President Festus Mogae says with 13 years left to realise aspirations of Vision 2016, relentless efforts, dedication, commitment and sacrifice, are needed. He said this when officiating at the three-day Vision 2016 stakeholders’ conference in Gaborone Monday. Mogae saw it appropriate that seven years after the vision was launched, reflection on the successes and challenges be made, with a view to out map the way forward. The theme of the conference is, “Tebelopele 2016; Re fa kae? (Where are we?)”. “Vision 2016 must touch the heart and soul of every Motswana as well as improve their well-being,” said the president.

Mogae quoted Sir Winston Churchill who once said: “The optimist sees opportunity in every danger; the pessimist sees danger in every opportunity”.

Mogae said “whilst optimism on its own will not guarantee success, pessimism, negativity and excessive finger pointing are a recipe for total failure.

“Neither will we derive success from incessant seminars, workshops and meetings on Vision 2016. We need action on the ground on all fronts including, committed leadership at all levels; enterprising business people; responsive and transparent government; disciplined and productive work force.” Appreciating that vision goals are ambitious, Mogae said the goal is to make significant improvements to the quality of life of Batswana.

“If we don’t aim for the stars, we’ll never reach there. What this means though is that exceptional efforts are required from all Batswana to realise the goals.” The president emphasised that the vision is not solely about improvements in material well-being, noting that Batswana also desire to be an open, democratic society with high standards of moral and ethical values that are in-keeping with its valued traditions.

He called for every Motswana to be given equal opportunity to succeed in life irrespective of the circumstances of their birth. Mogae said discrimination by gender, religion, ethnicity, creed, social standing or any other form, should have no place in the society.

Mogae stressed the need to interact with other nations but cautioned that “whilst we can benefit from support and learn valuable lessons from the international community, we can’t simply transplant what worked for other nations to our environment.

“It will simply not work because of different value systems and social preferences. It’s for this reason that Vision 2016 was informed by our history and development experience”.

Mogae expressed happiness at the fact that attitudes in some political parties’ opposition to the vision have changed since they realised, contrary to their perception that the vision is not a Botswana Democratic Party endeavour.

He said they now regularly quote from it, including in Parliament and at freedom squares.

“I wish to reassure the sceptics that this is a national pursuit which should not be tainted with partisan politics,” he said, adding that Vision 2016 must continue irrespective of the political party in power, and must unite and not divide Batswana.

Mogae called on the media to use its influence for the positive development of the nation, urging the youth to also make full use of opportunities for educational advancement and career development.

The president said he would welcome suggestions as to how the functioning of the Vision 2016 Council could be improved, but cautioned against establishing a multiplicity of structures with overlapping mandates and creating excessive bureaucracy,” said Mogae.

The president however, said adherence to the ideals of the vision should not obviate the need for constant re-evaluation of the strategies for implementation, noting that Vision 2016 can not remain static for 20 years.