Africa-Press – Botswana. The Minister of State Presidency, Moeti Mohwasa, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to tackling Botswana’s long-standing unemployment challenge through the newly presented National Development Plan 12 (NDP12)
Presenting the draft plan before Parliament today, Mohwasa said NDP12 marks a significant shift in government priorities, placing job creation and youth empowerment at the centre of the country’s development agenda.
He emphasised that the plan is designed to stimulate sustainable economic growth and create inclusive opportunities across all sectors.
“We need to enable and unlock opportunities. Unemployment is the most urgent issue before us at 27.6% overall and 38.2% amongst the youth. It demands immediate bold action,” Mohwasa said.
To combat this and bring the number of the unemployed down, the minister said the government would now focus on reforming the education sector to create better employment opportunities.
“The plan prioritises reforming education and skills training to meet market needs, promoting youth entrepreneurship, international reach, creating exposure and creating jobs in key sectors such as agriculture, tourism, and ICT,” the minister said.
Mohwasa assured Parliament that these are not only political wishes but also attainable goals by the Umbrella for Democratic Change government (UDC).
“Through this development goals, we are turning political promises into actual policies,” he said.
Mohwasa further said that to make sure that their goals in the NDP12 are attainable, they would focus on implementation, which has been a problem in the past for projects to materialise.
“Implementation has been a weak point in the past, and we cannot repeat that mistake. Every ministry, every program, every thebe must be tracked and accounted for. We are changing the culture of public service,” he warned.
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