Accessing basic public services such as medical care and police assistance is becoming increasingly difficult for citizens in Botswana, a new Afrobarometer report has revealed.
The study, titled ‘Inadequate access and corruption mark public service delivery for many Africans,’ paints a troubling picture of growing barriers to essential services with Botswana showing notable declines in key areas.
According to the survey, 44 percent of Batswana who sought medical care said it was difficult to obtain while half (50 percent) reported challenges in accessing police assistance.
‘Only about half of those who sought services say it was easy to obtain medical care or police assistance,’ the report notes.
More worrying for Botswana is the direction of change. The report indicates that difficulty in accessing medical care has worsened over time, while challenges in obtaining police assistance have also increased significantly.
Between 2014/2015 and 2024/2025, Botswana recorded a 12 percentage point increase in difficulty accessing medical care and a 16-point rise in challenges in securing police assistance signalling a clear deterioration in service delivery.
This aligns with the broader continental pattern, where Afrobarometer found that ‘obtaining public services appears to have become more difficult’ over the past decade.
Sixty six percent of respondents reported visiting a public health facility in the past year, while 31 percent sought police assistance which is among the highest rates on the continent. ‘Health, security, and other public services dominate citizens’ agenda for needed government action,’ the report states.
The report further highlights that poorer citizens are disproportionately affected, with economically disadvantaged groups significantly more likely to report difficulties in accessing both health care and police services.
Beyond access challenges, corruption continues to plague service delivery. Across Africa, 36 percent of respondents who sought police assistance said they had to pay a bribe, while 22 percent reported paying for medical care.
The survey shows that difficulty in accessing police assistance has increased by 16 percentage points over the past decade while access to medical care worsened by 12 points. Only identity document services showed improvement becoming easier to access by 7 percentage points.
Despite these access challenges, Botswana stands out as one of Africa’s least corrupt countries when it comes to public service delivery.
The report states: ‘We see the best performance on this critical indicator in Botswana, Cabo Verde, and Seychelles-all with 10% or less on all four types of services.’
In Botswana, only 10 percent of citizens reported paying a bribe to avoid problems with police, while just 5 percent paid bribes for police assistance or identity documents, and a mere 2 percent for medical care.
This places Botswana among the continent’s top performers, especially when compared to countries like Liberia, where 74 percent of respondents reported paying bribes to police.