Africa-Press – Botswana. National Planners Seminar provides an important platform for different stakeholders to gather together to exchange ideas and share best practices.
Delivering a keynote address at the three-day seminar in Francistown, the General Commissioner from the National Planning Commission (NPC), Mr Batho Molomo implored delegates to learn from each other’s experiences to explore innovative approaches and collectively draw sustainable solutions for sustainable development.
He said the NPC was aimed at providing leadership in national strategy development, coordinated sectoral and national planning, implementation coordination as well as performance monitoring and evaluation.
Mr Molomo further said the implementation of NDP 12 was deferred to ensure that several reforms were conducted and well aligned to the country’s aspirations of achieving high-income status by 2036.
He noted that one of the great milestones that happened in the last five years was that the upgrading of twenty-one sub-districts and restructuring of seven councils.
He further explained that the restructuring exercise was to give councils the authority to make decisions in the areas of their jurisdictions for effective and efficient delivery of programmes and services.
He said each district would have its own district development plan, own resources and increased establishment for better decision-making.
Mr Molomo said the country had been experiencing budgetary constraints due to unforeseen global challenges, therefore NPC was a forum for positive engagement to find alternative sources of revenue streams needed to implement plans.
Earlier on when delivering welcome remarks Francistown Mayor, Mr Godisang Radisigo said planning was a critical component in development as it defined the path to be followed for a locality to attain its vision.
Mr Radisigo said the government had contributed a lot towards the growth of Francistown city including the implementation of initiatives such as the city being declared a special economic zone for mining and logistics.
He mentioned that the city had entered a planning season with the development of the informal sector strategy in 2022, followed by the Francistown development plan in 2023 and the current review of Local Economic Development in 2024.
For her part, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Ms Baipelelang Photlokwe said the main aim of the seminar was to disseminate new government reforms including the role of NPC, Reset Agenda and the approach to preparation of NDP12.
She said this would empower the society with knowledge concerning how planning is done within the country.
Ms Photlokwe also added that the seminar would strengthen the bottom–up planning through improved collaboration between district and national planners to provide a platform for planners to share experiences and to promote good practices in development planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
She said this would also provide an opportunity for new planners to familiarise themselves with emerging planning processes and also to restore dignity in some of the less privileged community members by involving them in the decision-making process.
This year’s seminar was held under the theme; Empowering Planners for Transformative Development Issues and Cultivating Mindset Change Towards Resilient Economic Recovery.
dailynews
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
