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Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs - Botswana, Government Enclave, Gaborone (2025)

20/11/2025

𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭, 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬

The ongoing training of the ongoing Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) training, facilitated by the Institute of Development Management (IDM), emphasised the need to understand livelihoods within dynamic socioeconomic and environmental systems. The sessions underscored that sustainable outcomes depend on participatory engagement and adaptive strategies.

A key focus was the introduction of analytical tools for livelihood mapping. Participants were guided through the use of SWOT analysis, examining strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as a structured method for assessing household and community assets. This exercise enabled trainees to visualise the interconnections between resources and vulnerabilities, helping them identify strategic entry points for intervention. Livelihood mapping was presented not only as a diagnostic tool but also as a participatory process that empowers communities to articulate priorities and negotiate trade-offs.

The day concluded with reflections on how these tools can inform policy design and programme implementation. By integrating theoretical insights with practical exercises, the training strengthened participants’ capacity to apply SLA principles in diverse contexts and reinforced the commitment to building sustainable, inclusive, and resilient livelihoods through the integration of human, social, natural, physical, and financial capital.

19/11/2025

The Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs marks Movember and International Men’s Day by reaffirming its commitment to promoting men’s health and wellbeing. We encourage all men to prioritise regular health checks, seek support when needed, and contribute to building healthier, more resilient communities.

19/11/2025

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐍𝐎: 𝟒𝟓 (𝟒), 𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝟏𝟗𝐓𝐇 𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐁𝐘 𝐌𝐑. 𝐌. 𝐌𝐎𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐈, 𝐌𝐏. (𝐍𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄)

QUESTION:

To ask the Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs to state;

i) The largest and smallest constituency in terms of the
number of Council wards.
ii) Whether the CCP programmes recognizes that constituencies vary in size and population and;
iii) Whether in line with equitable distribution of resources, he has plans to distribute the CCP money based on the number of wards instead of the current arrangement where Nkange Constituency, with 15 Wards gets the same amount of money as Okavango East with 5 wards or Mmadinare with 6 wards.

𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑:

(i) Mr. Speaker, the largest constituency in terms of the number of Council wards is Goodhope – Mmathethe, with twenty-one (21) Council wards, while Okavango East is the smallest, with five (5) Council wards.

(ii) Mr. Speaker, the Ministry is aware that Constituencies vary in size and population. Since its inception, the Constituency Community Projects (CCP) Programme funding allocation per constituency has been standardized across all constituencies, regardless of demographic, geographic or economic differences. However, the Ministry will undertake necessary consultations with Members of Parliament to assess the current arrangement.

(iii) Mr. Speaker, to date, the Ministry has not apportioned the allocation by Council wards, as doing so may dilute the impact and reduce the return on investment due to fragmentation of projects, given the amount allocated per constituency. Nevertheless, the Ministry is considering a review of the CCP funding, through consultations with Members of Parliament, which is anticipated to result in more equitable distribution.

I thank you Mr. Speaker.

19/11/2025

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐍𝐎: 𝟑𝟏 (𝟑) 𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝟏𝟗𝐓𝐇 𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐁𝐘 𝐌𝐑. 𝐉.𝐉. 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐙𝐄𝐋, 𝐌𝐏. (𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓)

QUESTION
To ask the Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs to apprise this Honourable House on Billboard advertisements in Gaborone; in particular:
(i) If he is aware that all prime spots for outdoor advertisement have been allocated to foreign companies;

(ii) If he is aware that Batswana have been left out and that the Gaborone City Council has frozen applications for any new billboard advertisement applications;

(iii) When the City Council will start allocating advertisement spots to Batswana-owned entities; and

(iv) What his Ministry is doing to ensure that these inequalities and
lack of fairness and transparency are unravelled to ensure that
councils empower ordinary Batswana-owned companies.

𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑:

Mr Speaker, let me preface my response by highlighting that the Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs empowers Local Authorities through the Local Government Act 2012 to develop bye-laws to regulate operations. These bye-laws include provisions on outdoor advertising guided by the National Advertising Guidelines which provide the baseline regulatory framework.

i. Mr Speaker, it is true that the outdoor advertising in Gaborone was historically dominated by foreign companies. However, there are some advertising sites owned by citizen owned companies. Currently, there are eight (8) companies three (3) of which are foreign and five (5) are Batswana owned companies, occupying a total of fifty-four (54) sites within Gaborone City.

ii. In 2019, Gaborone City Council revised its Advertising Regulations after determining that the City had become over-saturated with billboard structures, resulting in visual clutter and negatively affecting the city’s aesthetics. As a corrective measure, the Council resolved that future allocations would only be issued through a transparent procurement process, rather than through unsolicited Expressions of Interest as was previously the case.

Currently, the Council is dealing with a high number of illegal and non-compliant advertising boards within its jurisdiction. These illegal boards must first be removed or regularized before the Council can float tenders for available sites. This clean-up exercise is ongoing.

iii. Mr Speaker, as stated above Gaborone City Council will be in a position to float a tender once the clean-up and removal of illegal sites has been completed, thereby making compliant spaces available for allocation.
Importantly, under the 2019 Advertising Guidelines, only Citizen-Owned entities are eligible to bid for and be allocated new advertising spaces.

iv. Mr Speaker, the Ministry will continue to guide and support Local Authorities to ensure full adherence to the National Advertising Guidelines and to ensure that any newly identified or regularized advertising spaces are allocated strictly to Citizens and Citizen-Owned Entities.

Furthermore, the Ministry remains committed to ensuring that Local Authorities uphold the principles of fairness, accountability, transparency, and good governance in all outdoor advertising and other business processes. This is in line with our broader mandate to promote equitable and inclusive local economic participation to empower ordinary Batswana. Batho Pele.

I thank you Mr Speaker.

19/11/2025

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐍𝐎: 𝟒𝟒 (𝟔), 𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝟏𝟖𝐓𝐇 𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐁𝐘 𝐌𝐑. 𝐓. 𝐁. 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐀𝐒, 𝐌𝐏. (𝐁𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐖𝐀)

QUESTION:
To ask the Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs to state the total number of specially elected councillors and the total remuneration (salary and allowances) they have received in their first year in office; he should also state

i. If the expenditure on specially elected councillors is justifiable under the current economic situation, and
ii. Whether his Ministry is amenable to a review of the special election or nomination dispensation for councillors.

𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑:
Mr. Speaker, there are 157 specially elected Councilors across 61 Constituencies and 31 District/Town Councils. The total remuneration they have received in their first year is P50,418,966.05, this figure is inclusive of basic salaries and allowances.

i) Mr Speaker, the expenditure is justifiable because the specially elected councilors were appointed through the Local Government Act No. 18 of 2012, section 13(1) provides for specially nominated Councilors in the constitution of Councils (Local Authorities). This implies that for a Council to be truly and legally constituted, it must have been elected and specially nominated, and by subsequent Order, published in the Gazette.

ii) Mr. Speaker, as to the review of the special election or nomination dispensation for Councilors, my response is two-pronged;

(a) The current and sitting specially nominated Councilors have to run their respective full terms of council candidature i.e., from November 2024 through October 2029.

(b) An observation still stands that in some Local Authorities, acute skills gaps exist, especially amongst those Councilors who would have been elected.

Mr. Speaker, the Ministry will take in to consideration the issue of relevance of the Specially Elected or Nominated Councilors constituting Councils during the review of the Local Government Act, 2012.

I thank you Mr Speaker.

19/11/2025

ON BATHOPELE RADIO PROGRAMME THIS WEEK 👇🏼

18/11/2025

𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 11 𝐎𝐍 𝐑𝐁𝟏!

🎙️ Hukuntsi District Council and Tsabong District Council will be on Masaasele tomorrow morning!
Don’t miss it. Tune in to RB1 at 0710hrs for insightful discussions and community updates.

18/11/2025

𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐌 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐘𝐒𝐓 - 𝐃𝟒 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐄

Kindly note extension of closing date.

18/11/2025

𝐒𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐒 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐂𝐇 (𝐒𝐋𝐀), 𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐁𝐔𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐄

Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs through the Department of Social Development has initiated the roll-out of the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA), Capacity Building Programme.

Speaking during the 5 – day training which commenced this morning, the Deputy Director – Department of Social Development in the Ministry, Ms Gomolemo Tselakgopo, said the roll-out comes at a critical moment as Botswana advances its national transformation agenda under the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP), the State of the Nation Address (SONA) commitments, and National Development Plan 12 (NDP 12). She continued to say Sustainable Livelihoods Approach directly supports these priorities by strengthening community capacity, promoting livelihood diversification, and enabling meaningful participation in value chains advancing economic diversification, citizen economic empowerment, and rural industrialisation as outlined in BETP.

Explaining how the SLA further responds to SONA, Ms Tselakgopo said, by shifting social protection from short-term relief to long-term resilience, self-reliance, and improved service delivery. And with regards to alignment with the NDP 12, she highlighted that SLA promotes decentralisation, participatory planning, multi-sectoral collaboration and community-driven development while providing a structured framework for vulnerability assessment, entrepreneurship support, and climate and economic adaptation.

The Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs with its direct access to communities, oversight of key social protection programmes, leadership in decentralisation, and ability to mobilise multi-sectoral actors make it uniquely positioned to institutionalise SLA nationwide as well as ensuring the success of SLA. SLA are said to not only position communities at the heart of Botswana’s socio-economic transformation by translating national policy intentions into practical, sustainable, and locally owned improvements in livelihoods, but represents a shift from fragmented welfare interventions toward empowerment-based, sustainable development pathways that strengthen resilience, promote diversification, and foster inclusive growth.

With participants drawn from institutions that play a direct role in advancing community development, as well as those that support its broader mandate, the objectives of the training is for them to gain in-depth knowledge, skills and experience on the SLA as a practical concept, have understanding on the core concepts of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework as well as be able to use SLA framework to improve planning and implementation of the development programs leading to more collaborative approach in various districts/ sectors.

The training is conducted by Institute of Development Management.

18/11/2025

INTERNAL ADVERTISEMENT
Qualified employees in the Ministry are invited to apply for the following post:

SENIOR MANAGEMENT ANALYST - D4

Closing Date: 25 Nov 2025

14/11/2025

𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀 𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 - 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐀 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐄 (𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐏)

14/11/2025

𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀 𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 - 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐈𝐏𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐄

Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs - Botswana

20/11/2025

19/11/2025

19/11/2025

19/11/2025

19/11/2025

19/11/2025

18/11/2025

18/11/2025

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14/11/2025

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