Opening Remarks by H.E. the President at Extraordinary Meeting of the HLCC

source: Republic of Botswana (18/6/09): TAUTONA TIMES no 16 of 2009
The Weekly Electronic Press Circular of the Office of the President
"Democracy, Development, Dignity and Discipline"

B1) 12/6/09: Opening Remarks by H.E. the President at Extraordinary Meeting of the HLCC

Please find below a copy of the short opening statement delivered by H.E. the President at the opening of this Friday's special HLCC meeting. The convening of the meeting, as well as its deliberations, are a clear testament of the continuing importance that the current Administration places in receiving the private sector's input through the HLCC process.

OPENING STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY LIEUTENANT GENERAL SERETSE KHAMA IAN KHAMA PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA AT AN EXTRAORDINARY HLCC MEETING:

Your Honour the Vice President
Honourable Ministers
Delegates from the Private Sector
Senior Public Officers
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

1. I welcome you to this extraordinary HLCC meeting to consider the Vision 2016 Progress Report.

2. Vision 2016 represents Botswana's strategy to achieve socio-economic and political development that will transform the country into a competitive, winning and prosperous nation. Developed in 1996, the Vision reflects the aspirations of Batswana about their long-term future.

3. The Vision is a result of extensive consultations with a wide spectrum of individuals and institutions in the country. Successful implementation of the Vision in the same breath requires participation of all stakeholders; government, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, political parties, labour organizations, families etc. In this respect, the Draft Tenth National Development Plan (NDP 10), which was also prepared using a participatory approach, represents the blueprint of Vision 2016. The draft Plan outlines the policies and key programmes aimed at achieving the Vision 2016 objectives during the 2009 to 2016 period, hence its theme, "Accelerating Achievement of Vision 2016 through NDP 10". The draft NDP 10 will be discussed by Parliament July/August 2009.

4. Vision 2016 requires a structured monitoring and evaluation mechanism to ensure rigorous performance tracking and reporting, leading to improved accountability for achieving the desired results by the responsible individuals and entities. To this end, the Vision 2016 Council was established to monitor and evaluate the effective and timely implementation of the Vision by all stakeholders. In addition, a holistic Monitoring and Evaluation Framework is proposed for implementation during NDP 10 period. The framework is intended to address shortcomings currently experienced in tracking performance of the Vision.

5. We are almost six years to 2016 and today's meeting has been convened to afford the Vision 2016 Council an opportunity to brief us on "where we are" in terms of each of the seven vision pillars and to consolidate our efforts to achieve the Vision in the remaining period. I urge you to critically evaluate implementation of Vision 2016 in an open and fair manner. That way, we will be able to objectively identify challenges needing our attention.

6. Your Honour, the VP, Hon. Ministers, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, with those remarks, let me ask the Vision 2016 Council to present the Vision 2016 Progress Report. I thank you.