04 Mar 2026

Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship has requested Parliament’s approval for P331 million in development expenditure and P1.2 billion for recurrent expenditure for the 2026/27 financial year. 

Presenting the proposals on Tuesday, Minister Tiroeaone Ntsima outlined several legislative updates and policies slated for the upcoming financial year which included initiatives aimed to ease business operations and improve government efficiency.

 He said the ministry was working to introduce the Regulatory Guillotine, a mechanism designed to systematically review existing regulations for relevance and efficiency.

He noted that the move would reduce the costs and risks of doing business in Botswana, thereby improving competitiveness and facilitating job creation. He also told Parliament that the ministry had also initiated reviews of several key Acts, including the Trade Act, Liquor Act, Gambling Act and Regulations and the Cooperative Societies Act. 

“These reviews aim to address Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) concerns while aligning Botswana’s legal framework with international best practices,” he said. 

He further reported significant progress on a new investment incentives framework. 

“The proposed incentives represent a departure from profit-based to cost-based incentives, targeting the renewable energy, manufacturing, and services sectors,” he stated. 

Furthermore, he said the ministry was developing an Investment Law to provide legal protections for investors, alongside a revised National Investment Strategy to serve as a blueprint for increasing investment flows into the country. 

In the realm of digital transformation, he said government had allocated P40 million toward developing a home-grown Company Registration System. 

“This project aims to support citizen-owned ICT companies, stimulate skills transfer and eliminate the current P8 million annual system support costs,” he added. 

The minister also shared updates on the Wealth Creation Programme, which had funded 41 869 enterprises since its inception.

 He said currently, 73 per cent of the enterprises were operational, providing jobs for 34 731 people. 

“The programme is now being reviewed to align with the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP) and the twelfth National Development Plan (NDP 12),” he said. 

Despite the proposed advancements, the minister acknowledged challenges faced during the 2025/26 financial year, including tariffs recently imposed on Botswana by the US government. ENDS