Batshu cautions NGOs
Innocent Selatlhwa | Tuesday November 14, 2017 17:26
Batshu was delivering a keynote address at the second NGO Council stakeholder forum in Gaborone yesterday.
“This calls for a greater role to be played by the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and display more efforts to strengthen their engagement. It is equally important to assess existing mechanisms for more participation and involvement, particularly of vulnerable communities, in order to be channeled up to decision makers, hence enabling civil society to take active part in policy development processes has always been a necessity. It is therefore my belief that the outcome of this dialogue will go beyond the three days of this conference,” he said.
Batshu encouraged the CSOs, particularly the umbrella and coordinating bodies to rise up to this challenge, be more strategic and inclusive in their approach, as well as develop and enforce codes of conduct for good governance.
“I implore all of us to ensure that our integrity and value- driven nature is well safeguarded. It is important that capacity building initiatives of the various organisations is strengthened in order to uphold the legitimacy of independent civil society as a competent partner of government in driving national development,” he said.
The Nkange legislator said the NGO Council has since the inaugural stakeholder forum in 2015 continuously engaged in dialogue and feedback with both government and the public.
He said it was important that at the end of every forum they must come up with concrete and actionable items that will shape their engagement going forward.
“I have noted that the themes to be covered during this dialogues suggest that the forum seeks to be interrogative and challenging to all of us; it emphasises the need to act and continuously make linkages and sustainable networks.
From now hence forth we definitely want to do away with ‘business as usual’ and begin to act to make a difference going forward,” Batshu said.
The forum held under the theme, “Leveraging Dialogue and Synergies for Transformative and Sustainable Development” has brought together many CSOs from around the country to discuss solutions to bring about equitable and sustainable development for all Batswana.