Botswana President Duma Boko's State of the Nation Address

Economic Transformation & Diversification

• 💡 The Botswana Mercantile Exchange, operational by March 2026, aims to position Botswana as a regional hub for both soft and hard commodities, allowing farmers to list and trade products internationally.
• 🎯 Tourism is recognized as a vital economic tool with extensive value chain and labor absorption capacity, playing a significant role in economic development.
• 💰 The government is implementing a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to deliver key infrastructure projects, leveraging private finance to ensure value for money and consistency with national priorities.

Youth Empowerment & Employment Initiatives

• 🚀 Addressing a 38% youth unemployment crisis, the Botswana Economic Transformation Program (BETP) targets creating 512,000 jobs in the next four years, primarily for youth.
• 🌱 The Presidential Youth Empowerment Campaign (PAYEC) coordinates efforts with partners like UNICEF to develop a data-driven strategy for youth employment, including a digital employability index and a national trainer registry.
• 🛠️ Key projects under PAYEC include a climate-smart horticulture program for small-hold farmers, a textile acceleration program, and a digital content creation hub, all focusing on skills development and mentorship.
• 💎 Initiatives with DBS Global Operations provide opportunities for Batswana graduates in the diamond industry, including a two-year international graduate development program and a diamond entrepreneurship program.

Infrastructure and Public Services Development

• 🛣️ Botswana is enhancing its role as a southern African transport hub by reviewing transport legislation, improving national roads (A3, A1 toll road), and developing alternative rail lines (Mamabula-Lephalale, Mosetse-Kazungula-Livingstone).
• 💧 Significant progress is being made in water and sanitation projects, with major pipelines and treatment plants nearing completion, despite delays caused by payment challenges.
• 💻 Digitalization is a critical enabler for economic transformation, with plans to launch an ultra-modern, secure platform for all government services within six months, supported by improved backbone infrastructure.
• 🏥 The government is undertaking a major re-engineering of the health system to achieve 75% Universal Health Coverage (UHC) within five years, including digitalization, reorientation towards primary healthcare, and modernizing infrastructure.

Governance, Justice, and Social Protection

• ✅ Good governance, rule of law, and human rights are non-negotiable, with an ongoing forensic audit of government expenditure to strengthen transparency and accountability.
• ⚖️ Reforms are underway to enhance the operational independence of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and strengthen the court system, including a dedicated criminal court division.
• 🛡️ A new cybersecurity bill has been passed to protect critical information infrastructure and foster trust for digital growth and investment, leading to the establishment of a national cybersecurity commission.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Social protection is being overhauled with a focus on efficiency, including a single social registry and a new child support grant of 300 pula monthly for children under one, starting next financial year.

Environmental Stewardship & Community Development

• 🌍 Botswana is committed to the Paris Agreement and embedding ESG principles, developing a national ESG strategy, and exploring climate finance opportunities with the National Development Bank and Green Climate Fund.
• 🌳 A national carbon market framework is being developed with World Bank support, leveraging forests and wetlands to drive investment, create jobs, and generate revenue for climate adaptation.
• 🐘 Botswana leads in mega-fauna conservation, proudly hosting the largest African elephant population, and has developed a national anti-poaching strategy and a human-wildlife conflict action plan.
• ♻️ A national cleanup campaign will designate the second Saturday of every month for community cleaning, and the government has decided to ban single-use plastic bags to improve waste management.
• 🏡 The Bono housing scheme aims to build 100,000 units over three years, with 31,745 units contracted and 5,880 already under construction, utilizing private developers through design, build, and finance models.