UNCRD Africa Office

Training Workshop on District and Regional Development Planning and Management in Botswana

Outline

Cognizant of the need to improve district development planning, implementation, and monitoring, the Ministry of Local Government-Botswana, requested the UNCRD Africa Office to provide technical support and train its planners to enhance their competency in district planning. Towards this objective, the UNCRD Africa Office initiated an in-country training programme in Botswana to train regional and district planners. The training course targeted district planning officers responsible for district development planning and district project implementation and management as well as officials responsible for the coordination of planning and implementation of development projects. The main objective of the training workshop is to train the planners and government officials in effective district development planning and project planning and management towards supporting the decentralization programme of the Government of Botswana.

Towards, this goal, the UNCRD Africa Office has managed to successfully forge partnerships with the Ministry of Local Government and UNDP Botswana, and conducted the first in-country training course on "District and Regional Development Planning and Management" from 17 to 29 November 2008 at the University of Botswana. Thirty-two participants drawn from the various districts and local government institutions attended the course which was organized on a cost-sharing basis between UNCRD, the Government of Botswana, and UNDP.

The in-country training programme is designed to assist the Government of Botswana in its endeavour to train the critical mass of regional planners at the district level as districts are faced with the problem of trained manpower, particularly in the area of project planning and management, and data collection and analysis. All planners, who work for the government at the ministerial and district levels, have only a first degree or equivalent level of education in planning. Beyond this, only a few have had opportunities to acquire new planning skills by attending specialized training courses where their planning capacity can be improved.

UNCRD Africa Office

Training Workshop on District and Regional Development Planning and Management in Botswana

Outline

Activities