Transformation Lessons Learned: Botswana

Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba,
Botswana Commonwealth Secretariat 
Deputy Secretary-General


Summary of remarks:

Botswana is the former Bechuanaland, a British protectorate until independence in 1966: a land-locked country the size of France, but one of the poorest countries in the world, 75% desert; however, also with the rich Okavango Delta. After independence, the question of transformation, of improving the state of the country and its people, became a top priority for the new government.


Diamonds were discovered in 1972! The government became a key player in the diamond industry by becoming a Beers (mining) partner; mining overtook agriculture as the leading industry, and diamond revenues also helped build confidence.


Economic improvement led to diversification, the entrance of the private sector into the economy in a meaningful way, and a new political order.


The country's current position - beginning in the 1990's - is focused on transformation, dealing with peoples' aspirations and concerns, improving the economic conditions in the country, and responding to the millennium development challenges. These include the lack of an entrepreneurial culture, costs and productivity implications of HIV/AIDs (though disease levels are reducing), high unemployment (approx. 20%), poverty, unequal distribution of wealth (per capita GDP is not a good indicator).


Discovering diamonds may have been a stroke of luck, but nevertheless diamonds are a commodity with a finite time line and it is necessary to build an economy which can extend beyond that timeline. 
There are several stages of transformation to this goal:

Inherent in all of this are the lessons of good government, prudent management of resources and a unique approach relevant to Botswana's situation.

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