23 Feb 2026

Necessitated by the need to provide safer travel and promote economic growth, government has intervened in restoring and improving road conditions countrywide.

One such project is the Boatle-Ramotswa road asphalt overlay, which is expected to commence next month for a period of 10 months. During a consultative kgotla meeting in Ramotswa recently, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr Noah Salakae, said the project worth over P37 million was aimed at rehabilitating the road including shoulder repairs, asphalt overlay, new bus stops and new road signs.

Minister Salakae said the project could have commenced in December but was delayed due to a number of factors among them inclement weather.

“Maintenance of these roads follows certain procedures as we have primary roads interlinking big villages and towns such as the A1, A2, we have secondary roads, tertiary and access roads. Due to limited funds and the scope of works involved we took a decision not to engage in construction of any new road infrastructure but maintain existing roads,” Mr Salakae added. 

Mr Salakae said government had included all these in the Road Maintenance Plan and said for the Boatle-Ramotswa project government had engaged Surface Solutions as the main contractor. He emphasised the need for quality work and adherence to timelines which enhanced road quality and reduced deterioration as at times there were allegations of substandard work.

On other matters, Mr Salakae told the meeting that government was on the verge of reviewing the 1972 Road Traffic Act and introduce new regulations. He said due to rising numbers of road traffic accidents related to alcohol and drug abuse; government took a decision to introduce legislation to curb the incidents.

He said they had also reviewed vehicle registration and road worthiness tests requirements. Minister Salakae said the provisional driver’s license waiting period had also been extended from the current six months’ period to a more flexible 24 months period to allow aspiring drivers ample time to prepare.

He reminded the meeting that government had also increased the traffic fines and introduced a new penalty of P3,000 to anyone found guilty of driving a motor vehicle without a driver’s license. Minister Salakae said public transport fares were to be hiked in April, which followed a number of consultative meetings with public transport operators who cited a number of grievances among them sky rocketing fuels prices.

A public transport operator between Ramotswa and Gaborone, Mr Victor Tlhaselo, decried piracy in their business space. He said they were unable to maintain their fleet because business was extremely poor due to illicit transport operators between Ramotswa and Gaborone. He said they had approached law enforcement offices and the Department of Road Transport Service to no avail. BOPA