Category: Sunday Standard

The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) government has reportedly made only limited headway on its sweeping election promises as it achieved just 13 percent progress in its first year in office.

This is according to a study by the Southern African based Sivio Institute which is a non-governmental (NGO) organisation focusing on governance across Africa titled ‘Settling In Amid Fiscal Challenges: An Assessment of the Government of Botswana’s First Year in Office.’ The study paints a stark picture of a government grappling with economic headwinds and struggling to translate campaign pledges into tangible results.

According to the study, the UDC manifesto contained 171 promises. Of these, only 23 promises representing 13 percent are currently ‘In Progress,’ while none have been fully implemented or broken. The overwhelming majority, 148 promises, remain at the ‘Not Commenced’ stage. ‘In the past 12 months, 25 actions have been recorded,’ the study states adding that ‘after a year in office, the Government of Botswana has made 13% progress towards fulfilling the promises made in the election manifesto.’

The Economy sector recorded the highest number of actions, with 10 initiatives underway, followed by Social Services with seven. Social Services, which accounts for the largest share of promises at 62 or 36 percent of the total manifesto has seen minimal progress. Only six promises in the sector are currently in progress, while 56 have not commenced, translating to a score of just 12 percent. The study says one of the flagship promises was to increase the old age pension from P830 to P1,800. The government has partially fulfilled this by raising the pension to P1,400 at the start of the 2025/2026 financial year and pledged to increase it further ‘as the economy recovers,’ according to the report. Housing was another major pledge, with the UDC promising to build 100,000 houses over five years. The government launched the Bonno Housing Scheme in March 2025, targeting 61,000 houses across all constituencies.

However, the report notes that ‘almost 30,000 of these housing units will come from a collaboration with the Botswana Housing Corporation and the private sector.’ The government also introduced free sanitary pads for schoolgirls at a cost of P69 million and announced a P300 allowance for new mothers, although the latter has since been deferred to the 2026/2027 financial year.

The study shows that some promises remain untouched, including increasing tertiary student allowances to P2,500 which is a delay that has sparked discontent among students and ‘almost culminated in a demonstration.’ Meanwhile, government attempts to ease living costs have been mixed. A 30 percent cut in electricity tariffs for domestic users was announced in March 2025, but President Duma Boko later warned that increases could follow because subsidies were becoming unaffordable.’Overall, 55 out of the 62 promises under Social Services remain at the ‘Not Commenced’ stage,’ the report states.Touching on the economy, the report says out of 57 economic promises, only 10 are in progress, giving the sector a score of just 9 percent.

The report attributes much of the sluggish progress to Botswana’s deteriorating economic outlook, driven largely by a collapse in diamond sales.’The sale of diamonds by De Beers also remains low, having fallen by almost 50% by the end of 2024 and still showing no signs of recovery in 2025,’ the study notes, adding that this has significantly weakened foreign reserves. President Boko had pledged to fast-track a new diamond deal with De Beers, but the report says ‘there has been very little information on the deal, and the public remains largely uninformed.’ The government has, however, taken steps to cancel more than 80 percent of infrastructure projects under the controversial Development Manager Model citing ‘mismanagement and financial irregularities.’ In line with its promises, the government also established a Sovereign Wealth Fund, injecting P76 million into its initial capital, and introduced progressive taxation, reducing the burden on low-income earners while increasing taxes on high earners.

Despite these measures, unemployment continues to rise, the study says, with the government pointing to projects such as the Khoemacau Mine and the Bonno Housing Scheme as future job creators aligned with its pledge to create 500,000 jobs over five years.

Still, the study states that, ‘The bulk of the promises (47 out of 57 promises) remain as ‘Not Commenced’.’

With regard to governance reforms which is another cornerstone of the UDC campaign, the study suggests that they have seen even less progress. Out of 43 governance promises, only three are in progress, resulting in an assessment score of just 3 percent. Among the symbolic actions highlighted was the decision to allow the burial of San community member Pitseng Gaoberekwe in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, fulfilling a long-standing demand denied by the previous administration.

At the burial, President Boko ‘reiterated the promise of his party to ensure justice and protect human rights for all, especially the marginalised groups.’ The study says the government has also pledged to base public appointments strictly on merit and has made several key appointments, including to the Court of Appeal and the leadership of the Botswana Defence Force.

However, the study shows, major structural reforms including drafting a new constitution, overhauling the intelligence services and addressing wage inequalities have yet to begin.

Corruption accounted for just six promises in the manifesto. Three are now in progress, while three have not commenced yielding a 22 percent score. The report highlights the trial and sentencing of a former Permanent Secretary to the President as a notable example of the government’s pledge to ensure fair trials in corruption cases.

‘International best practice today places the fight against corruption as one of the key areas of good governance,’ the report states, while noting ‘very little progress, especially in empowering the Directorate of Corruption and Economic Crimes.’

Climate change ranked lowest in priority with only three promises made. Of these, one is in progress, giving a 17 percent progress score. One key step was the passage of the Forest and Range Resources Act in August 2025, aimed at strengthening environmental protection.

UDC Executive Secretary Dr Patrick Molutsi had not responded to Sunday Standard queries at the time of going to press.

A decision by Dinah Marathe, the Commissioner of Botswana police Service, to launch a forensic probe into a controversial police welfare fund is shaking one of law enforcement’s most entrenched cultures: the so-called Blue Wall of Silence.

In a move widely seen as unprecedented, Marathe has commissioned R4 Forensics, led by Robert Masitara, to scrutinize the half-billion Pula BPS Welfare Scheme. The investigation follows years of mounting pressure from serving and retired officers who have demanded transparency around the fund’s management.

For many within the ranks, the decision signals a dramatic shift from the historical tendency of police institutions worldwide to shield internal misconduct, a practice commonly kwon as the ‘Blue Code.’

‘I was pleasantly surprised when I was called for an interview by R4 Forensics. I never in my life thought any of our commissioners could be brave enough to launch the investigation’, said a retired officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation and the long-standing culture discouraging officers from speaking out.

Masitara would neither confirm nor deny the investigation.

Calls for an independent audit intensified after a 2020 controversy in which P10 million donated by police to the national Covid-19 Relief Fund was allegedly deducted from officers’ savings without their consent. The incident deepened distrust among rank-and0file officers and fueled suspicions about governance within the welfare scheme, formally known as the BOS Savings Fund and Loan Guarantee Scheme.

By the time Marathe took office in 2024, becoming Botswana’s first female police commissioner, she inherited not only the unresolved dispute but also an institution facing broader scrutiny over accountability.

Her appointment coincided with findings published in the 2024 African Security Review, which warned that Botswana lacked independent mechanisms to hold police accountable. The study noted that the Internal Affairs Branch struggled with both capacity and perceived impartiality, pointing out that only about half of 105 misconduct cases recorded between 2019 and 2023 had been finalised by early 2023.

The concerns echoed earlier criticism from a 2021 report by Al Jazeera and the Legal Resources Centre, which linked persistent police impunity to the absence of an independent investigative body and weak human rights structures.

Since assuming office, Marathe has repeatedly signaled a reformist agenda. During his visits to police districts in Francistown and Mahalapye in August 2025, she warned officers that misconduct and corruption would erode public trust and pledged to steer the service towards a human-rights centered model aligned with the current government’s priorities.

The welfare scheme probe now appears to be the clearest test yet of that pledge, and of how far institutional culture can shift.

Globally, police corruption and internal cover-ups remain persistent challenges, often attributed to tight-knit occupational solidarity that discourages whistle-blowing.

Leading Global Organizations: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Amnesty International; Human Rights Watch (HRW); Transparency International (TI) have all reported that police corruption and, by extension, the tendency to cover up misconduct, is a worldwide issue rather than isolated to specific regions. It is often described as an outgrowth of group camaraderie that encourages closing ranks to protect officers. By ordering an external forensic investigation, Marathe is positioning the Botswana Police Service as a rare outlier willing to confront that norm head-on.

Whether the inquiry will lead to prosecutions, structural reforms or simply deeper institutional tensions remains uncertain. What is clear, however, is that the investigation has punctured a long-standing silence and placed the future credibility of Botswana’s policing family in the public eye.

Another week, another State-Owned Entity (SOE) at the centre of a corporate governance storm. Leadership changes across Botswana’s SOEs have begun to resemble a game of musical chairs, a comparison now frequently voiced by an increasingly frustrated public. Every time an SOE makes headlines for the wrong reasons be it financial distress, executive misconduct, or service delivery breakdowns, the spotlight almost instinctively falls on management. Investigations are launched, executives are scrutinised, the CEO is questioned and, in some cases, suspended. Yet beyond the noise of the scandal and the headlines lies a crucial question that requires serious interrogation but rarely receives equal attention. Where was the Board?

When organisational challenges become the norm, it is necessary to examine not only the operational decisions but also the strength of oversight. Corporate governance failures within Botswana’s SOEs are often treated as isolated crises when they in fact point to a deeper issue of Board effectiveness.

Unlike private entities, SOEs are custodians of national assets. They are entrusted with the duty to manage these strategic national assets, deliver essential public services and operate using public resources which can ultimately impact citizens and the national fiscus. Their Boards carry a dual responsibility of commercial oversight and public accountability which makes their effectiveness more than just a technical governance issue but a matter of national interest.

Central to the mandate of an SOE’s Board is its role as steward of the organisation. This entails setting strategic direction, supervising executive management, safeguarding assets, and ensuring that emerging risks are identified and addressed before they escalate into public crises. It is for this very reason that they should be held to a higher standard of accountability than their counterparts within the private sector. Holding the Board to a higher standard of accountability is not intended to be punitive but to reflect the weight of their mandate.

In the context of SOEs, board effectiveness cannot be separated from national accountability. The Board is the layer of governance entrusted with ensuring accountability and transparency. Their oversight entails questioning assumptions, interrogating strategic decisions, and ensuring management actions are consistent with ethical, legal and financial standards. The Board’s oversight demands independence of thought and the willingness to challenge, particularly when decisions carry fiscal and reputation risk. It is important for the Board to be able to balance its independence with oversight as this will allow it to challenge management without conflict of interest which then creates room for objective judgement.

Should the corporate governance debate continue to centre exclusively on management, systemic vulnerabilities will remain largely unchecked. Executives will change and investigations will be launched, but the structural safeguards intended to prevent failure will still be compromised.

Board effectiveness also depends on balance. A well-constituted Board combines executive management insight with objectivity from the non-executive directors. Executives should bring institutional knowledge and operational context, while non-executive directors provide the external perspective and independent scrutiny. It is this balance that enables the Board to interrogate management proposals thoroughly while still offering strategic guidance.

In 2025, the Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority (BAOA) released its Financial Reporting Monitoring and Corporate Governance Report for the 2024 review period. The report, which assesses governance disclosures and practices across Public Interest Entities (PIEs), offered a snapshot of the state of corporate governance, within that group, in Botswana. According to the report, a total of 40 corporate governance reviews were conducted in 2024, consisting of 24 first-time reviews and 16 re-reviews. None (0%) of the 24 entities reviewed for the first time met the corporate governance requirements which was a decline from 21% in 2023. The report further states that of the 15 significant entities reviewed, only 2 achieved full compliance while among the 6 public bodies assessed, compliance was also achieved by just 2.

The report also highlights major gaps in board performance, with 40% of deficiencies linked to Boards and Directors, 12.6% to Audit Committees, and 12% to Internal Audit. Independence of non-executive directors and chairpersons was often compromised, and Board composition frequently fell short of best practice.

This does not necessarily mean that the Boards reviewed were negligent but shows that the practice of governance needs strengthening. The pattern emerging should therefore prompt an honest reflection on how oversight functions are being executed at the top.

While the Board carries the formal responsibility of overseeing executive management, another equally important question that often arises is – ‘who checks the checker?’ Boards, too, are not immune to governance challenges and it is becoming increasingly evident that oversight can drift if not exercised with discipline and ethical clarity. Boards may lose focus, become overly aligned with management, or neglect the very mandate they were appointed to uphold, and when that happens, they too find themselves under scrutiny.

The governance architecture does not end at the boardroom table. It extends upwards to the shareholder, and in the case of SOEs, to the responsible Minister acting on behalf of the state. This layer of oversight exists to ensure that Boards discharge their duties within legal, ethical and strategic boundaries. Effective governance therefore requires a functioning chain of accountability. Executive management must answer to the Board. The Board must answer to the shareholder. The shareholder, represented by the Minister, must exercise responsible stewardship without undermining operational independence. If at any point, the link in that chain of authority weakens, the entire structure becomes vulnerable.

Checks and balances are crucial to safeguarding against the concentration of power. A well-designed governance system includes clear performance monitoring, transparent reporting, periodic evaluations and defined escalation mechanisms at every level. These ‘fail-safe’ triggers ensure that underperformance or misconduct are identified early and corrected before they escalate into organisational risk.

The appointment of SOE Boards has, at times, attracted public debate on whether factors other than expertise and competence influence selection decisions. Where appointments are perceived to align with prevailing political interests, the implications extend beyond reputation and may affect the integrity of the governance structure itself.

This reality underscores the importance of institutional checks and balances. Parliamentary oversight, including scrutiny from opposition leadership, plays a vital role in ensuring that Ministers responsible for SOEs exercise their shareholder authority within clear ethical and legal boundaries. This form of oversight is less about politics and more about ensuring transparency, accountability and the responsible stewardship of public assets.

When Boards fail to exercise disciplined, independent, and informed supervision, risks go unchecked, strategic drift takes hold, and public resources are left exposed. Governance frameworks may exist on paper, but without effective oversight, they risk becoming symbolic rather than functional. If Botswana is to break the cycle of governance lapses in SOEs, it is imperative to strengthen Board accountability. The question is no longer just what went wrong with executives, but how the Boards entrusted with national assets carried out their oversight mandate.

Preparation is the epitaphs of good communications.

Nobody is ever a good communicator by chance. They have to work at it – putting into it immense and meticulous work and planning.

Behind every good communicator are many hours of preparation, preparation and preparation.

Cabinet ministers should not be struggling to sell the idea of a Constitutional Court to the nation.

There are many genuine reasons why the country needs a Constitutional court..

Invoking these reasons with confidence and clarity will make our ministers appear much more believable.

For a majority of Batswana, a Constitutional Court is a low hanging fruit that promises to deliver them from the numerous grave deprivations bequeathed this nation by several layers of tribal inequalities.

Take for example the Bobonong / Bobirwa constituency as a case study.

Bobonong / Bobirwa has Taolo Lucas as its Member of Parliament.

Taolo Lucas is not your average politician. He is deputy leader of Botswana Congress Party. BCP is the official opposition.

And he has an expansive presence inside the BCP.

As things stand, the BCP has already made its position known – not just on the Constitutional Court but on the imminent Referendum too.

Lucas is one of BCP’s foremost debaters. He is fearless.

He is a hard hitter.

Like their Member of Parliament, the people of Bobonong / Bobirwa constituency strongly feel that they should have their own paramount Kgosi.

This demand is very fundamental to their identity as a people. This demand cuts across political party allegiances in that area. And this demand generally unites the people.

Naturally these people see themselves as victims.

They say they do not want to have Ian Khama as their Kgosi.

They want to have their own Kgosi who shall be Ian Khama’s equal, sitting side by side with him in the House of Chiefs.

Who is best placed to resolve this complex matter? The answer is simple; the Constitutional Court.

And we are not done yet.

The people in Bobonong /Bobirwa say they want to have a tribal territory of their own.

At the moment their tribal territory is part of Gammangwato, with a headquarters in Serowe.

They add that they want to have their own Land Board that is not subservient to the one in Serowe.

They say they do not have any relationship with Bangwato other than a feudalist master/servant arrangement which cannot be allowed to go on unchallenged in this era.

Cabinet ministers going around the country to justify the Concourt could use the situation in Bobonong / Bobirwa as a template – and deploy it in their meetings around the country. Whether you go to Maun, Okavango, Letlhakane, Tonota, Tutume and many other place, similar situations exist

Cabinet ministers need to find a simple but coherent message on why it is necessary to establish a Constitutional Court ahead of the Constitutional Review process.

A person listening to a minister in Gantsi should receive the same message like another person listening to another minister in Tonota.

At the moment it seems to me like there is no aligned strategy among ministers.

Every minister seems to rely on their own strengths of public speaking and delivery.

It is exactly because they are not talking from a uniform script, that they are now talking in turns.

At another extreme, those against the Constitutional Court have seized on the state of public health to say government should fix public health before talking of introducing a Constitutional Court.

Too often we see ministers falling into the trap, including by saying the Constitutional Court will fix public health.

The onus is now on technical advisors to come up with a plan to rescue the narrative.

One way to do so would be for our ministers to acknowledge upfront that indeed there are problems besieging our public health for example.

And then emphasise that action is being taken. This is a much better strategy than saying the Constitutional Court will address health issues ass some ministers keep saying.

A Constitutional Court does not address bureaucratic bottlenecks like delivering textbooks to schools or delivering medicines to hospitals.

Administrative incompetence is not going to disappear when the Constitutional Court is introduced.

Rather, the Court serves to affirm, interpret and protect the rights.

The next logical step for our ministers would then be to emphasise that it is incorrect to suggest that the intention to establish a Court means that other critical matters such as the health situation, Foot and Mouth Disease, Gender Based Violence, Crime, Corruption, poor infrastructure are not being given the attention they deserve.

Government is a huge animal with diverse capabilities. So, these matters and more are being given urgent attention through various arms of Government.

In strategic communications, this is called ‘deflection.’

Deflection will help ministers regain control of the Constitutional Court conversation by also emphasising that other important enabling tasks also need to be done simultaneously and in parallel. One such is the current engagements on the establishment of the Court pending a wholesale review of the constitution.

The next step would be to focus on why it is so important to have Constitutional Court.

A Constitutional Court deals with interpreting rights, upholding rights and protecting applicants against violations of their constitutional rights. As Batswana plan a wholesome review of the Constitution, a Constitutional Court will help in this way.

There is no question that a Constitutional Court will expeditiously resolve issues pertaining to constitutional rights much faster than a High Court currently does.

Issues so resolved would then simply be noted and rightly put in the final Constitution without having to go all over them during the Review process.

For example, if there had been a Constitutional Court during the Dow citizenship case, it would most likely have taken a shorter time to resolve as opposed to the two or so years it took, thus saving time and money.

From the top of my mind, there are a number of issues that require the immediate intervention of the Constitutional Court. Civil imprisonment on account of debt owing is one such. This affects too many of our people.

In fact, this is so widespread that I still remember instances where a few of today’s ministers were imprisoned when we were still together in the trenches and I had to rescue a few of them. Today they are above it and out of reach of such. But they should not forget those of us who are still within reach of the same fate.

Another thing, ministers have no reason to rush to the issue of death penalty in their meetings.

Too often in their meetings, it the ministers who raise this issue even begore the public.

In my view that is a mistake.

Botswana Housing Corporation has raised P285 million through a private placement under its medium-term note programme, adding fresh funding as the state-owned developer manages maturing debt and an expanding construction pipeline.

The transaction, completed in December 2025, consisted of two unsecured tranches. A P100 million note matures in 2032 and carries a fixed coupon of 15 percent, while a P185 million tranche due in 2030 offers a 14.5 percent coupon. Following the placement, total outstanding notes increased to P685 million from P400 million previously.

The fundraising coincided with pressure on the balance sheet. A listed bond matured in December 2025 and 76 percent of BHC’s P529.3 million borrowings were classified as current liabilities, tightening liquidity. Although trade receivables improved on stronger collections, cash and cash equivalents declined 44 percent to P405.5 million in the six months to September 2025, compared with the March 2024 year-end.

Proceeds from the placement are supporting refinancing requirements alongside ongoing project delivery. BHC is advancing developments in Phakalane, Gerald Estates in Francistown, Kazungula, Lobatse and Jwaneng, including contract housing for police and prison officers under the Employee Housing Initiative. A central pillar of the strategy is the Bonno National Housing Programme, which targets affordable units for low- and middle-income earners, with homes under construction in Gaborone Block 7 forming part of the national rollout.

Construction momentum has lifted inventories to more than P828 million as units approach completion. Financial performance has improved, with BHC returning to profitability in the first half of the 2025/26 financial year. Profit after tax rose to P32.3 million for the six months to 30 September 2025 from P10.8 million earlier.

Botswana’s proposed P378 billion development spending plan under the draft National Development Plan 12 (NDP12) is ‘a fantasy’ that cannot be implemented or financed. This is according to the latest Fourth Quarter Economic Review by economic consultancy Econsult.

In a hard-hitting assessment of the country’s fiscal outlook, Econsult says the development budget has become one of the most serious weaknesses in Botswana’s public finances citing years of inefficiency, poor project design and weak implementation. ‘The development budget is a particular problem, in part because past development spending has been incredibly inefficient and wasteful,’ Econsult says.

According to the firm, ‘Projects have been badly designed and implemented, but also there have been too many low-return, low-impact projects adopted that cannot possibly generate economic gains.’ The firm argues that instead of stimulating growth, many development projects have ‘acted as a drag on growth rather than boosting growth,’ largely because there has been no effective screening or appraisal system to prioritise high-impact projects within realistic budget limits.

This problem, Econsult says, is starkly illustrated by the draft NDP12 Public Investment Plan (PIP), which proposes spending P378 billion over five years from 2025/26 to 2029/30.

‘The proposed PIP of P378 billion over the five years is a fantasy,’ the review states.

For the 2026/27 financial year alone, NDP12 proposes a development budget of P54.24 billion, a figure Econsult describes as ‘completely unrealistic’.

‘This level of proposed spending could not possibly be implemented or financed,’ the firm says, adding that it hopes the figure ‘does not appear in the final 2026/27 budget when it is presented on February 9th.’

Econsult estimates that, under current conditions, a sustainable development budget for 2026/27 should not exceed P17 billion unless government undertakes drastic cuts to recurrent expenditure, including workforce reductions.

The review also pushes back against political calls for a higher share of the national budget to be allocated to development spending.

‘Claims by many politicians and commentators that the overall budget should devote a higher proportion of spending to development projects is ill-informed and does not stand up to logical scrutiny,’ Econsult says.

The firm notes that every development project creates permanent recurrent costs such as maintenance, staffing and operational expenses, meaning that over time, recurrent spending inevitably rises while the relative share of development spending must fall.

‘The challenge is to refocus the development budget on high-return projects by proper project appraisal and prioritisation,’ Econsult argues. ‘But this essentially means that for budget sustainability and boosting economic growth, the development spending budget must become both smaller and much more effective.’

On public debt, Econsult warns that Botswana’s problem is not the current level of debt but its rapid upward trajectory.

‘Botswana’s public debt is currently estimated at 32% of GDP,’ the firm notes, below the statutory limit of 40%. ‘However, it is not the level of debt that is the issue for Botswana but its trajectory; a sustainable debt can easily become an unsustainable debt if new borrowing is excessive.’

Public debt has risen sharply from 22.7% of GDP in March 2024, largely because government savings have been exhausted after years of financing deficits through drawdowns rather than borrowing.

Econsult cautions that even a single large deficit – around 9% of GDP – could push Botswana beyond its legal debt ceiling.

Raising the debt limit would not solve the underlying problem, the firm warns. ‘If the budget has an unsustainable deficit that is not being addressed, raising the debt limit just means that this behaviour can continue for longer.’

The review also flags growing government payment arrears as ‘hidden debt’ citing a mid-January statement by the Minister of Transport that government owes P15 billion to roads contractors.

‘If correct, this would indicate an even higher level of arrears across government as a whole,’ Econsult says. It called for arrears to be properly quantified and published alongside official public debt figures.

The United Kingdom has warned that it may impose fresh import restrictions on Botswana beef following the confirmation of a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the country’s North East District, raising concerns over one of Botswana’s key agricultural exports.

In official guidance issued on 30 January 2026 and updated on 5 February, the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said consignments of fresh bovine meat and untreated animal by-products from Botswana should be held pending further assessment of the disease situation.

The warning follows Botswana’s notification to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) of an FMD outbreak detected in a herd of cattle in Disease Control Zone 6B. This zone is already barred from exporting fresh bovine meat to Great Britain due to a previous FMD outbreak in 2022. However, other parts of Botswana, designated Zones BW-1 to BW-5, remain approved exporters under current UK regulations.

Defra noted that while imports from Zone 6B are already prohibited, the latest outbreak has prompted a wider risk assessment. ‘Due to a recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Botswana, consignments from Botswana of fresh bovine meat and animal by-products that have not undergone a form of risk-mitigating treatment should be held,’ the UK guidance states.

The UK authority added that Botswana’s veterinary authorities have suspended all exports as a precaution while epidemiological investigations and animal movement tracing are carried out. Defra said it is ‘currently assessing the situation’ and could implement further import restrictions through amendments to its list of approved exporting regions ‘if deemed necessary.’

‘A separate OVS note will be issued if further restrictions are implemented,’ Defra said, signalling that a broader ban on Botswana beef exports to the UK remains a possibility.

the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture has confirmed the outbreak and announced stringent containment measures. In a press release dated 2 February 2026, the ministry said laboratory investigations had confirmed FMD at Jackalas No. 1 village crush in the North East District, within Disease Control Zone 6B.

The ministry also reported suspected cases at Moroka and Kgari village crushes in the neighbouring Disease Control Zone 3C, with investigations still ongoing. To curb the spread of the disease, vaccination campaigns are set to begin on 3 February in Zones 6B and 3C.

‘Additional prevention measures include prohibition of transportation, movement or slaughter of cloven-hoofed animals, including for personal consumption or social events, countrywide except in zones 1 (Chobe) and 2 (Ngamiland),’ the ministry said.

Acting Director of Veterinary Services Dr Kobedi Sedale urged farmers and the public to cooperate fully with disease surveillance teams and to comply strictly with all control measures. He also called on livestock owners to promptly report any signs of illness to veterinary officials or the police.

Botswana’s beef industry is a critical source of export earnings and rural livelihoods, with the UK among its premium markets. Any suspension or tightening of access could have significant economic implications, particularly for farmers already grappling with recurring animal disease outbreaks.

Bank of Botswana has placed the commemorative P50 banknote into circulation, marking a key milestone in the central bank’s Golden Jubilee celebrations .

The limited-edition note was officially released on Friday, 6 February 2026, following its launch last September by President Advocate Duma Gideon Boko during the Bank’s 50th anniversary events. It is legal tender and circulates alongside the existing P50 banknote that carries the portrait of Botswana’s first President, Sir Seretse Khama. Unlike the standard P50, the commemorative note will not be reprinted and will be withdrawn over time through natural attrition.

According to the Bank of Botswana, the new note is designed to reflect Botswana’s heritage and national achievements, while maintaining the tourism theme associated with the current P50. The face of the banknote features the redeveloped Bank of Botswana headquarters, the PulaThebe building, together with the Motswedi diamond, the second-largest diamond ever discovered, recovered from Lucara’s Karowe Diamond Mine. The imagery highlights the central bank’s stewardship of the financial system and the continued importance of minerals to the economy.

On the reverse, the banknote celebrates sporting excellence, depicting Botswana’s 2024 Olympians Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori, Busang Collen Kebinatshipi and Anthony Pesela, symbols of national pride and achievement.

The commemorative P50 retains the core security features of the existing banknote, with enhancements to strengthen protection against counterfeiting. These include an animated colour-shifting thread replacing the traditional holographic strip, while familiar elements such as braille dots for the visually impaired remain intact.

Distribution has been carried out through commercial banks nationwide, ensuring public access to the new note .

On Tuesday 22nd April, President Advocate Duma Boko launched the Bonno Target 3000 Housing Project at Kgale View, a flagship initiative led by the Ministry of Water and Human Settlement through the Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC). Boko hailed the Target 3000 project as a major step towards the national goal of delivering 100,000 homes.

‘Botswana is going to look spectacularly different. We dare not fail. This is the beginning of an ambitious project of wealth transfer, at the end of which 100 000 Batswana shall have titles to real property,’ he said.

Present at the launch was Reagon Craig – Chairman of Ongos Valley, a Namibian property development company whose portfolio includes a large-scale, sustainable housing project that required delivery of 4,500 houses over the 2019 – 2023 period. However, investigations into Ongos Valley’s operations in Namibia revealed that the company had only constructed 371 housing units between 2019 – 2024, implying a 62 houses/year rate on average.

Five days earlier, Ongos Valley had entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with BHC to develop 3,005 affordable housing units over four years (2025-2028). This translated to 751 houses/year, 12 times (or 1,111 percent) increase over the company’s performance in Namibia. While they acknowledged Ongos Valley’s record of delivering 371 homes in Namibia, due diligence consultants Minchin and Kelly and transactional advisors Grant Thorton warned that the pace and scale did not match the capacity required to meet BHC’s expectations of 3,005 houses in four years. Alarm bells were ringing, but the Ministry was tone deaf.

Behind the photo -op smiles, BHC executives hung their heads in shame. They had been bullied into flouting the standard procurement procedure of issuing an Expression of Interest (EOI), evaluating prospective developers and awarding the contract to the most competitive bidder. The BHC propaganda machinery was coerced into toasting the Presidential launch of the Kgale project without any housing plans, enforceable contracts or a due diligence report.

The threat of summary dismissal was real and repeatedly pronounced. In July, the wrath of the powers that be fell upon Permanent Secretary Bonolo Khumotaka after she dared question the Ongos Valley contract. Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nkaelang Matenge was also given his marching orders in October. The body count shot up on Wednesday 28 February 2026, when acting Deputy CEO Steven Ofetotse and Property Development Manager Urban Ferguson were summarily dismissed for allegedly sabotaging the Kgale development project. BHC insiders told Sunday Standard that Water and Human Settlements Minister Onneetse Ramogapi instructed the BHC board to fire the two executives for sabotaging the Ongos Valley project; failing which the board would be dissolved by February 1st.

RED FLAGS

In July 2025, law firm Minchin and Kelly and transactional advisors Grant Thorton bluntly told BHC to ‘carefully reconsider its contract with Ongos Valley to safeguard public resources and ensure that any commitment made was founded on a solid and well-understood risk profile.’

The consultants highlighted significant challenges encountered during the due diligence process, among them Ongos Valley’s reluctance to provide requested information and disclose necessary documentation. Even Ramogapi alluded to that in his report to Boko, when he revealed that the Namibian entity had ‘expressed discomfort that the due diligence exercise had been extended to it.’ This was necessitated by the fact that Ongos Valley Botswana was just a shelf company, established in 2023 with no operating experience.

According to the consultants, Ongos Valley’s dilly – dallying hampered confirmation of its financial soundness, technical operational capacity and ethical standing.

Said the consultants: ‘Significant uncertainties remain regarding the private partner’s willingness to contract on terms fair to BHC, ability to meet contractual obligations, secure requisite financing, and manage the project effectively. This increases the risk of unforeseen challenges, including potential project delays, cost overruns, or compliance issues.’

In light of these unresolved risks, the consultants recommended that the transaction should be reconsidered as it presented an unacceptably high level of uncertainty.

THE UGLY TRUTH

Minchin and Kelly identified several risk factors and revealed Ongos Valley’s dismal failure in financial, reputational, operational, technical and legal due diligence. According to the consultants, Ongos Valley failed to disclose key financial information such as latest management accounts, debtors and creditors ageing analysis, as well as tax compliance reports. Further, the company’s financials for 2023 – 2024 were not audited.

It was also found that Ongos Valley had not carried out any internal audits between 2021 – 2024, which limited visibility into its control environment, increasing the risk of undetected errors and weak governance. The transaction advisors observed that Ongos Valley did not report any revenue between 2021 – 2022, despite incurring operating expenses. This pointed to minimal commercial activity, which made it difficult for the consultants to reliably assess the company’s operational capacity, revenue-generating potential, and long-term sustainability.

Ongos Valley had reported losses across all the four years under the due diligence review. Strangely, the company donated N$ 2.1 million in 2023, recorded as operating expenses. The N$2.1million accounted for 19percent of Ongos Valley’s total operating expenses in 2023. The consultants questioned the allocation of substantial funds to non-operational items such as donations after prolonged losses; as it raised concerns about the company’s financial acumen and prioritization of operational sustainability.

The company had loans payable to its shareholders, which reflected limited confidence by shareholders in its long-term viability. By retaining creditor status, shareholders secured repayment priority in case of liquidation, suggesting reluctance to fully absorb business risk.

‘In all the four years under review, total liabilities exceeded total assets, resulting in a negative net asset position. A persistent negative net asset position indicates that the company is technically insolvent, raising concerns about its long-term financial sustainability, its ability to meet obligations, and its capacity to raise additional funding,’ read the due diligence report.

Ongos Valley’s accounts receivables included a substantial VAT component across all four years under review. This raised concerns about the size of projects the company had undertaken, as low revenue generation potentially reflects small-scale or delayed projects. The consistently high VAT receivable also reflected a higher input VAT over output VAT, implying that the company’s costs regularly surpassed its revenue.

According to the consultants, Ongos Valley reported substantial trade payables across all four years under review, indicating a consistent accumulation of unpaid supplier balances.

‘Persistent non-payment of suppliers may strain relationships and result in disrupted supply chains. This could delay project execution, increase costs, and ultimately impact the company’s ability to deliver on contractual obligations,’ warned the consultants.

The company’s debt made up more than 100 percent of its capital structure; while its liabilities exceeded its total assets. This posed solvency risks, exerted pressure on cashflows and reduced financial flexibility. Ongos Valley’s asset base was heavily concentrated on inventory, such that its liquidity and solvency were heavily tied to inventory realization. Should there be project delays or failure to sell, Ongos Valley would face working capital strain and difficulty meeting short-term obligations.

THE HOUSE OF CARDS COMES TUMBLING DOWN

In December 2025, barely six months after President Boko launched the ‘new era for Botswana’s housing landscape,’ the much-touted partnership between BHC and Ongos Valley collapsed. Then acting CEO Pascaline Sefawe confirmed that the catalytic housing development project hit a snag after negotiations with Ongos Valley collapsed.

‘It was very unfortunate that the project was launched, but negotiations with the partner did not go well. We had to terminate discussions,’ she said.

Internally, BHC employees breathed a collective sigh of relief. They were heavily opposed to the allocation of serviced prime land in Kgale to a dubious foreign company, that would sell it, generate profits and repatriate them outside Botswana.

‘The 3,000 housing units in Kgale were already planned for by BHC. So, there was no need to hand over the project to Ongos Valley on a silver platter,’ they said.

Silently, BHC technocrats scoffed at the Boko administration’s target of 100, 000 housing units in two years. Since inception in 1971, BHC has built just over 27, 000 housing units country wide, and they still have unsold inventory. Further, flooding the market with 100, 000 housing units would distort the property market and greatly reduce prices.

Bank of Botswana data shows government drew a further P2.8 billion advance from the central bank in November, highlighting ongoing cash-flow pressure as weaker diamond revenues disrupt the timing of inflows against spending needs.

Diamond receipts, which typically account for about 30 percent of total government revenue, have remained subdued amid a prolonged global downturn. The slowdown has reduced the pace at which funds flow into the fiscus, increasing reliance on short-term liquidity tools to meet routine obligations.

The November advance followed closely on the repayment of a P2.5 billion facility in September, which briefly eased pressures before advances reappeared on the balance sheet. The pattern points to tight cash management rather than a one-off funding gap.

To bridge financing needs, the Ministry of Finance has increasingly turned to domestic lenders. Government has already secured a P3 billion loan from the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund. According to a recent report by Econsult, authorities are also exploring raising an additional P5 billion from commercial banks and pension funds.

External buffers continue to thin. Foreign exchange reserves fell to P52.6 billion in November 2025 from P55.3 billion in October, and were below levels recorded a year earlier. Within reserves, the Government Investment Account rose to P2.4 billion from P1.64 billion in October, but remains weak by historical standards. The finance ministry has warned the account could be depleted by March without stronger inflows or financing.

For 2025/26, total revenue and grants have been revised down to P68.7 billion, while expenditure is projected at P77.9 billion. The resulting deficit of P9.2 billion, or 3.3 percent of GDP, continues to weigh on cash balances.