Africa-Press – Botswana. There is need to leverage technology and to focus more on digitilisation of the country’s economy, as pivotal factors that could assist in revitalisation of the economy.
Speaking during a courtesy call by World Bank Group executive director, Dr Zarau Kibwe in Gaborone, yesterday, President Advocate Duma Boko expressed concern that there was a substantial chunk of the country’s resources that went down the drain due to wastage and inefficiency ‘not even corruption, which is a factor’.
“So if we pivoted on technology, we will curb a lot of wastage. That is the first thing that is very important for us,” he said.
Still on technology, President Boko said government would be able to communicate easily, effectively and therefore be more open and transparent to the public, adding that a lot of the doubts and misapprehensions that people had, arose from lack of information.
“When people lack access to information they begin to speculate and become susceptible to fake news. They get agitated and we need to keep them fully informed, not just in a manner of information sharing, but have them engaged as well,” he added.
Additionally, President Boko said engaging people would afford then an opportunity to make their inputs, stressing that “technology would enable this communication to take place effectively for the public to know what is happening in the country.”
Furthermore, the President also noted that once the economy was digitilised, government would be able to secure information and make it accessible to the public, through legislation on freedom of information.
“Information would be readily available and you’ll have access to information from wherever you are. It also helps us from an economic point of view. That is why, in my view, technology and the digitalisation of the economy becomes a critical pivot point for us,” said President Boko.
By leveraging technology, he said government would also be able to improve the education and healthcare systems, by deploying e-learning and telemedicine.
The President emphasised technology and digitalisation, as some of the critical interventions that the country’s economy needed.
“We value your partnership and support, as you know what works and what doesn’t work. So we would be ready to receive your guidance and wise counsel, as well, as we strive to change the economy,” President Boko told Mr Kibwe.
He said the government had set an ambitious time frame of three years, which presented challenges that also exposed some systems and institutions as not having been initially designed to be responsive. Some laws needed to be amended to remove red tapes, which also presented additional challenges, said President Boko.
“We need to wrestle with some of these concepts. And at the same time, try and appease a population that is agitated because it has waited for too long for basic amenities. These are the challenges with which we have to wrestle and to which we have to provide solutions,” he added.
President Boko congratulated Dr Kibwe on appointment as the World Bank Group executive director, in November 2024, representing Botswana and 21 other countries at the board of the World Bank Group.
“We hope that you will work with us. You will support the initiatives that we have set ourselves. We have positioned ourselves very firmly as a human rights focused administration. This is a huge responsibility that imposes obligations on us,” he said.
For his part, Dr Kibwe, who was accompanied by the Acting Minister of Finance, Mr Shawn Ntlhaile, said the World Bank needed to refocus its intervention to ensure that it created more jobs for the youth.
The five critical sectors identified for job creation in Africa, he said included healthcare, tourism, infrastructure, manufacturing and agribusiness. Mr Kibwe, therefore, wished President Boko well in achieving his set vision for the country and also thanked him for sharing it with him.
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