A key moment for the Botswana federation
On 18 and 19 August 2016, the first Botswana National Forum was held in Francistown, Botswana. Community leaders and government officials from all over the country, as well as members from other southern African federations attended the conference. The purpose of the forum was to officially launch the Botswana federation and to sign an MoU between the federation and the City of Francistown.
Keletso Dambe, Botswana federation leader, explains why this forum is important:
Dialogue with the government
A large number of government officials, including the Mayor of Francistown, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, and the Assistant Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, attended the forum.
"I have never seen a conference organized by the urban poor with so many politicians participating” Rose Molokoane, national coordinator of the South African Homeless People´s Federation
As always, where there is federation, there is flavor:
"The federation has made my day"
Many officials expressed their enthusiasm for SDI´s organizing strategy and announced their intention to support community-led initiatives.
"This is bottom-up development at its core."
"This is the new planning we need."
"We want you to give us solutions to the problems."
Read the Assistant Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Phillip Makgalemela´s speech posted by the Botswana Government:
Launching the Botswana Federation
The Botswana Homeless and Poor People´s Federation was officially launched by the Assistant Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Phillip Makgalemela. The launch is an important milestone for the federation and a starting point for further growth and mobilization.
Check out the video of the launch of the federation:
Signing of the MoU
An MoU was signed between the City of Francistown Council, the Botswana Homeless and Poor People´s Federation, the Trust for Community Initiatives and Shack/Slum Dwellers International. it aims to strengthen federation/government cooperation in the city of Francistown. By signing the MoU, the City of Francistown agrees to:
- launch a Know Your City Campaign in partnership with the Botswana Federation to enable community-led profiling and enumeration of settlements
- support the institutionalization of spaces for dialogue between Council and the Botswana Federation in forums at City Hall to feed into City Development Strategies
- support the process of formalizing the Bhabhanani Urban Poor Fund in order to enhance poverty reduction
Ways forward
The forum was an key moment for the Botswana federation and has opened doors for cooperation with the government. The federation members agreed that now is the time to push forward to ensure that all promises will materialize. Listen to Lilian Tebele´s impressions of the forum:
Rose Molokoane´s explains why it is important to attach the MoU to implementable projects on the ground:
Coming soon: official report on the Botswana National Forum
Created by Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI)