11 Nov 2025

The ongoing forensic audit on government expenditure, functional efficacy of existing systems and institutions will foster a culture of transparency and accountability across the economy.

Delivering his second State-of-the-Nation Address in Gaborone on Monday, President Advocate Duma Boko said the completion of the audit was scheduled for March 2026. He further assured the nation that finings would be acted upon.

President Boko also highlighted additional efforts that would go toward rooting out corruption from the economy, among them being the review of the Corruption and Economic Crime Act (CECA) of 2013.

The move, he said, would be in recognition of the need for a modern, independent anti-corruption institution, adding that the revised Draft Bill, currently under legal vetting, proposed to grant the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) greater operational independence, including a redefined reporting structure and enhanced protections for the office of the Director General. 

President Boko, who also announced that the CECA Draft Bill would be tabled for approval during the current sitting of Parliament, said DCEC would be delinked from the mainstream public service, a process that had been initiated and submitted for inclusion under National Development Plan 12.

He said the exercise carried a projected budget of P35 million for development and P48 million as recurrent expenditure.

“Notably, Section 3 (e) of the Employment and Labour Relations Act has officially delinked the DCEC from the public service, and implementation is pending the conclusion of the review of the CECA,” he added.

On other issues, he said the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had successfully developed and installed a new Elections Management System (EMS), which was currently in the process of migrating data from the old system to the new.

On another matter, President Boko said the Ethics and Integrity Directorate would establish a top-tier asset declaration system that would assist in the monitoring of interests, income, assets and liabilities to effectively detect corruption, money laundering, and acquisition of property from proceeds of crime.

Furthermore, he said the Directorate, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, was in the process of developing comprehensive guidelines on Conflict of Interest.

The President further said Legal Aid Botswana had begun implementing its 2025/2030 strategic plan, with specific focus on reaching marginalised and rural communities.

Further, President Boko said reforms were ongoing to strengthen the Court of Appeal in a bid to ensure that any errors could be corrected promptly, protecting citizens’ rights and preventing the appeal process itself from becoming a source of delay.

Additionally, he said the Judicial Service Commission had increased the number of judges in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal, adding that the establishment of a dedicated Criminal Court Division would also allow for specialisation, leading to faster trials, more consistent sentencing and a focused attention on cases involving personal liberty and public safety.

The President said the primary objective of the Cybersecurity Bill, which was passed into law during the July Parliament, was to establish and empower a cybersecurity institutional framework that ensured a safe and secure cyber environment.

That, he said, would protect the Critical National Information Infrastructure, making Botswana a more attractive destination for investment and fostering trust in digital growth, adding that The Act provided for the establishment of a National Cybersecurity Commission.

Pertaining to labour matters, he described the Public Service (Amendment) Act of 2025, which sought to empower the Public Service Bargaining Council to negotiate Collective Labour Agreements, as a landmark for labour relations, saying it promoted fairness, collective bargaining, social dialogue and a more stable public service environment.

President Boko further said Parliament had enacted a total of 24 Acts, including the Refugees (Recognition and Management) Act, which made provision for the recognition and management of refugees.

The law, he said, was also an affirmation of the commitment Botswana had made under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951, the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1967, and the Organisation of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa of 1969.

He said Parliament also passed the Access to Information Act - a salient piece of legislation to make available to the public, information about the operations of public authorities and to ensure that the rules and practices affecting members of the public in their dealings with public authorities were readily available to persons affected by such rules and practices.

He said since acceding to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities progress had also been made from policy and legal reforms to active civil society engagement and enhanced public awareness.

He further said overall crime, including violent and serious offenses, had decreased by 8.2 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023, indicating however that high levels of violence persisted in crimes such as rape, murder, adding that robbery remained a major source of concern.

To counter the vice, he said the Botswana Police Service (BPS) was strengthening community engagement and partnerships to address crime and reduce public fear.

He also pointed out that gender-based violence (GBV) remained a challenge to the nation’s moral fabric and social stability, with the BPS, in 2024 alone, having recorded 14 020 GBV cases, with 4 468 of the crimes committed against children below 18 years.

To address GBV, he said government was reviewing the National Strategy Towards Ending GBV to infuse emerging issues and trends as well as adopt a human rights approach to the provision of services.  He said efforts were also underway to establish GBV one-stop service centres to better assist survivors.

President Boko also said integration of Special Constables into mainstream policing was advancing, with 874 undergoing training and expected to graduate by December, leading to the completion of the absorption process by 2026/27.

He further stated that government remained committed to combating illicit drug use and trafficking and that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was leading national drug control efforts, and enhancing interdiction capabilities through new detection and testing equipment at border points.

The DEA developed a National Drug Control Master Strategy to coordinate multi- sectoral efforts. Due to the challenges of illicit drugs, I have instructed the DEA, in collaboration with stakeholders to devise remedial strategies.

President Boko also highlighted ongoing efforts to address growing money laundering-related risks and the misuse of emerging financial technologies, pointing out that to counter the ills, Parliament had passed the critical laws. ENDS