17 Jun 2026

Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs has deployed an additional 1 050 Ikageng Workers to support critical disease control activities in villages across Ramotswa, Good Hope and Tsabong.

A press release from the ministry says the deployment follows outbreaks reported in the North East District (Disease Control Zones 3c-Maitengwe and 6), Good Hope District (Zone 11), and Kgalagadi District (Zone 13), which threatens Botswana’s livestock industry and its international trade status.

Moreover, the release says, to contain the spread of the disease and facilitate the recovery of the country’s FMD-free status in unaffected regions, the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture has embarked on a project to establish a Containment Zone.

The initiative is designed to rapidly isolate affected areas while protecting livestock populations and safeguarding the national economy.

It also states that the lkageng workforce will be engaged in a range of activities essential to the establishment of the Containment Zone, such as clearing bushes along cut lines, drift fences, and road fences, constructing new fences that will form the boundary of the proposed containment zone, picketing and demarcating designated areas and assisting in the removal of cattle from border and high-risk areas.

The workers will be deployed across 15 villages within the Ramotswa, Good Hope and Tsabong Districts, with 70 workers assigned to each village.

The Ministry affirms that it continues to work closely with Local Authorities, communities and stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of disease control measures and urged the public to cooperate fully with all FMD prevention and containment efforts. ENDS