THE ROLE OF LOCAL
GOVERNMENT IN ENERGISING
LOCAL ECONOMIES
PRESENTED AT THE CLGF CONFERENCE
CARDIFF
BY
HON. L.T MOKALAKE
MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
BOTSWANA
16TH MARCH 2011
1.1 The role of local government in relation
to the rest of government:
 closeness to the people
2nd Sphere of government
Bridgeway
between
the
government and the people
rest
of
1.2 One of the major roles is to revitalize
local productivity levels:
 Agriculture
 Manufacturing
 Services Sector
 Local procurement;
 Capitalising on usage of available
resources;
 Creating a conducive environment for
private sector participation;
 Lobbying for a larger share of the
national cake;
 Expanding other sources of revenue;
 Creating a reliable market for products
and services;
 Development of relevant legislation
and Skills
3.1 Strategies put in place:
 Vision 2016 (1997) – “Prosperity for All”;
 Revised National Policy for Rural
Development (2002);
 The National Strategy for Poverty
Reduction (2003) ;
 Economic Diversification Drive (2010);
3.2 It was through these initiatives that
poverty levels were reduced by 10%
from 47% in 1997 to 37% in 2007.
3.3
Private Sector Participation
Local Level
(2004);
Consultative
Committees
High Level Consultative Forum ();
Private Public Partnerships;
Local Procurement
services;
of
goods
and
The existence of Local Authority
Procurement and Asset Disposal Act
(2008) for transparency
3.4 Community Mobilisation
 Use of extension machinery to mobilise the
community
Public participation in both National and local
development plans
 Community
resilience
programme
which
capacitates communities to take ownership of
their economic development.
Identification of investment opportunities in
various localities
3.5 Organisational Effectiveness
Process reengineering - cutting down on
bureaucratic processes
 Timely provision of services, that is,
power, water and roads
 Development and auditing of Service
Standards
Development of a Strategy to guide
implementation
 Shortage of skilled manpower
Narrow revenue base.
Limited infrastructural development due
to limited funding/scarce resources.
In conclusion, Local governments are
critical in promotion of local economic
development within their localities.
5.1 It is the Local Government that
contribute
immensely to the
achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals.
5.2 Local governments must be recognised
as a true
second sphere of
government, worthy of financially,
human and material support.
5.3 Essentially, there is need to capacitate
local
governments to fully discharge
their mandate
and remain
accountable to their constituents.
5.4 Local governments must earn their
autonomy from Central government by
securing their own revenue sources
5.5 All these require a conducive framework
within which local government can
operate
5.6 To this end, Botswana is in the process
of developing legislative frameworks to
leverage the operations of local
governments; these are:
Local Economic Development (LED)
policy
to
ensure
achievement
of
sustainable local economies.
Decentralisation Policy in collaboration
with the local government association, to
provide
the
basis
for
planning,
accountability and responsiveness to local
development.
5.7 It is our hope that these will promote
participation of our citizens to attain
our vision on “Prosperity for All” by
year 2016.
5.8 All in all, local governments must
provide the first stage of confidence
building for the local economies by
providing marketing strategies for their
localities.
5.9 It is the responsibility of local
governments to make their localities
pleasant places to work and live in.
I THANK YOU ALL!!!!