BACKGROUND

Statistics show that over the years poverty has reduced significantly:

·         1985/86 –  59%

·         1993/94 – 47%

·         2002/03 – 30%

·         Indications are that the rate declined further to an estimated 23% in 2009

SUPPORT FOR THE DESTITUTE, ORPHANS AND HOME BASED CARE

Beneficiaries are:

·         Destitute: 43,590

·         Home Based Care: 3,084

·         Orphans and Vulnerable Children: 47,000

His Excellency has recently stated that the P360 per month paid by the programme to each Motswana will be reviewed as soon as the economy shows positive growth.

ISPAAD

·         To date the programme has benefited 94,099 farmers;

·         Government has spent P211, 729, 024 on the programme in the 2009/10 financial year and plans to spend about P180m this financial year.

LIMID

LIMID has benefited 5,274 Batswana to date and P36, 654, 902 was spent in the 2009/10 financial year, and P20m is budgeted for this year

Youth Programmes

·         Currently over 43,000 young people participate in the constituency tournaments.

·         The Young Farmers Fund has disbursed P106m to 251 recipients to date.

·         Government has sponsored over 3000 youth projects.

Infrastructural readiness

Significant strides have been made by Government to ensure that quality infrastructure is present as an enabler for sustainable development:

·         73 of the 100 villages have been electrified under the “100 Villages Electrification Project”; estimated expenditure is over P 530m;

·         In addition, 29 villages have been electrified under the 30 villages Electrification Project; the estimated cost is over P150m;

·         To improve services Water Utilities Corporation has been given the mandate to provide water in both urban and rural areas;

·         Clinics have been transferred from the Ministry of Local Government to Ministry of Health for better coordination and effective service delivery;

·         84% have access to water;

·         Nteletsa II to reach 197 villages;

·         Mobile tele-density was 132% in November 2009;

·         Botswana Post has completed the installation of 25 Kitsong Centres;

·         235 secondary schools have internet connectivity;

·         As of June 2009 there were 6000 subscribers to the internet;

·         E-government is being rolled out to improve communication of the government to the public and the public to the government.

ACTION PLAN

1.            Government will aid in ensuring that there is focused and holistic effort provided by various stakeholders; amongst these are:

·         Financial institutions (CEDA, Venture Capital, NDB, banks, BSB, Botswana Postal Services)

·         Support institutions (LEA, BOBS, BNPC, BOTEC, RIPCO, BAMB, LAC, BVI, BEDIA, IFSC, NAFTEC)

·         Education and skills (UB, BAC, BCA, BOCODOL, schools, TEC, BOTA)

·         NGOs, private sector, religious groups, traditional leaders, and political leaders

2.            Government is in the process of developing clear out of poverty steps that would map the alternative paths for citizens to graduate from poverty.

3.            Communities will be engaged in developing and rolling their own viable and sustainable programmes

4.            Government will ensure that the directives aimed at using Botswana’s purchasing power to diversify the economy are implemented through effective tracking. 

5.            Geographical profiling of poverty will be mapped and tracked regularly to measure impact of interventions and programmes.

6.            Members of Parliament and Councillors will be engaged in the development of, and participation in the use of, monitoring tools.