07 Apr 2019

Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB) has plans to construct an airstrip at Rakops, says Minister of Transport and Communications Ms Dorcas Makgato.

Ms Makgato indicated that the CAAB was for this purpose, allocated a plot for construction of an airfield in Rakops in April 2014, but the project had not progressed due to funding constraints and had not been planned for under NDP 11.

She said Air Botswana was continuously looking for opportunities to improve domestic connectivity, but had no immediate plans to expand its route to Boteti constituency. 

The minister, who was responding to a question in Parliament said the airlines’ current strategic plan ‘runs through 2015-2020 and does not include an expansion, which covers the constituency.’

The ministry, she said, had never engaged Debswana to allow other airlines to use the company’s airstrip as the Orapa airstrip was registered as a private airstrip and as such its use by other parties could be done through the permission of the owner.

“There is currently no space reserved for an airstrip in Letlhakane,” she said.

She noted that CAAB, in 2013, applied for a piece of land for the construction of an airstrip in Letlhakane, but the only area identified did not meet regulatory requirements in terms of dimensions and minimum distance from the village.

Regarding the use of internet in Boteti region, Minister Makgato stated that the provision of communications infrastructure was capital intensive and that the provision of broadband internet services was informed by the National Broadband Strategy (NBS).

“The NBS defines the national roadmap for the provision of communications services, including broadband internet countrywide,” she said, adding that the ministry through BOFINET had rolled out backbone fibre infrastructure that connected the main villages in Boteti being, Letlhakane, Orapa, Mopipi, Xhumo, Mmadikola and Rakops, which would deliver services such as 3G and 4G in all localities in the Boteti region.

The infrastructure update, she said, was an ongoing process whose aim was to extend and upgrade the mobile networks with the objective to increase the accessibility and use of internet not only in Boteti, but across the country.

In addition, she said BOFINET had partnered with BotswanaPost to deliver public Wi-Fi in 78 post offices nationwide.

BOFINET has rolled-out wireless broadband solutions in Boteti localities of Orapa and Letlhakane, and these have the capability to deliver up to 20Mbits per user and will include a roll out Fibre the Business in the same localities within the NDP 11 period.

Internet provision to rural areas, she said, had also been mandated to the Internet Service Providers (ISPs), while Public Telecommunication Operators focused on the bigger tasks of developing and operating the national telecommunication infrastructure.

Minister Makgato therefore urged the youth to team up with ISPs to supply internet connectivity to the SMME and high end users in the Boteti region.

She said Botswana Communication Regulatory Authority in facilitating the NBS availed and issued the spectrum for the deployment of fixed wireless access systems in order to improve the access to internet and the demand for broadband services.

The provision of mobile broadband infrastructure and services in Boteti and other rural areas, she said, was being funded through the Universal Access and Service Fund and government grants.

MP for Boteti East, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe had asked the minister to update Parliament on the strategy in place to encourage air transport in the Boteti and the use of internet in the region. 

Mr Lelatisitswe had also asked the minister to state when Boteti would have a government airstrip, when Air Botswana would expand its airline route to the constituency, if she had ever engaged Debswana to allow other airlines to use their airstrip and if there was space reserved for an airstrip in Letlhakane. ENDS