Batswana brace to hear what President Duma Boko has in store for them as he will deliver his second State of the Nation Adress (SONA) on Monday, following his first year in office.
The address which will also mark the 1st meeting of the 2nd session of the 13th parliament is awaited with huge expectations and demand for tangible deliverables.
In his maiden speech, some were disappointed that he did not speak to some of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) election manifesto promises, and implementation timeframes.
Rather, the president focused the address on undertaking a transformative journey that will address challenges facing the country. Boko spoke about a transformative journey his government will undertake in addressing challenges facing the country such as economic uncertainty, dependency on the diamond industry, high unemployment rate, declining birthrate and cashflow problems faced by government.
While acknowledging people’s eagerness of wanting to know what his party will do to fulfill its election pledges and promises, Boko however focused his first 100 days in office on laying the groundwork for long-term transformation.
He had indicated that the days will focus on three interconnected pillars of Restoring Trust, Revitalizing the Economy and Building Equity.
Some of the notable highlights to Boko’s long-term transformation goals included the launching of the promised forensic audit aimed to assess the functionality of government institutions, the appropriation and deployment of state resources, and the overall financial state of the country.
Boko revealed that the audit which was officially commenced in March this year will look from 10 years back that is being from 2014 to 2024.
On his promise of laying the foundation for an affordable housing initiative, Boko has also kick-started the Bonno Housing Scheme targets to provide 100 000 housing units in five years.
The president has also made strides in his promise to attract investment. He recently announced investment deal with global investors (Thirty-Five Global Links, Mercuria Asia Holdings, Ulsan Holding, and Innovation Global Industries) aimed at national energy security and infrastructure modernization.
In revitalising the economy, Boko launched the Botswana’s Economic Transformation Programme (BETP) aimed at moving Botswana from a diamond-dependent economy to a diversified, high-income, digitally-enabled, and export-driven one.
Key priority sectors for transformation include agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, financial services, and tourism, with the Labs serving as the “engine room” to refine projects and remove policy barriers.
On healthcare improvements, Boko’s government has announced that it is developing a National Health Insurance (NHI) policy as a step toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC), aiming to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for all.
However, Leader of the Opposition Dumelang Saleshando has criticised that the UDC in their first 12 months in government has totally lost focus on key issues affecting Batswana.
Reflecting on UDC’s leadership after one year in office, Saleshando criticised that the ruling party has failed to deliver key pledges it made in the run-up to the 2024 elections. Among, the pledges failed, he highlighted 100 000 jobs in one year in office, the P4,000 minimum wage, monthly P1,800 payments for old-age pensioners as well as the P2,500 allowance for tertiary students.
