post-Vision 2016 agenda
Spira Tlhankane | Thursday March 5, 2015 17:48
A dissemination workshop held by the council at Boipuso Hall in Gaborone this week resolved to develop and make recommendations for post 2016 forums because most of the country’s long-term vision goals cannot be achieved by next year. One of the objectives of the workshop was to assess implementation of Vision 2016 and accelerate certain aspects to fill the gaps and aim towards attaining prosperity for all in certain areas with achievable dreams.
The coordinator of Vision 2016, Dr Charity Kruger said education has not responded well to the vision expectations as performance continued to drop despite high investments in the sector.
She said that youth unemployment rate in Botswana has reached shocking levels and it is surprising that there are still some people between 10-29 years who have never been to school, especially in the rural areas.
She indicated that the target of full employment by 2016 is unlikely to be accomplished because the employment rate is currently at 19.9%. Also the aim of no new HIV infections by 2016 will not be achieved.
“Even though the incidence rate decreased from 1.45 percent in 2008 to 1.35 in 2013, the rate is not enough to have no new infections,” Kruger explained.
For “a Safe and Secure Nation”, she said the goal of eliminating serious and violent crimes cannot be realised by the due date.
On whether transparency will be achieved, she said that the media and a number of elected officials cite a continuing lack of “Freedom of Information” Act, as a threat to openness and transparency in government.
On a positive note, she acknowledged that women representation in positions of decision making has gone up, although this is not the case in the National Assembly.
The coordinator of Government Implementation Office (GICO) Dr John Mothibi said despite the failure of most Vision 2016 goals, Botswana can still celebrate some achievements.
He said there is 96% access to quality water in the rural areas, improved sanitation in the urban areas and 98% access to primary education for every Motswana child.
“As we move towards the Vision 2016 milestone, we still need to reflect on our achievements and our failures so that we do not repeat the same mistakes in the next vision,” he said.
Mothibi added that every ideal vision faces challenges; therefore the failure should not surprise Batswana nor disillusion them. He said as Botswana move forward beyond 2016, there are weaknesses in project implementation.
Chairperson of Vision 2016, Martin Makgatlhe emphasised the need for civil society, private sector, government and individuals to work together, pull together and deliver together. He said the envisaged forums should help deliver the vision and look beyond 2016.