Maun COE Institutional Profile

Situated in the North-West of Botswana, the district borders on Namibia, and is characterized by the Okavango Delta. It is endowed with a wide range of wildlife species, including the big five game. This attracts many international tourists to the area, and approximately 60% of people in the district are employed in jobs associated with tourism. The Council’s mission commits to improving the quality of life for all, through effective and efficient delivery of basic infrastructure and social services in partnerships with stakeholders.

North-West’s Gender Action Plan is in place, but still to be approved by management, and still to be incorporated in the council’s strategic plan. The council is embarking on a campaign to encourage the election of women into the council, only 6 out of 48 councillors are women, and cultural barriers are keeping women from running for political office.
The council was a winner at last year’s summit in the Local Economic Development category. Tebogo Letshabamang presented on their project to promote Local Economic Development in Shorobe, to bring about economic livelihood amongst women, this project focuses on basketry. They link the project to the various tourist destinations in the district, to encourage tourists to purchase their goods.

A number of women entrepreneurs are benefitting from council tenders, especially in the supply of school uniforms, and they participate in forums on health and environmental
issues, but the council does not keep records as evidence.

There is no specific budget allocated for gender, but they manage to get funds through other departments. Progress reports are sent to the Chief Officers Management Team on a quarterly basis. There is still room for improvement on the implementation of the plan in North-West District Council; progress has been quite slow due to changes in staff. GL met with the new top management at the council, and they expressed their concern on issues if gender in the district and expressed their commitment to taking up the plan and further working on it.