00:00I don't know whether it's me or the speaker who should request you to be seated, but please
00:14be seated. Thank you very much. Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Dittapelo Keo Rapids.
00:30Vice President, Chief Justice of the Republic, former Presidents, former Vice Presidents,
00:47Cabinet Ministers, President of the Court of Appeal, Deputy Speaker, Assistant Ministers,
00:56Leader of the Opposition, Members of Parliament, Ambassadors, and High Commissioners, Chairman
01:07of Nkiwari Khosi, Permanent Secretary to the President, Attorney General, Judge President
01:19of the Industrial Court, Judges of the Court of Appeal, Judges of the High Court, and Judges
01:30of the Industrial Court, the Ombudsman, Heads of International Organizations, President of
01:39the Customary Court of Appeal, Commander of the Botswana Defense Force, Commissioner of
01:49Police, Commissioner of Prisons, all Permanent Secretaries, the Governor of Bank of Botswana,
02:00Mayor, Mayor, Mayors and Council Chairpersons, Councillors, District Commissioners, Bishops,
02:13religious leaders the clergy fellow citizens I greet and recognize each and
02:29every one of you we meet here today esteemed speaker but one of this who
02:49they esteemed residents of this Republic friends of Botswana greetings to you all may I request
03:02that we start by rising for a moment of silence in honor and remembrance of all those who have
03:09departed since our last sitting fellow members of this house from the previous parliament
03:18citizens and residents public servants including erstwhile member of parliament for Kalagadi South
03:27Dr. Michael Chimbombi whose services and sacrifices have strengthened our nation moment of silence in
03:39their honor
03:48thank you
03:51may God Almighty grant their souls eternal peace and continue to protect and comfort
03:58their families and loved ones we must express our deepest gratitude to him who blesses us in the
04:12words of Roman scholar Marcus Tullius Kikiru gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues
04:20virtues but the parent of all others as such we thank God Almighty for his grace and blessings
04:29and the darkest times it is his light that guides us and on the brightest of days it is him who makes it
04:39so I wish to point out that government has made some improvements to the way you will receive the state
04:49the state of the nation address notably copies of the sauna the speech that I'm about to deliver
04:58will be shared there's also a more graphically engaging and detailed version that will be shared digitally
05:12to enable richer discourse among society this is our way of enhancing
05:21availability of information and our increased accountability to the nation the second session of the 13th parliament
05:31commences today we gather here as triumphant champions makers of history led by huge
05:42heroes and heroes and heroines who carried us to heights never seen before we are a generation of many
05:51firsts the first government led by the umbrella for democratic change UDC the first African country to win in the
06:00the four by 400 meters relay at the world athletics championships
06:09we have Botswana's first men's 400 meters world champion we have our first Olympic gold medalist
06:21today we celebrate what it truly means to be a Botswana I stand before you at a pivotal moment
06:36which marks another first in this country's history for the first year of the UDC leadership has come to an end
06:47the gloss and charm of novelty is now behind us this was an interesting year where the shadow of economic
07:00challenges tested our resolve not just the government's resolve but that of the people of this country
07:09with our hope tested by economic pressures we are resolved crystallized and
07:18became stronger we know where we came from we know why we needed change and we know where we are going
07:30we know where we are going forward and we know where we can make up our Montaño
07:38though we intend to arrive faster at our destination we can only walk this step this journey one step at a time
07:42journey of a thousand miles. In our words and our work, we honor the power of intention
07:51to build, to heal, to challenge, to uplift deliberately, purposefully, and together.
08:04Hence my selected theme for this year's State of the Nation Address, the steady path delivering
08:11on our promise one step at a time. This is a philosophy of governance that recognizes the
08:19depth of our challenges while affirming our unwavering commitment to overcoming them.
08:27It encapsulates a profound thinking captured by the English playwright John Haywood that Rome was
08:38not built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour. Hour by hour, we lay brick by interlocking
08:52brick. To the untrained eye, it looks like an untied landscape of bricks strewn all over the
09:00place. But with time and patience, it will begin to take shape. You will soon see the skeleton of the
09:09Colosseum, the concept of the Roman forearm, the inklings of the Pantheon, and a hint of the Trevi
09:20fountain. Slowly, meticulously, Rome is taking shape. Today I lay before you the methodology behind
09:31the vision. I give you insight into the master plan. I detail the bricks already in place and the ones we
09:40are yet to lay. Our economy, long sustained by wealth generated from mining, especially of diamonds,
09:50now faces the sobering reality of global market shifts. Our fiscal is under tremendous strain,
10:00bearing the weight of unprecedented global macroeconomic challenges. The goose that lays the golden egg
10:09is in critical condition. The UDC government entered office with strained fiskars, depleted coffers,
10:24employees owed, contractors owed, farmers owed, a debt of hope to the people and resentment by its
10:36arrivals. The resentful prey and hope for the UDC to fail. And as such, pray for the country.
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