Parliament has heard that the establishment of Botswana Oil Limited (BOL) in 2013 was a strategic intervention by government to address persistent challenges in the petroleum industry.

Answering a question in Parliament recently on behalf of the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi said the challenges included limited citizen participation, high dependence on International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the urgent need for a coordinated framework to ensure the security of the nation’s fuel supply.

Mr Mmolotsi explained that Botswana Oil was mandated to ensure reliable supply and distribution of petroleum products in Botswana, manage government-owned strategic facilities and fuel reserves as well as facilitate meaningful participation for Batswana in the oil industry.

He added that Botswana Oil currently had no Citizen Economic Empowerment (CEE) fuel suppliers operating under such mandate, as the organisation and most citizen-owned companies acted primarily as importers. 

However, he said the regulatory framework remained open and citizen-owned companies had seen significant growth, rising from a 10 per cent import quota in April 2024 to 40 per cent of current market volumes.

Regarding logistics, he said Botswana Oil had on board 34 citizen-owned fuel transporters managing over 200 trucks across routes in South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique.

“While four transporters hold long-term contracts through a partnership with Debswana, 30 others remain on short-term adhoc contracts of one to three months,” he said.

The minister explained that while a tender for long-term contracts had been evaluated and awarded, finalisation was on hold.

“This delay is due to an ongoing review of the import quota process, which will directly impact Botswana Oil volume allocations. 

Tati East MP, Mr Tlhabologo Furniture had asked the minister to state what the company was created to do, account for the actual number of local fuel suppliers and transporters currently doing business with Botswana Oil and justify why the majority of local transporters were stuck on precarious, month-to-month adhoc arrangements rather than the stable and long-term contracts they were promised.

Mr Address Administrative Delays: Explain why there has been a six-month silence following a completed tender process for regional routes, leaving successful local bidders in a state of financial uncertainty.

Mr Furniture also wanted clarity whether Botswana Oil intended to sign contracts and, if not, why they had not been honest with local business owners who needed to make critical investment decisions. ENDS