Gov’t to overhaul DRTS
Spira Tlhankane | Wednesday October 29, 2025 06:00
Under the government’s draft National Development Plan (NDP12), the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Noah Salakae, told Parliament recently that international practice has shown that regulation and delivery of services are better delivered when kept apart, with the government retaining the former. He said the private sector participation in devolved services and operations will result in efficiency and improved service delivery.
The establishment of the Road Safety Council is mainly to oversee the implementation of the National Road Safety in alignment with the United Nations Decade for Road Safety Strategy. This will improve the current road safety situation in Botswana. Furthermore, sector-wide reforms to be looked into include the promulgation of a Transport Act and the launching of a National Multimodal Transport Master Plan,” he told legislators.
Salakae added that many of the challenges experienced in the provision of road transport services are a result of obsolete systems, which require upgrading. “These systems are running on an old operating platform, which is no longer supported, as it cannot run on new versions in its current state. This poses security vulnerabilities both to the Government Data Network and the system itself. Therefore, expansion and modernisation of our transport systems are of paramount importance to improve service delivery,” he further noted.
Salakae also noted that during NDP12, the focus will be on the introduction of a transport information system; driver and vehicle testing systems; Driver Licensing System (DLS); Road Transport and Road Worthiness Certificate System; Fleet Tracking Management and Maintenance Systems (FTMMS); and the introduction of e-ticketing to improve service delivery and accommodate higher demand.
Salakae also revealed that as part of the transformation drive in the transport sector, 2,722km of roads will be upgraded and rehabilitated during NDP12. He disclosed that this will increase the current Road Condition Index (RCI) of 65% to more than 75%. Salakae pointed out that some of the strategic roads geared towards facilitating trade are: upgrading and reconstruction of the A1 Highway, reconstruction of Palapye–Martin's Drift road, including Martin's Drift Bridge, reconstruction of Dikabeya–Lerala road, development of the blue route: Tsabong–Hukuntsi road and Shorobe–Kachikau road, and reconstruction of Kokotsha–Tsabong–McCarthy's Rust road.
Salakae highlighted that these roads will remove bottlenecks and facilitate access for sectors such as tourism, agriculture, and mining, as well as facilitate connectivity and transportation of people, goods, and services in general.
“As a country, we rely on a 32,500km network, out of which 10,725km is tarred. I must admit that this is not nearly enough and creates a bottleneck for other sectors such as tourism, agriculture, and mining, by limiting production and increasing transport costs. Further, the rains we experienced at the beginning of the year really exposed our poor road conditions. Our focus, therefore, will be on the rehabilitation and upgrading of these roads to not only improve access but also ensure the safety of our communities,” he further noted.