24 Mar 2026

Botswana Railways has not awarded any multi-million Pula contract and no procurement process has occurred requiring the involvement of the Project Office within the Office of the President, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr Noah Salakae has said. 

Answering a question in Parliament, Mr Salakae stated that since no such contract existed, there had been no instances of secrecy or the exclusion of the board or the ministry. 

He emphasised that all procurement activities undertaken by Botswana Railways were conducted in strict adherence to the Public Procurement Act, guided by the principles of transparency, fairness and accountability. He further told Parliament that no directives had been issued by any authority, including the project office, to secure the engagement of any specific company. 

As a result, the minister confirmed that no letters of complaint had been sent to his office or any government official. Consequently, he said, there were no grievances to report or actions necessitated. Regarding the approach to infrastructure, the minister noted that projects were implemented using various methods, including Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), depending on their nature and strategic requirements. 

He dismissed claims of a policy shift, stating that PPP project proposals had not been redirected from the Ministry of Finance to the Office of the President. Selebi Phikwe East MP, Mr Kgoberego Nkawana had sought clarity on whether a multi-million Pula contract had been awarded and the specific amount involved, the level of involvement of the project office in the Office of the President as well as reasons behind the alleged secrecy of the deal and the reported sidelining of the board and the minister. 

Mr Nkawana also wanted to know if any government officials had received formal complaints regarding the procurement process. BOPA