GABORONE, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) — Botswana on Thursday adopted a five-year national development plan as the southern African country seeks to diversify its economy away from high diamond dependence.
The 12th National Development Plan allocates 388 billion pulas (about 28.8 billion U.S. dollars) to boost growth and jobs, which is expected to guide the country’s national planning and development over the next five years.
Lasting from April 2025 to March 2030 under the theme “Building a Diversified and Inclusive Deep Economy for Sustainable Jobs,” the plan seeks to tackle unemployment, fiscal strain and institutional inefficiencies.
Key to the agenda is a shift toward nine priority sectors under the Botswana Economic Transformation Program, including mining and energy, manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and creative industries, infrastructure, and financial services.
Following the approval of the development plan, Assistant Minister for State President Maipelo Mophuting said global and domestic macroeconomic environments remain challenging.
The government’s limited fiscal and human resources demand collaborative, innovative and transformative approaches involving all stakeholders, she added.
