05 Sep 2026

A state-of-the-art primary school and clinic were unveiled in Block 7, Gaborone by President Advocate Duma Boko with the school expected to enrol about 380 learners.

The project offers an example of how government can leverage private-sector partnerships to overcome financial constraints, as it is the flagship project of African Hero initiative.

President Boko said the land on which the school was built had been zoned for educational purposes for more than two decades, but remained undeveloped because government lacked the funds to construct the facility.

“How much do governments spend in the building of this school? Nothing,” he said.

Government’s role will now shift to running the facilities, including deploying teachers and ensuring the clinic was supplied with medicines.

He said the arrangement also included a maintenance component, with personnel housed near the facilities so that faults could be attended to almost immediately.

The facilities also form part of an ambitious model that President Boko believes can transform the way social infrastructure is delivered in Botswana and across Africa.

He said the country could become a manufacturing hub for schools and clinics destined for communities across the continent.

“These facilities in Botswana are the first pilot but Botswana is also going to be the centre of production,” he said.

President Boko said the hub was expected to produce about one clinic per hour, creating the capacity to meet infrastructure needs locally and beyond Botswana’s borders.

He revealed that Malawi could require about 400 schools, raising the possibility of the facilities being manufactured in Botswana before being delivered to communities across the neighbouring country.

But as Botswana positions itself to export infrastructure, President Boko said the project must also create opportunities at home.

He said he had insisted that Batswana be trained to work at the manufacturing facility rather than allowing advanced technology to eliminate human involvement.

He said an agreement had been reached on training and employment, although it still needed to be formalised.

South African businessman Zunaid Moti, who is behind the African Hero initiative, said the vision was born from a personal commitment he made in 2018 to give back to communities and improve people’s lives.

He credited President Boko with being the first to support the education and healthcare initiative.

“The first man that came to the assistance and put his hand up first around education and health care amongst us was Duma Boko,” Moti said.

Mr Moti said the model around the initiative was designed to overcome some of the delays and costs associated with conventional construction by producing schools and clinics on a much larger scale.

Its ultimate ambition, he said, was to replicate the model across Africa and deliver essential infrastructure in a faster, more effective and cheaper way.

The launch itself was marked by several symbolic gestures, including Mr Moti presenting President Boko with a statue depicting his face and the unveiling of a bus.

Meanwhile, 100 schools and 50 clinics are expected to be built across the country.  ENDS