NDP 12 deferred to 2025/ 26

The implementation of National Development Plan 12 ( NDP 12) which was expected to start on April 1, 2023 has been deferred to the 2025/ 26 financial year, Parliament has approved.

According to the recently- launched National Planning Commission ( NPC), that has been mandated to coordinate national development planning and implementation, among others, in the interim, a two- year Transitional National Development Plan will be developed and implemented during the financial years 2023/ 2024 and 2024/ 2025.

“This will come into effect when implementation of the current National Development Plan 11 ( NDP 11) ends on March 31, 2023,” explained Christopher Molomo, the Interim Coordinator of the NPC in a press statement.

The statement explains that the deferral of the implementation of NDP 12 to April 2025/ 26 is ideal to accommodate crucial reforms to the national planning system. “With the NDP 11 ending in a few months, the period is not adequate to fully develop and institutionalise reforms to the planning system. The reforms are in line with Botswana’s Vision 2036 aspirations, which state that a review of structures, procedures, and legal frameworks is required to effectively achieve the vision.” When the NPC was unveiled last month, Molomo said it would take over functions from the then National Strategy Office, the Government Implementation Coordination Office, Vision 2036 Coordinating Agency and planning function from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. Botswana aspires to become a prosperous and high- income country by 2036, and the Commission believes that the transition to high- income status requires better coordination and alignment at both national and local levels. “This is to facilitate a thorough and inclusive consultation process that takes into account a variety of inputs during the formulation of the plan.”

In its mandate to promote seamless planning, the Commission would also co- ordinate development and implementation of the long- term vision and strategy for Botswana, to develop the country’s national development plans, coordinate policy formulation to ensure harmonious synergy and effectiveness and provide advocacy and communication for the national vision and its strategic interventions.