COVID- 19 hurts Vision 2036 targets

Vision 2036 Coordinating Agency in partnership with the National Strategy Office is working on the production of an Annual Performance Report, the first of its kind to be released early next year.

The document is expected to appraise the nation on the country’s aspiration of ‘ Achieving Prosperity for All’ by 2036, the overarching message of the Vision, since its commencement five years ago following the lapse of Vision 2016. Senior Manager, National Performance, National Strategy Office, Modiegi Ngakane says in order to track progress made, a National Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Policy was developed in 2017. This was followed by Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Manual in 2019 to operationalise the Policy and provide guidance to Ministries. In addition, simplified performance reporting templates to institutionalise the national monitoring and evaluation system have been developed, as well as performance reporting by ministries. She says that it is critical to align National Development Plans, Sector Strategies and plans, Urban and District Development Plans, as well as Annual Plans to Vision 2036 to ensure that all are in sync for the ultimate realisation of the National Vision 2036. “Everybody needs to be onboard, and leaders at all levels should champion the process and hold people accountable for results,” she says. Vision 2036 Coordinating Agency Director Monitoring and Evaluation, Koontse Mokgwathi on the other hand says realising Vision 2036 is about taking deliberate action to ensure that the transformational agenda is achieved. She concurs that NDPs, Ministerial Plans, Departmental Plans, District and Urban Development Plans are all vehicles for delivering Vision 2036. “NDPs11, 12, and 13 and one year of 14 are key vehicles for delivery of the vision,” Mokgwathi says. She says that the NDPs provide the framework for priorities in the short to medium term plans to systematically implement the Vision, adding that there is need to meaningfully bring private sector on board. Mokgwathi adds that at the current per capita income level Botswana is only halfway through defined range of upper middle- income category. “At this rate are we on course to be a high- income country? What should we do” she wondered, further stating that initiatives such as the Economic Recovery Plan have been formulated to stimulate recovery of the economy. According to Mokgwathi, a high- income economy is one that has Gross National Income ( GNI) per capita of US$ 12,056 or more.

Currently Botswana is an upper middle- income economy at a GNI per capita of US$ 6,640. “To be able to achieve a highincome economy status by 2036, Botswana needs to realise an annual GDP growth of six percent. Mokgwathi says the Covid- 19 pandemic has not made the situation any better, as the country registered a decline in GDP growth, registering 1.2 percent in the first quarter of 2020, a negative 26.0 percent after lockdown in quarter two of 2020, a negative 4.4 percent in quarter three of 2020 and a further negative 4.6 percent in quarter four of 2020. Currently GDP is at 0.7 percent for quarter one of 2021. CEO of the Vision Council, Christopher Molomo acknowledges the delay in the start of implementation of Vision 2036 since it was launched five years ago. “We want to move in an accelerated manner so that we cover more ground that we could not in the last five years,” he says, adding that COVID- 19 has also further decelerated efforts. Molomo is however optimistic that the country will attain its Vision 2036 if all are committed to correcting what was not done right in the past.

“We want to achieve Vision 2036 even tomorrow that is the extent to which we desire it. But we also know that we will encounter a number of uncertainties in the implementation process,” he says. His view is that the Annual Report will also avoid instances where members of the public continuously ask questions about what is happening with the Vision, like they still do about the lapsed Vision 2016.

Vision 2036 also aims to transform Botswana from an upper middle country to a high- income country by 2036.