Author: blastosnr

A specialised commercial court aimed at speeding up the resolution of commercial disputes and supporting Botswana’s ease of doing business agenda is set to be launched in March.

Announcing the development during the opening of the 2026 Legal Year in Gaborone on Monday, Chief Justice Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe said the move was part of broader judicial reforms meant to modernise justice delivery.

“The envisaged commercial court will deal exclusively with commercial matters and is intended to facilitate the ease of doing business in Botswana,” said Justice Ketlogetswe.

He said the judiciary recorded significant institutional reforms in 2025 as it pursued its goal of becoming a world-class judicial system by 2036.

“Our focus remains on improving efficiency, strengthening accountability and bringing justice closer to the people,” he said.

Justice Ketlogetswe said key achievements of 2025 included the appointment of five new judges to the Court of Appeal, bringing the bench to its full complement of 12 justices.

“The High Court has also reached its full complement of 30 judges, a development we expect will improve case management and reduce backlogs,” he said.

On gender representation, the Chief Justice said the judiciary had deliberately increased the number of women judges, with four of the eight newly appointed High Court judges being women.

“This is a trend that will continue across all courts,” he said.

On the establishment of specialised courts, Justice Ketlogetswe said the judiciary recognised the urgent need to establish a constitutional court, noting that specialisation enhanced efficiency and the timely delivery of justice.

“Specialised courts strengthen the quality of judicial decisions and enable the courts to respond effectively to the changing needs of society,” he said.

Meanwhile, newly appointed Attorney General Dick Bayford, in his first address in office, said government was moving to repeal laws that had been declared unconstitutional by the country’s highest court.

“There is a need to improve access to laws so that the majority of Batswana can understand them,” said Bayford.

He added that the state should approach litigation with restraint and fairness.

“The state does not always have to pursue every technical advantage or take advantage of every procedural flaw. It must litigate with moderation, candour and proportionality,” he said

Already, Molepolole Prisons, which has a 400-hectare farm, has planted 93 hectares of maize and three hectares of lablab while another three hectares of maize was yet to planted.

In Mahalapye, 40 hectares of sorghum have been planted while 38 hectares in Machaneng and 28 hectares at Letlhakane have been planted while a target of 101 hectares of sorghum was to be ploughed.

“We have also planted 40 hectares of beans in Tsabong and we also have have an egg farm as well, while in Tshane we have planted 20 hectares,” said Botswana Prisons Service Commissioner, Mr Anthony Mokento during Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr Nelson Ramaotwana’s tour of Molepolole Prisons recently.

He said if the rains could remain consistent, they aimed to atleast produce 3 000 bags of maize, which would be enough to feed all the 23 prisons nationwide, but if not, they should at least produce two thirds of the expected harvest.

He was however optimistic that the harvest would be enough to feed the 4 497 prisoners nationwide.

He highlighted that the notion of ploughing was to equip prisoners with farming knowledge so as to use the skill once they released from prison.

“Our plan is to make prisoners produce food for themselves instead of relying on government coffers since the economy is struggling. Today, the minister came to assess how we were progressing since we ploughed earlier this season,” Mr Mokento said.

For his part, Assistant Superintendent Mooketsi Lesego said the planted hectares in Molepolole were a stepping stone of a bigger dream to turn BPS as a hub for food security.

As BPS, he said they made a choice to use hybrid varieties of white maize; SC555 which made 50 hectares and 42 hectares of SC419, which were drought resistant and high yielding.

“We sowed SC555 so that we can give it enough time to grow because it is medium maturing variety and SC419 is early maturing so that we are able to maximise yield within the area that we have. We also have three hectares ‘highworth’ variety of lablab, which is the common variety that we usually grow here and it is a highly performing and we also have the remaining five hectares from which three hectares is yet to be grown SC555 to make it 53 hectares and the two hectares we have spared it for yellow maize (SC503),” said Mr Lesego.

He said majority of the SC503 was going to be crushed with sunflower to feed guinea fowls in Letlhakane and used for livestock mix.

In addition, he said they kept various breeds of livestock, cattle, goats and sheep that also helped them with meat and milk.

However, he said they were rearing a lesser number of livestock, though various breeds, because their main focus was to help inmates to be fully acquainted with diversified knowledge and skills of managing an array of breeds to help them make wise choices when they joined the society and wanted to venture into farming.

Mr Lesego also said most of the time they auctioned the livestock when it multiplied.

Last year, he said they auctioned livestock worth more than half a million Pula.

For his part, Minister Ramaotwana appreciated BPS’ efforts to fill BPS’ silos with grain during this ploughing season

The Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in South Africa and the confirmed cases in Botswana is a wake-up call for farmers to harness the transformative power of collaboration in order to strengthen their operations.

The remarks were made by Botswana National Beef Producers Union (BNBPU) chairperson, Mr Mpaphi Phumaphi during a meeting attended by the community and members of farmers’ associations in Ghanzi recently.

Mr Phumaphi said it was worth noting that it had been a common practice for some farmers’ associations to work in isolation and that had contributed to some inefficiency in the agricultural sector.

He, therefore, called for farmers’ associations to collaborate and affiliate to BNBPU in order to bring seasoned wisdom and experiences that could infuse innovation for sustainable growth of the industry.

Mr Phumaphi noted that through their successful collaborations, farmers could contribute successfully to the newly established Botswana Meat Industry Regulatory Authority (MIRA) Act, which was designed to regulate, licence and oversee the livestock and meat industry.

He said through BNBPU national council, they had proposed for the liberalisation of the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC), saying breaking its monopoly would foster a more competitive sector where farmers would be spoilt for choice on where to sell their livestock.

He further emphasised that the liberalisation of the BMC would allow for more local abattoirs to be established across the country to allow continuity in trading, more especially in unaffected zones during the times of outbreaks.

Moreover, he said the liberalisation of BMC would afford BNBPU the opportunity to strategise and reinvent the meat industry to make it appealing to consumers as well as control the pricing of their products in the market.

On other issues, he informed farmers that through the BNBPU council, members have set up a disease control fund to assist government with maintenance of disease control fences across zones as well as the purchasing of buffers and other necessities in the wake of financial challenges.

A member of the executive committee, Mr Masego Phuduhudu informed farmers that as part of its continued efforts to rebrand the meat sector, BNBPU national council had made a recommendation for a comprehensive transformative strategy to be put in place.

He said the strategy would be driven by the need to adopt sustainable farming practices and to implement some technological advancement that would enhance supply chain transparency and foster industry-wide collaboration.

Mr Phuduhudu added that these transformative strategies also called for synergy collaborations with government for proper policies governing the industry to ensure increased production and meeting growing global demand.

BNBPU Secretary, Mr Alfred Pilane said following the FMD outbreak in South Africa last year, in their meeting with government, BNBPU national council recommended for the establishment of a committee to provide guidance on the control measures.

We suggested that the committee should comprise of experts and farmers’ community who were previously involved in FMD outbreak to beef up the dispatched team to the northern part of the country, he said.

He also said they proposed for the setting up of the disease control fund, which would be controlled by the union and be used for the resuscitation of the Dibete cordon fence and others across the country as their support in controlling the diseases across zones.

Other proposals included the establishment of district abattoirs, which he said could reduce inconveniences amongst the farming community during an outbreak.

For his part, Ghanzi Farmers Association chairperson, Mr Quinton Barnes applauded BNBPU for their engagements with farmers’ associations across the country on how to contain and control the spread of FMD at local level.

On other issues, Mr Barnes informed them that Ghanzi Farmers Association terminated its affiliation to BNBPU due to some conflicted operations but he acknowledged that, with the new management and thorough consideration they would renew their affiliation.

He called for organisational transformation strategy at BMC that would drive long term growth by enhancing operational efficiency, and improve customer satisfaction.

Furthermore, he proposed for autonomy of MIRA to foster increased productivity and efficiency in the meat industry.

In his remarks, Ghanzi district Council chairperson, Mr Thabiso Kebadile, implored farmers to work in sync noting that isolation would defeat the efforts to protect the meat industry.

He informed farmers about the government initiative to liberalise the beef sector through the establishment of MIRA.

He therefore, challenged farmers to generate progressive ideas that could reshape the industry and help restore the economy to its former glory

With a population of over 140 000 elephants, Botswana is open to donating some to Angola.

President Advocate Duma Boko expressed this when welcoming the Angola Ambassador Designate to Botswana, Mr Sandro Retano Agostinho de Olivera on Friday.

In the past, the country donated 500 elephants to Mozambique, a move that also sparked interest from the Angola President, Mr Joao Lourenço.

However, President Boko pointed out that the challenge with Mozambique’s donation was the hefty cost of transporting elephants to that nation, thus, he noted that Botswana and Angola could deliberate on facilitating the donation.

Also, he said the two countries must devise anti-poaching strategies to allow for a migration corridor to ensure the safe and secure migration of elephants.

President Boko noted that elephants were, by nature, sensitive animals which would not go to an area where they were not safe due to poaching, adding that the two countries could tap into technology to ensure safety along the corridor.

Facilitating easy migration would allow vegetation to recuperate on the other side, as well as help in the transfer of new species of plants and improve vegetation.

Another area where the two countries should collaborate on, is diamond sales and marketing.

President Boko said with Botswana in the process of acquiring De Beers, the two diamond-producing nations could collaborate to influence pricing and the diamond market.

Also, President Boko said the narrative that natural diamonds were losing ground to synthetic diamonds was far-fetched, noting that fake diamonds could not outdo the original.

He said behind the natural diamonds were stories of the people whose livelihoods depended on diamonds, and this narrative has been missing from the diamond marketing strategy.

For a long time, Botswana’s diamonds were marketed as De Beers diamonds, thus negating the story of the people where they were mined and the fact that these precious gems continued to change lives.

“Natural diamonds speak to the lives and livelihoods of people where they are produced,” he said, adding that the diamond story should be fused into the marketing strategy.

He said there was need for Botswana and Angola to collaborate as diamond-producing countries, to partner and establish facilities such as diamond museums and other diamond investments.

Also, Mr Boko highlighted the communication hurdles between Gaborone and Luanda, saying that such worked against the ease of doing business.

For instance, a flight that can take an hour between the two leads to traveling through other countries, which consumes time and was expensive.

“To travel to Luanda, you have to go through Addis Ababa,” he said, adding that the setup also failed to facilitate tourism between the two countries.

President Boko also received the Botswana Ambassador Designate to Namibia, Mr Phillip Khwae, whom he described as an experienced politician with in-depth knowledge of challenges besieging the country, noting that they predominantly emanated from unattended structural issues.

“These issues have caught up with the country,” President Boko said, adding that collaborating with strategic partners and neighbours such as Namibia was therefore necessary.

Moreover, he said both countries had partners in projects such as the Trans-Kalahari Railway line, saying there was a need to speed up its construction.

Also, he said the two could explore airline collaborations, saying Namibia’s airline had collapsed while Air Botswana faced challenges, thus the two nations could partner to resuscitate the sector.

Another potential partnership was in the diamond industry space through De Beers, adding that Botswana’s desire to acquire De Beers would have a direct impact on Namibia, as they were also a diamond-producing country.

Additionally, he stated that at the border into Namibia, Batswana were charged a substantial fee, while Namibian citizens paid a nominal fee upon entering the country.

As such, he said there might also be a need to increase the fees, although not substantially, to broaden revenue streams and address road conditions.

Additionally, President Boko mentioned that some Batswana of Namibian origin had relocated to Namibia, noting that these individuals were farmers and that there could be outstanding issues that Mr Khwae would need to address.

For his part, Mr Khwae expressed gratitude for being allowed to serve the country as an ambassador, noting that he was looking forward to strengthening ties between the two sister countries.

In the quiet corners of Botswana’s towns and villages, children of all ages constantly find themselves out in the cold. 

Some are found thrown by the roadsides, others in the bushes, while yet others grow up in homes where neglect has slowly done its damage, out of sight until it is too late.

What was once an occasional shock has become a pattern. Child abandonment, particularly of newborns is emerging as a silent crisis, revealing the fragile intersections between youth behaviour, weakened family structures and the absence of preventative support within communities.

Tshidilo Stimulation Centre manager, Mr Ramoremi Mphothwe says these stories rarely begin with abandonment, rather they begin much earlier in moments where guidance is absent and risk is normalised.

Alcohol-fuelled social spaces, he explains, often lead to unprotected sexual encounters and unintended pregnancies and when reality sets in, young women are left isolated, overwhelmed and afraid.

“Child abandonment is not a sudden decision but a final step after many opportunities to intervene have already been missed,” he says.

Those missed opportunities surface daily at the Maun Police Station. Behind the front desk, the crisis does not announce itself dramatically, it arrives quietly case by case, file by file. Between 2024 and 2025, police in Maun recorded 44 cases of child neglect, involving children as young as newborns and as old as 15.

Many of those cases are still unresolved, not because they are unimportant but because the systems meant to protect children often move slower than expected.

Thirty of the cases remain stalled, awaiting social inquiry reports and others sit under investigation, complicated by silence from those who report them but cannot or will not help police trace those responsible.

Maun Station Commander, Superintendent Joseph Lepodise says repeated offenders remain one of the most troubling aspects of the trend, pointing to cycles of neglect that continue long after the first warning signs are visible.

During this period in 2025, two newborns were abandoned in circumstances that officers still recall vividly, with one having been thrown into the bush and another who was left beside the road, wrapped in plastic.

In both cases, police responded immediately, rushing the infants to Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital, a race against time to ensure that life continued where it had nearly been discarded.

Despite investigations that included tracing mothers who had recently given birth at surrounding clinics, no arrests were made. Responsibility for the children shifted instead to social workers, who placed them in safety while the search for accountability faded into uncertainty.

For Superintendent Lepodise, these outcomes are painful reminders that law enforcement often arrives at the end of the story, not at the beginning. Police, he says, continue to prioritise public education, urging parents and young girls to use available forms of pregnancy prevention and to seek help when overwhelmed.

Clinics, social workers, and police stations remain open doors; safer than the irreversible choice of abandonment, he stresses. The long-term impact of those choices becomes visible at care facilities like Lorato House.

Case manager at Lorato House, Ms Omphile Itomeng says children entering the facility often arrive after prolonged neglect or abandonment

Many carry physical signs of deprivation – malnutrition, delayed development, untreated medical conditions, weakened immunity and others carry wounds that cannot be weighed or measured.

“These children struggle to trust, and to feel safe,” she says.

Lorato House communications and media relations lead, Ms Agatha Elijah says as they grow older, the questions become harder to avoid and curiosity about home and belonging emerges naturally.

Counsellors respond by building stability first following routine, consistency, and nurturing relationships before attempting to help children process the circumstances of their abandonment.

Beyond its emotional and social cost, child abandonment in Botswana remains a criminal offence as the law prohibits neglect, ill-treatment, or exposure of a child to conditions likely to cause physical, psychological, or emotional harm

Penalties include fines or imprisonment, reinforcing the state’s position that abandonment is both morally indefensible and legally punishable. Yet those working closest to the issue agree that punishment alone will never be enough.

Prevention through education, early intervention, honest conversations about alcohol abuse and sexual health remains the strongest defense.

Facilities such as Lorato House also advocate for lawful alternatives like the Safe Haven Law, offering overwhelmed parents a way to protect their children without erasing their futures

Without collective action from families, communities, educators, social services, and government institutions, the cycle will continue. And somewhere, quietly, another child will be left behind waiting not just to be found, but to be chosen

Across Bobirwa District, a mix of anxious hope and quiet fear hangs in the air. Subsistence farmers – young and old – are watching the skies and their phones with equal intensity, waiting for two lifelines: the long-awaited rains and the text message alerting them that their Lemang Dijo subsidised packages have arrived.

For many, the anticipation is sharpened by uncertainty. They hope the rains will continue long enough for successful planting, yet dread that heavy downpours could render their clay-rich fields inaccessible to tractors and animal draught power.

As of December 8, 6 733 subsistence farmers had registered for the Lemang Dijo programme in Bobirwa, with 168 already receiving e-vouchers. But those issued with vouchers report a common frustration: the absence of seeds at designated agro-dealers, a delay they fear could undermine government’s intention of ensuring timely planting.

While most farmers are clear on the crop production element, many remain unsure about the programme’s integrated beekeeping requirement. Only a handful of those interviewed understood the role of bees in pollination, while others admitted to fear or confusion -particularly about handling the insects.

The programme guidelines explain that bees pollinate about 90 crops, increasing yields by up to 30 percent per hectare, with the beehive e-voucher capped at P1 500.Yet 72-year-old Ms Tshokolo Baruti of Mmasenana lands in Semolale is skeptical.

“Jaanong dinotshi tsone ke le mosadi?” she asked rhetorically, wondering how a woman her age could cope with bees. Still, she remains committed to planting as soon as she receives her seeds, fertiliser and other inputs — and hopes the forecasted rains will find her field already ploughed.

The programme has also drawn interest from young farmers, including those familiar with earlier schemes such as ISPAAD and Temo-Letlotlo. Mr Letso Oleteng, 20, of Magaleng lands in Sefophe, is still waiting to redeem his 100 percent subsidy for tillage, seeds, pesticides, shelling and threshing – all covered under a P2 900 per hectare e-voucher. Currently in Gaborone, he says one phone call will put him on the next bus home. Unlike some, he accessed the guidelines on social media and believes the beekeeping component makes economic sense.

Other farmers, such as Mr Kebalepile Mzila of Mahibitswane lands in Tobane, were unable to source seeds after being turned away from BAMB in Selebi-Phikwe. Mzila, who previously learned beekeeping through ISPAAD, has already planted four hectares and awaits inputs for his Lemang Dijo plot.

At Phokoje lands in Mmadinare, 71-year-old Mr Boikaego Kangangwana is energised by the new programme, although he depends on tractor owners and worries about delayed assistance. He notes that when he plants on time, his fields typically produce a bumper harvest.

Not all farmers are enthusiastic about the compulsory beekeeping element. Ms Maretha Mokgathane of Keisane lands, Bobonong, said farmers were advised to “go home and reconsider” their stance. She admits she did not fully understand the requirement and will be planting maize instead of her usual beans. Similarly, 39-year-old Ms Refilwe Madema of Mabolwe rushed to register after learning she had missed a kgotla meeting. She has since been approved for the programme and, like others, is waiting for seeds but remains uncertain about the bee component.

District agronomist Ms Keakabetse Phalaagae acknowledged both the knowledge gaps and logistical setbacks. She assured farmers that no one will receive beehives without proper training, noting that issuance will only begin next season after compulsory introductory courses. She also confirmed delays in seed and fertiliser supply, explaining that designated suppliers had not completed registration at ministry headquarters during the first week of December.

To ease the backlog, the crop production office began collecting fertilisers from Francistown on December 10 using its only functioning truck. The department currently has just two working vehicles, even though officers must verify fields before payments to service providers can be authorised.

The district office has requested funds from programme headquarters to hire casual labourers and repair additional vehicles borrowed from the district commissioner’s office.

Lemang Dijo is an output-based agro-ecological programme designed to strengthen household food security and correct structural weaknesses that limited earlier initiatives. For now, the farmers of Bobirwa wait – for the rains, for the seeds, and for the message that will signal their turn