President Advocate Duma Boko yesterday joined key national leaders at a strategic workshop aimed at driving the development of the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP), a bold initiative focused on translating policy and planning into tangible change across sectors.
Delivering the official opening remarks, the Vice President and Minister of Finance, Ndaba Gaolathe set the tone for the day, describing the workshop not as a meeting, but a moment of reckoning and a critical test of the country’s ability to not only govern, but to transform. He outlined the central objective of the programme which is to convert sound policy and sound economics into measurable outcomes, real jobs, real investment, enhanced competitiveness, and the restoration of dignity for citizens.
The program is structured in four phases. The first phase involved a thorough diagnostic process to assess the baseline and identify policy gaps. The second, which is currently underway, focuses on strategic alignment. This stage is being driven by the workshop itself, which centres on clarifying strategic direction and enabling collective decision-making. It will be followed by four weeks of intense, cross-sector collaboration designed to convert high-level ideas into executable plans. The final stage is dedicated to execution.
For his part, when addressing the workshop, President Boko underscored the significance of the programme as a national turning point. He emphasised the urgency of shifting the national approach to development in response to challenges such as rising youth unemployment. This shift, he said, requires a change in mindset—one that embraces creativity, innovation, adaptability, and joint effort. Central to this approach is the need to break down fragmentation within the government and to foster synergy and greater institutional effectiveness.
The workshop is intended to determine the country’s strategic economic direction by identifying sectors with the highest potential for transformative impact. These include agriculture, financial services, tourism, manufacturing, and the digital economy. The aim is to target areas where Botswana’s natural strengths, market opportunities, and long-term ambitions intersect—sectors that can drive inclusive growth, attract investment, and generate sustainable, quality employment.
Boko highlighted that economic diversification must be accompanied by structural transformation. To achieve this, national institutions, policies, and thinking must be aligned and future-oriented. Contributions to the program have already been received from citizens, international partners, and local innovators—demonstrating clear national and global interest in shaping Botswana’s transformation agenda.
He further noted that the National Planning Commission(NPC)has already conducted district-level consultations on the upcoming National Development Plan, and that the insights gathered will be integrated into the ETP. The workshop marks the beginning of a coordinated national effort—one that prioritises execution, sets time-bound and measurable targets, and demands accountability from all sectors. Unlike previous development frameworks that have leaned heavily on vision statements and aspirational goals, the Economic Transformation Programme is designed to be action-focused, with clearly defined outcomes and an emphasis on delivery.
The day concluded with consensus across public, private, and social sectors that the BETP represents a decisive shift toward implementation-focused development, built on national ownership and driven by urgency.
