19 May 2026

The Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) is facing mounting scrutiny after its Chief Executive Officer, Ms Lilian Scheepers, revealed what she described as years of deep-rooted financial irregularities, operational collapse and suspected abuse of public resources within the state-owned enterprise.

Appearing before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Statutory Bodies and State Enterprises on Monday in Gaborone, Ms Scheepers painted a grim picture of an institution struggling under the weight of debt, poor governance and deteriorating infrastructure.

Among the most alarming revelations was that BAMB had allegedly been operating without a formal fuel supply contract since 2018, despite 218 fuel tags reportedly remaining active in the supplier’s system.

Ms Scheepers told the committee that several trucks, including some that had long been out of service due to breakdowns, were still recording diesel consumption.

In certain cases, fuel usage reportedly reached implausible levels of up to 80 litres per 100 kilometres, raising suspicions of abuse and possible fraud.

The irregularities prompted the CEO to order the grounding of the organisation’s entire fleet as BAMB struggled to explain monthly fuel expenses estimated at nearly P300,000.

Ms Scheepers further disclosed that fleet management systems at BAMB had virtually collapsed. According to her testimony, many trucks were operating without logbooks, maintenance histories or complete repair records, despite the organisation continuing to make substantial payments to mechanical service providers.

“The organisation is broken,” Ms Scheepers told the committee, adding that her administration had inherited years of neglect and weak internal controls.

The CEO also revealed that sorghum valued at close to P450 000 allegedly disappeared within BAMB’ supply chain. She said a spot check uncovered that 2 160 bags of 50kg sorghum transported from Pandamatenga in February aboard three 34-ton trucks could not be accounted for in the retail system after delivery.

She warned that the missing grain pointed to serious weaknesses in stock management, transport monitoring and internal accountability systems, with possible implications of theft and financial loss.

Ms Scheepers described a deteriorating organisation plagued by crumbling infrastructure and poor sanitation. Warehouses had allegedly not been maintained for years, rodent infestations were widespread and fumigation had not been carried out regularly.

The financial situation, she said, was equally dire adding that BAMB currently owes approximately P66 million to suppliers, with some farmers reportedly remaining unpaid for as long as 26 months.

“There were no proper reports, no marketing systems and serious gaps in procurement and finance processes,” she said, adding that management was now focused on corrective and mitigation measures to restore compliance and operational stability.

Ms Scheepers also indicated that ongoing reconciliation issues and internal inefficiencies had made it difficult to drive reforms, revealing that she was reluctant to continue working with some of the current staff members.

The CEO further informed the committee that BAMB had been operating without a board, although she welcomed recent approval of proposed board members and expressed hope that formal appointments would help stabilise the institution.

Despite the crisis, Ms Scheepers maintained that BAMB remained committed to its national mandate of ensuring food security and maintaining Botswana’s grain reserves.

Meanwhile, member of committee MP Omphemetse Kwapa commended the CEO for her transparency, saying her presentation had exposed problems within BAMB that many legislators were previously unaware of.

Mr Kwapa also suggested that the former BAMB executives appear before the committee to explain how the organisation which is one of Botswana’s key agricultural institutions had deteriorated to its current state.ENDS