20 Oct 2026

Government departments and other entities have been encouraged to come forth and purchase Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) housing units constructed at Matlapana in Maun in an effort to address accommodation shortage.

The 100 housing units are under the flagship Bonno National Housing Scheme aimed to provide inclusive, affordable and dignified shelter for all Batswana.

The call was made by Minister of Water and Human Settlement, Mr Onneetse Ramogapi who, together with the leadership of the North West District and BHC board undertook a site tour to appreciate progress on the construction of the houses. 

The project is being implemented in two phases. The first phase which comprises 45 housing units was launched in October 2024 while the second, comprising 55 housing units was launched last year August. The houses comprise high, medium and low income cost units.

Mr Ramogapi called on the local authorities and other entities to express their interest in buying the houses, saying the development objective of the project was to address the outcry of shortage of accommodation. 

While he appreciated that the housing units would also be sold to members of the public to promote home ownership by citizens, priority, he said should be given to public servants to reduce shortage of accommodation which is a serious concern across the country.

However, the minister expressed satisfaction regarding progress of the ongoing project, which he said formed part of the development of 100 000 decent and affordable housing units. He learnt that the project was on track and within the planned scope as the overall progress for the first phase stood at 98 per cent while the second stood at 60 per cent completion and he lauded BHC and the contractors for a job well done.

“This project was unbundled into several builders’ works projects to accommodate 100 per cent citizen-owned companies and I am impressed with the high quality workmanship displayed by our local contractors. They have delivered nice, modern and spacious housing units that meet standards,” he said.

Mr Ramogapi added that it was frustrating that some local contractors often failed to deliver quality work and on time due to a tendency of diverting project funds towards financing personal luxury.

That, he said, created a dangerous financial ripple effect. 

The minister also urged the public to differentiate between commercial and social housing schemes, both of which were coordinated and being delivered through the BHC. He explained that the social housing scheme targeted individuals earning between P4 400 and P95 000 per annum. Under the category, beneficiaries pay P90,000 while government covers any cost above that threshold. 

The commercial scheme forms part of the national effort to deliver housing units across the country including by contributing to the broader government ambitious goal of delivering 100 000 houses. 

However, Mr Ramogapi thanked the North West District leadership and other stakeholders for the support to ensure the success of the project. To the BHC board, he urged members to actively execute their oversight role without fail, noting that financial constraints should not be used as an excuse. 

The ministry, he said, would try its best to facilitate them to ensure that they executed their mandate as expected. 

“Our intention is to build more houses in Maun because accommodation is a challenge”. 

BHC acting chief executive officer, Professor Selinah Busang confirmed that the project was progressing well, and explained that 17 low and medium cost units had been completed while four high income cost were also ready.

She appreciated that contractors had delivered according to the designs and specifications and encouraged institutions and members of the public to come forth to buy the beautiful houses.

She said various entities had already expressed interest to secure some housing units. Asked if the corporation has plans to expand the project in case they experienced an influx on expression of interest to buy houses, Prof. Busang stated that currently, they had utilised less than a quarter of the land allocated because the project served as a practical case study to assess real market demand.

“Our phase two project has more 250 housing units which we are going to construct and we are also intending to bring convenience stores because we have realised that there are no shopping centres in this area. This project will also be implemented in phases as well because our target is to deliver 650 housing units in total,” she added. ENDS