The National Planning Commission (NPC) was established through the public sector rationalization exercise of 2022 under the Office of the President. The Commission has integrated the functions of the former National Strategy Office, the Government Implementation Coordination Office, the Vision 2036 Coordinating Agency and the planning function from the then Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
NPC was legally established through the National Planning Act of 2024 as the apex body for national planning.
Our Mandate
To provide inclusive leadership in national strategy development, planning, implementation coordination and performance monitoring and evaluation.
Our Mission
To coordinate national strategy development, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to achieve the national vision
Our Vision
To be a model of excellence in national development planning and delivery
Core Values
Excellence: rendering our service with competence, professionalism and efficiency.
Integrity: being principled, trustworthy and morally upright.
Teamwork: working collaboratively, providing constructive feedback to achieve a desired common goal.
Botho: serving with courtesy and humility.
Innovation: National think tank, disruptive, and continuous improvement.
Key Functions
The National Planning Act Act, PART II Section 4 provides for the functions of the Commission as follows:
Coordinate the development and implementation of the national vision;
Coordinate the development and implementation of the short, medium and long term development plans;
Coordinate sectoral, district, urban and national planning, including the formulation of national priorities and socio-economic policies for the development of Botswana compatible with national spatial planning principles;
Develop and implement performance monitoring and evaluation systems to facilitate delivery of the national vision, strategies and national development plans and,
Provide advocacy and communication for the national vision and its strategic interventions.
NPC Divisions and their Functions
- National Planning and Development – constituted by two units, namely: National Planning, and Policy Development Coordination and Analysis. The Division is responsible for the coordination sustainable development planning, development of the National Vision, National Transformation Strategy, policies, strategies, legislation and standards.
- Implementation Coordination - constituted by two units, namely: National Strategy Delivery Coordination and Monitoring and Evaluation. The Division is responsible for facilitation of effective and efficient implementation of Botswana’s policies, strategies, programmes and projects to ensure excellent service delivery to the citizens.
- Advocacy and Communications - constituted by two units, namely: Advocacy, and Communications and Knowledge Management. The Division’s role is to champion efforts for buy-in and making a case for Botswana’s transformation agenda for Vision 2036 delivery with key stakeholders
Corporate Services’ role is to provide support to the core divisions to enable efficient and effective delivery of the NPC mandate
Vision 2036
Botswana Vision 2036 is a transformational agenda that defines our aspirations and goals as the people of Botswana. It aims to transform Botswana from an upper middle-income country to a high-income country by 2036, and sets out a compelling vision of what our future will look like and in the process create broad prosperity for all.
To achieve prosperity for all, Vision 2036 has adopted four (4) Strategic Pillars, being;
- Sustainable Economic Development
- Human and Social Development
- Sustainable Environment
- Governance, Peace and Security
The Vision is implemented through the national development plans.
Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its Associated Sustainable Development Goals
On 25 September 2015, the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly including Botswana adopted the 2030 Development Agenda titled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. The global Agenda has 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 169 associated targets and 232 indicators. The 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs builds on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) but is much broader in scope as it includes the Social, Economic and Environmental dimensions as compared to the MDG whose focus was mainly on the Social and Economic dimensions.
The Botswana SDG Domesticated Indicator Framework contains all the Global SDG Indicators that are applicable to Botswana. Botswana’s Domesticated SDGs indicators are:
- End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
- End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
- Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
- Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
- Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
- Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
- Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
- Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
- Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.
- Reduce inequality within and among countries.
- Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
- Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
- Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact.
- Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
- Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
- Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
- Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
The SDGs have been integrated into the national vision and national development plns for coordinated implementation.
Africa Agenda 2063
Agenda 2063 is a strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of Africa within a 50-year period, from 2013 to 2063. It is a blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future. The genesis of Agenda 2063 was the realization by African leaders that there was a need to refocus and reprioritize Africa’s agenda from the struggle against apartheid and the attainment of political independence for the continent which had been the focus of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the precursor of the African Union. Itd prioritizes inclusive social and economic development, continental and regional integration, democratic governance, peace, and security among other issues aimed at repositioning Africa to become a dominant player in the global arena.
Agenda 2063 is a concrete manifestation of the Pan-African drive for unity, self-determination, freedom, progress, and collective prosperity pursued under Pan Africanism and African Renaissance. It encapsulates not only Africa’s aspirations for the future but also identifies key flagship programs that can boost Africa’s economic growth and development and lead to the rapid transformation of the continent. The blueprint also identifies key activities to be undertaken in its 10-year implementation plans which will ensure that Agenda 2063 delivers both quantitative and qualitative transformational outcomes for Africa’s people.
The aspirations for Africa as outlined in the Agenda are;
- A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development.
- An integrated continent, politically united and based on the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the vision of Africa’s renaissance.
- An Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law.
- A peaceful and secure Africa.
- An Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics.
- An Africa where development is people driven, unleashing the potential of its women and youth.
- Africa as a strong, united and influential global player and partner.
National Development Plans
Since Independence in 1966, Botswana produced a series of National Development Plans (NDPs) starting with Botswana’s Transitional Plan for Social and Economic Development prepared in 1965. NDPs guide the overall development of the country by outlining strategies, programmes, projects and initiatives to be undertaken over the specified Plan period.
The Plan contains estimates of revenue expected over the entire period as well as expenditure and human resource growth projections. The preparation of NDPs is preceded by the development of District Development Plans prepared by various district councils, and is consultative in nature, covering all government institutions, the private sector, civil society organizations, development partners, local government structures as well as community members. The final draft of the NDP is adopted by Parliament. The NDP informs budgeting each subsequent plan year.
The Second Transitional National Development Plan (TNDP) 2023-2025
Following a rationalization exercise that birthed the National Planning Commission, the second Transitional National Development Plan was developed to allow for the transformation initiatives and will run from April 2023 to March 2025.
These include aligning the planning period to the political cycle, Involving the political leadership (Cabinet and Parliament) in the early stages of the planning process at each of the major milestones, integrate regional and international agendas into the national planning system, strong alignment of the NDP with Vision 2036, the National Transformation Strategy, and policies and legislation, embrace spatial planning as an important factor in national development planning.
National Development Plan 12 (NDP 12)
The National Planning Commission (NPC) is currently coordinating the development of the National Development Plan 12 (NDP 12) which will be the second in a series of plans to implement Vision 2036. NDP 12 is the first plan to embrace the reforms of aligning the plan to the Electoral Cycle and the National Transformation Strategy (NTS). NDP 12 is expected to run for five years from April 2025 to March 2030.
National Transformation Strategy (NTS)
To deliver our Vision, a comprehensive National Transformation Strategy (NTS) - a pathway/ compass to achieving Vision 2036 has been developed as a single reference document to provide a framework to achieving the Vision 2036 aspirations. It follows a 1+3 model where pillar 1 (Sustainable Economic Development) is the ultimate outcome whilst the other three pillars (Human and Social Development, Sustainable Environment Governance, Peace and Security) are enablers to pillar 1.
The NTS prioritizes eight highly impactful sectors being Agriculture, Tourism, Trade, Manufacturing, Sports and Creative Industries, Transport and Logistics as well as Financial Real estate and Business Services to achieve Sustainable Economic Development.
Thematic Working Groups (TWGs)
The Government of Botswana adopted an Integrated Result-Based Management (IRBM) approach in 2008. IBRM facilitates planning, programming, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting by defining clear pathways of change and ensures that the delivery of outputs contributing to the achievement of outcomes are supported by a collection of activities.
Successful application of IBRM requires inclusive and participation of stakeholders, which is fundamental in ensuring stakeholders’ buy-in, empowerment and ownership for sustainability of results. In this regard, the Government adopted the Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) model as a vehicle for the facilitation of the IBRM approach for national development. The TWGs were set up to ensure well-coordinated inter-ministerial partnerships, ensure efficiency in the use of resources and improve involvement of non-state actors. They multi-disciplinary groups comprised of Government, Private Sector, Civil Society Organizations and Development Partners to provide a platform for discussion of the country’s development agenda. The NPC is mandate to coordinate this consultative structure.
Part V, Clause 24 of the National Planning Act provides for the establishment of the TWGs to facilitate in planning, implementation, and evaluation of national development plans. Specifically, the objectives of the TWGs are as follows:
- Improve the strategic planning, coordination and implementation of the national development plans;
- Ensure alignment of policies, programmes and projects to national priorities;
- Ensure efficient budgeting against national priorities;
- Improve the focus of human resource capacity and performance for successful service delivery;
- Ensure the provision of timely, accurate and reliable performance information to support and enhance decision making; and,
- To identify Research areas to generate new ideas as well as to provide relevant development solutions for the country.
High Level Consultative Council (HLCC)
The High Level Consultative Council (HLCC) was established in 1994 to promote public-private dialogue, recognizing the role of the private sector in the development of the economy. The broad objectives of the HLCC are as follows:
- Promote a dynamic and productive partnership between the Public and Private Sectors;
- Share information on current national and international trends with a view to assessing their impact on the development of the country and recommending appropriate actions to key stakeholders;
- Monitor the implementation and effectiveness of current national economic policies and development strategies; and,
- Exchange views and information on a wide range of economic issues of interest to all the stakeholders with a view to building consensus on strategies for developing a prosperous nation.
