Africa-Press – Botswana. Government through the Decentralisation Policy, seeks to shift from a hybrid deconcentrated governance model to a fully devolved system with improved service delivery, Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Mr Ketlhalefile Motshegwa has said.
Speaking at consultative Kgatleng full council meeting on Monday, Minister Motshegwa said the Draft National Decentralisation Policy was designed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery while empowering citizens to participate in decision-making processes.
“Batswana have long expressed a desire for devolved governance where decision-making power and resources are transferred to their elected local governments,” he stated.
In that regard, he said, government aims to achieve the convergence of the people’s aspirations for participatory, democratic, inclusive, and autonomous local governance.
This, he said was in line with the new government’s strategic long-term priorities for efficient and effective citizen-centered service delivery as well as diversified and equitable economic transformation.
Mr Motshegwa said the policy would empower councils to formulate local policies, bye-laws and implementing national policies and strategies through district and local development plans, taking into consideration their unique local needs, priorities and resources.
The policy, he said, would further transfer decision-making powers and resources to local governments while empowering citizens to participate in planning, financing, implementation, and evaluation of local development.
Key national challenges that would be addressed by the policy include citizens’ participation and social accountability, economic diversification and local economic development, youth employment and empowerment as well as public sector efficiency including coordination of sub-national entities.
The minister said the policy would be tabled before Parliament in July this year and hopefully would be implemented before the year ends, therefore Mr Motshegwa said it was important that councillors had an input to either refine or support the policy before it was finalised for parliamentary debate.
For their part, councilors welcomed the policy, saying it would improve their fiscal performance of the district as well as enable local councils to efficiently implement development projects.
Source: dailynews
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