Shame on State looters
Mmegi Editor | Monday May 4, 2026 09:15
“Your and my legitimacy relies on fighting corruption, discrimination and seeking justice.”
– Imam Khamenei
This is laid bare in the recently released Auditor General’s report of 2023. The report highlights that government was plundered off millions of pula in wasteful expenditure and irregular procurement at a time when the country was grappling for every thebe to save its citizens. The report reveals that millions set aside for the frontline war against the pandemic were diverted to questionable and, in some instances, completely unjustifiable uses.
It is said that instead of strengthening the health response, the looters used the funds to clean up avoidable legal messes and to bankroll expenditure that had little to do with saving lives.
The Auditor General uncovered that in one instance an amount of P25 million was used to finance psychosocial support activities specifically for employees, exceeding the authorised amount of P14 million. While psychosocial support was recognised as an important component of pandemic response, the Auditor General uncovered that the expenditure did not align with the Fund’s mandate.
It was explicitly stipulated that such support should be directed toward the establishment and operation of public counselling centres and facilities accessible to the general public.
What was more troubling was the blatant disregard for the intended purpose of COVID-19 funds.
Resources that should have been directed towards communities grappling with fear, illness and economic collapse were instead channelled nto internal programmes that benefitted a narrow segment.
The rot did not end there, parastatals have also persisted as perennial loss makers. Year after year, government pours hundreds of millions into struggling entities with little to no return. Loans have went unpaid, deadlines for audit report submission ignored while government continues to pour more money. Loans arrears topped P500 million turning into a write-off slowly because they could not be repayed. By March 2023, over P248 million was already in arrears, with obligations dating as far back as 2019 remaining unpaid. The reality is that every pula lost to wasteful expenditure is a classroom not built, a hospital denied medicine and a job not created. In a country grappling with high youth unemployment, declining mineral revenues, and rising cost-of-living pressures, the tolerance for such leakages should be zero. What is perhaps most alarming is the absence of consequence. The Auditor General noted that year after year some government departments were not submitting audit reports and sometimes not accounting clearly to what national funds were used for.
It is disturbing that those entrusted with public resources continue to operate without fear of sanction, and the cycle repeats itself. Botswana has long prided itself on strong institutions and prudent financial management. That reputation is now under strain. The findings of the Auditor General are not just a critique of past actions; they are a warning sign about the erosion of governance standards.