The government is negotiating a loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to finance a national skills development and enterprise acceleration project aimed at creating jobs in priority economic sectors.
According to a Ministry of Finance document, the proposed Botswana Skills, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Acceleration for Job Creation in Priority Sectors project has yet to receive approval from both the bank and the Botswana government through Parliament.
The project’s Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), which must accompany the financing agreement, states that the “Government of Botswana is currently negotiating a loan with the African Development Bank to finance the Botswana Skills, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Acceleration for Job Creation in Priority Sectors (RBF) Project”.
The document does not disclose the proposed loan amount, the expected number of jobs to be created, the implementation period, or the specific economic sectors targeted.
Once the financing is approved by both parties, AfDB will provide funding, implementation support and monitoring for the project.
“The Bank will provide financing, implementation support and monitoring for the Project,” the document states.
The proposed loan comes as the government seeks to expand employment opportunities through skills development, entrepreneurship and enterprise growth. However, the ESMP provides no numerical targets against which the project’s job-creation impact could be measured.
The government will remain responsible for ensuring compliance with the bank’s environmental and social safeguards, including where specific activities are carried out by institutions outside the project management office (PMO).
“The Government of Botswana is responsible for compliance with all requirements of the ESMP even when implementation of specific measures and actions is conducted by an entity different from the Project Management Office (PMO),” the document states.
Under the safeguards, the government must establish a project grievance redress mechanism within six months of the loan agreement. The mechanism must be capable of receiving and addressing complaints within 30 days, with records maintained to demonstrate how grievances have been handled.
The government must also recruit experienced environmental and social specialists into the PMO within six months of the financing agreement.
In addition, quarterly environmental and social implementation reports must be submitted to AfDB by the 15th day of the first month following each quarter. Annual environmental and social audit reports are due by March 30 of the following year.
The requirements are intended to ensure that project implementation complies with AfDB’s operational safeguards and Botswana’s national laws. The government must also make the project’s environmental and social reports available to the public throughout implementation.
“Implementation of the material measures and actions set out in this ESMP will be monitored and reported to the Bank by the GOVERNMENT OF BOTSWANA,” the document states.
AfDB will monitor progress and assess whether the government has met the agreed requirements throughout the project’s implementation.
The plan also provides for work to be suspended if environmental, occupational health or safety risks or incidents arise. The bank must be notified immediately and no later than 72 hours after an incident, while work may resume only after AfDB has issued its no-objection.
In the event of a fatal occupational, environmental, health or safety incident, the government must ensure that a root-cause analysis is conducted and corrective measures implemented within one month of the occurrence.
