High- income status requires mindset change - Segokgo
The Minister of Transport and Communications Thulaganyo Segokgo says it is extremely important that there is a change of mindset if the country is to attain a highincome status.
He explained that Batswana cannot remain locked in the thinking of the unproductive eras and expect to escape the middle- income trap. He said this comes with developing capacity for entrepreneurship, eliminating inferiority complex, and implementing government and strategic reforms that put citizen economic inclusion at the centre of the economic development initiatives.
“Fully adopting this mindset change will result in self- actualisation among our people. What is very critical in this priority is that implementation starts yesterday. The train has left already.
“Where are we as a ministry with regard to implementation? Look into our processes, human resource and tools that enable us to efficiently operate,” Segokgo said at the Ministry’s leadership retreat.
The bulk of their job entails facilitating and creating an enabling environment for other sectors of the economy to deliver their mandates through appropriate and relevant communication and infrastructure. He
It is therefore critical that the ministry introspects and consider alignment with the government priorities which are outlined in the RESET Agenda.
On the RESET Agenda Segokgo said they need to save Botswana‘ s population from COVID- 19, through the implementation of life- saving programmes that include a successful and timely vaccination programme.
He told the Ministry employees that they have to ensure every necessary platform for communication is availed and functional.
“I am pleased that we have managed under very unfavourable circumstances to make sure that meetings and other e- communication are not disrupted by continuous improvement of our services to achieve this critically important objective,” said Segokgo, who is also a Member of Parliament for Tlokweng.
He said there is a need to align Botswana Government machinery to the Presidential Agenda, adding that President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s roadmap, including the transformational agenda, should be embodied in the implementation machinery of the government of the day, and hence the need for a functional communication infrastructure, which will produce significant government reforms in the public service.
“Government has taken a position to digitise the economy as it has an immense potential to unlock and enable high productivity among our people within the respective sectors. The global village runs on the wheels of digitisation.
Digitisation is quintessential to the delivery of services to our people.
“We need value chain development which will unlock opportunities for new, high- growth business in the private sector and youth employment among other citizen empowerment attributes.
“The initial sectors of focus will be minerals, tourism, food, and education. We also intend to identify new sectors in the global export product space that we can successfully grow in Botswana, resulting in significant job creation for our youth while also driving much- needed export diversification”, Segokgo explained.