Botswana

Botswana emerged from least developed country (LDC) status within one generation and is now a middleincome country. Foreign direct investment (FDI) was a driving force in this dramatic change. The Government's handling of the fiscal, social and economic pressures of this transformation could serve as a model for other resource-dependent economies.

Botswana became an independent democratic republic in 1966 after 80 years of rule as a British protectorate. The constitution adopted at independence vests legislative power in a parliament comprising the National Assembly (with 40 elected members), the President, a speaker, the attorneygeneral and four members nominated by the Government. The country is democratically ruled and boasts a stable political environment. The Botswana Democratic Party has been a major political force. Botswana is the second largest producer of diamonds (by volume) in the world after Australia, and the largest in terms of output value. Until the 1990s, it was the fastest growing economy in the world.

The 2003-2007 UNDP programme support to GoB had many cross-cutting issues (governance, institutional capacity building, human resource development, human rights, youth, education, health, gender, population issues, and information communication technology). The challenge with having several cross-cutting issues is that the greater the number of these issues, the less likely it is that they will be given special attention. The other challenge is that once an issue is designated as a cross-cutting issue, there is a tendency to pay little attention to the issue. Some cross-cutting issues, such as education and health, are less of cross-cutting issues and more of stand-alone sectors in their own right. If there is no special strategy to ensure that cross-cutting issues are carefully addressed and monitored, they tend to be ignored. For example, while gender equality, equity and women’s empowerment are critical components for effective development, the design of the programme implementation lacked a clear strategy for ensuring that gender issues were adequately addressed across all practice areas.

In analysing whether the UNDP programme in Botswana is in line with the priority needs of the country, one has to first look at the relationship between those needs and GoB development policies. There is a relatively high consensus that priority needs are also at the top of the government agenda. HIV/AIDS, poverty and the narrow economic base are commonly perceived as the key challenges of Botswana. Capacity constraints in public administration and governance are a common concern. Nevertheless, as in any society, in Botswana also there exist differing opinions on the chosen policy. Some observers argue that poverty reduction efforts are not effective at the grass roots level. Agriculture and rural development should perhaps have a greater weight in the national strategy. Environmental issues should play a bigger role in all sectors, being truly a cross-cutting theme. At the regional level, UNDP has supported several relevant interventions, such as HIV/AIDS, biodiversity and international trade.

As a part of the continuous process to enhance UNDP’s corporate performance, the UNDP Evaluation Office undertakes independent evaluations of the country offices (CO) when these are in the process of preparing their country programmes. The evaluations are called Assessment of Development Results (ADR). They aim at assessing the progress towards outcomes defined in the UNDP programming documents, and at analysing UNDP’s positioning in relation to national development needs. They also present key findings, draw main lessons, and provide a set of clear and forward-looking options for management to make adjustments in the current strategy and next country programme.

Overall, stakeholders and partners are satisfied with the performance of the UNDP CO in Botswana. The UNDP country programme has contributed significantly to addressing the development needs of Botswana.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) EvaluationOffice undertakes independent evaluations in order to assess UNDP contributions to achieving development results in the countries where it operates. In line with EB decision 2007/24, the Assessment of Development Results (ADR) evaluates the relevance and strategic positioning of UNDP’s support and its contributions to the country’s development over a given period of time. The aim of the ADR is to generate lessons for strengthening country-level programming and to contribute to the organization’s effectiveness and substantive accountability.An ADR was conducted in Botswana covering the Country Cooperation Framework from 2003 to 2008.