29 Jul 2025

The Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Mr Noah Salakae has said that the Road Transport System, which comprised of three key sub-systems, namely the Vehicle Registration and Licensing System (VRLS), the Road Transport Permit And Road Worthiness Certificate System (RTPRCS) and the Drivers Licensing System (DLS) continued to face challenges.

Answering a question in Parliament on Monday, he said since 2023, the systems had experienced noticeable slowdowns coinciding with performance issues also observed in the Government Accounting and Budgeting system (GABS), which shared the same hosting environment. 

He said the DLS was built on outdated platforms and older operating systems, which further compounded the challenge.

Mr Salakae indicated that persistent issues with Government Data Network infrastructure had affected service reliability and issues not limited to road transport systems. 

He stated that recently, network connectivity challenges in Kasane and surrounding areas had rendered the systems intermittently inaccessible, which further disrupted service delivery.

The minister remarked that the road transport system was developed using outdated client server technology, which was now considered obsolete. 

He said the obsolescence of theses systems had not only hampered service efficiency but also limited the ability to integrate with modern technologies and scale to meet growing data and user demands.

Mr Salakae said the project was proposed under NDP 12 but was not prioritised due to budget constraints. 

He said his ministry together with the Ministry of Communications and Innovation were working on solutions to modernise the Road Transport System. 

Mr Salakae stated that as a long-term solution, the ministry had submitted upgrade of the system for reconsideration under the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BTEP). He said modernising the system presented both an urgent risk mitigation measure and a strategic opportunity with the potential to unlock over P1 billion in annual revenue for government.

However, the minister said true modernisation extended beyond the system itself adding that it also required strengthening digital public infrastructure, enhancing cyber security capacity, expanding access to financial services through technology and ensuring that digital transformation meaningfully supported national economic development.

In the meantime, Mr Salakae stated that his ministry together with MCI was working on a short-term solution on the existing platforms. 

He said MCI as the provider of hosting services for government services was currently upgrading the hosting platform operation system to the latest version to ensure continued support and critical security updates from the technology provider. 

Mr Salakae noted that their systems remained obsolete and were to be decommissioned when funds were availed.

He stated that funds permitting, the ministry would include the Department of Road Transport and Safety (DRTS) systems upgrade under the BTEP. 

The minister indicated that delays in data processing and systems responsiveness had slowed down the registration and licensing of vehicles leading to longer queues and reduced public satisfaction.

Similarly, he noted that the examination of vehicles and drivers had faced interruptions affecting the scheduling and timely issuance of certifications. 

He said public transport inspections and enforcement had also been hampered by system outages, limiting the ministry’s ability to monitor compliance effectively.

This, he stated, weakened the oversight and regulatory functions that were critical to road safety and public order. 

Mr Salakae pointed out that these system inefficiencies directly affected government revenue collection. 

He said downtime and limited system capacity reduced transaction volumes, causing delays in the remittance of fees and levies that the DRTS collected and contributed to national revenue.

The minister stated that his ministry had started the exercise to introduce motor vehicle Personalised Identification Numbers (PIN) in 2015 through drafting of applicable road traffic regulations, which were passed in September 2024.

He said procurement for design, manufacturing and supply of customised vehicle identification blank plates and embossing equipment was ongoing and was expected to be completed by December 2025.

The minister was responding to MP for Serowe South Mr Leepetswe Lesedi, who had asked the minister if he was aware that the Road Transport System in Botswana was dysfunctional and consistently down countrywide and that this happened on a weekly basis.

He also asked the minister to explain why this was so and what action was being taken to address this calamity. 

Furthermore, he asked what was being done to improve provision of efficient Road Transport System and if a more efficient system cannot be adopted in place of the failing system. ENDS