Air Botswana has operated for nearly six years without a stable governing structure, according to the airline’s general manager Dr. Bao Mosinyi. He says the prolonged instability has weakened oversight and disrupted operations at the national carrier.
Appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Statutory Bodies and State-Owned Enterprises this week, Mosinyi said the airline had not maintained a quorate board for any sustained period during the past six years. In the latest setback, three board members resigned within the past two months, leaving the board unable to form quorum.
Mosinyi told the committee that governance challenges extend throughout the airline’s leadership structure. All executive committee positions at Air Botswana are currently occupied in an acting capacity, with the general manager remaining the only substantive executive appointment.
The disclosure offered a picture of an airline operating without a fully functional board or permanent executive leadership at a time when it continues to struggle with operational and financial pressures.
The airline’s management instability has coincided with mounting operational strain, particularly within its pilot corps. According to Mosinyi, nine pilots recently resigned from Air Botswana, leaving a sharply reduced workforce to sustain the airline’s domestic and regional operations.
Although Air Botswana has six aircraft in its fleet, only three or four are currently operational, he said. As a result, approximately 10 pilots are currently sustaining the airline’s active flight schedule.
At the same time, around 20 pilots remain on the payroll while not actively flying.
Mosinyi also outlined the scale of the airline’s financial challenges during his appearance before the parliamentary committee. He said government had injected more than half a billion pula into the airline between December 2021 and December 2025 through financial support measures and loans.
The committee also heard details surrounding a P230 million government loan advanced in 2018 for the acquisition of two aircraft. Proceedings indicated that the funds were ultimately not used for the intended aircraft purchase.
Mosinyi, who became substantive general manager earlier this year, assumed leadership at a time when the airline was already under pressure to improve operational stability and restore sustainability.
The parliamentary appearance cast a spotlight on the extent to which governance instability has affected strategic decision-making at the airline. Mosinyi told legislators that the absence of a stable and quorate board over several years had delayed key decisions and weakened oversight structures.
Air Botswana has in recent years reduced several regional routes as part of restructuring efforts aimed at containing losses and streamlining operations. The airline continues to operate domestic connections linking Gaborone, Maun, Kasane and Francistown, alongside selected regional routes. The latest revelations come amid growing scrutiny of state-owned enterprises and statutory bodies over governance, financial management and operational performance. The immediate challenge for Air Botswana remains maintaining operations with a reduced pool of active pilots, half of its aircraft currently grounded and an executive structure dominated by acting appointments.