Africa-Press – Botswana. Government has embarked on the empowerment of local authorities in order to engender their contribution to the national transformation agenda.
This was disclosed by Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Mabuse Pule at the commencement of a three-day training workshop on the role of councillors and dikgosi in the transformation agenda in Kanye on Tuesday.
He said the programme was prompted by the realisation that there were competency gaps which needed plugging to enable dikgosi and councillors to fully support government initiatives at local level.
Mr Pule said as the second tier of government, dikgosi and councillors should fully understand their role in the national development agenda as well as its socio-economic imperatives and priorities.
He said their training was therefore imperative in order to capacitate them on the delivery of their mandates and to engage constructively towards facilitating change and social transformation at local level.
The assistant minister said government had therefore prioritised strengthening of bogosi and the kgotla system in the provision of services, promoting local participation and social inclusion.
To that end, Mr Pule said his ministry had partnered with Botswana Public Service College to come up with a training programme.
The programme was designed, facilitated and piloted last year with one group in Palapye and another in Gaborone, he said.
Mr Pule said the intention was to equip councillors and dikgosi at all levels with both leadership and public administration skills for better service delivery.
Bogosi, he pointed out, was central to the development of communities and promotion of their welfare.
“Dikgosi play a critical role in ensuring that communities they lead live in peace and harmony. They promote social cohesion (nation building), dispense justice and preserve culture within their communities,” he said.
The assistant minister said the training resonated with the Vision 2036 pillar on governance, peace and security which sought to make bogosi and the kgotla system visible, functional and an empowered institution capable of contributing meaningfully to the national development agenda.
Buttressing the point, Department of Tribal Administration director, Mr Patrick Tlotleng said the programme was aimed at equipping dikgosi with relevant skills and knowledge in order to enhance their role in the transformation agenda.
Giving an overview of the programme, he said it included assisting them to better understand Vision 2036; helping them to exercise effective leadership; demonstrate an understanding of Botswana’s intergovernmental relations and operations as well as statutory responsibilities of different institutions.
Kgosi Malope II of Bangwaketse thanked the ministry for organising the workshop saying it would capacitate dikgosi and help them to clearly understand their roles in driving the transformation agenda.
“We need to clearly understand our roles so that we can in turn cascade them further to our people in our respective villages,” he said.
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