Agricultural sector in deepening accountability crisis
Spira Tlhankane | Monday May 4, 2026 09:29
At the heart of the findings is a collapse in the cattle levy system, one of the key revenue streams tied to the country’s livestock industry. The audit found that abattoirs across the country owe P2.3 million in unpaid slaughter levies, with some arrears dating back as far as 2012. The law is clear that levies must be paid within 14 days of slaughter, but in practice, enforcement appears almost nonexistent.
The Auditor General noted that at the time of audit in July 2025, several abattoirs had outstanding slaughter levies totalling P2 385 790, with some arrears dating back to 2012. “This was contrary to Section 5(2) of the Cattle Export and Slaughter Levy Act, which requires that “every abattoir or butchery shall, within 14 days of slaughtering any cattle, pay the levy imposed by the Act. In addition to long-standing arrears referred to above, repeated delays in remittance of slaughter levies beyond the statutory 14-day timeframe,” the report noted.
The Auditor General indicated that the repeated delays in levy payments, together with long-standing arrears, highlight weaknesses in the monitoring and enforcement of levy collections. This situation undermines the Fund’s ability to generate revenue in a timely manner and raises concerns about the effective administration of the Cattle Export and Slaughter Levy Fund.
Perhaps what is more alarming about the report is that authorities cannot confidently say how much is actually owed or collected. The audit exposes a deeply flawed tracking system, no historical payment records, reliance on paper receipts, verbal declarations by payers, and no data reconciliation.
“The system does not retain or display historical payment records for slaughter facilities. Revenue offices rely on customers to present previous receipts as proof of payment, creating a manual and error-prone process. In the absence of receipts, customers verbally declare the month of payment, which cannot be independently verified by sub-cashiers. Reconciliation of payments is not performed, making it difficult for slaughter facilities to remit levies at any revenue office without prior documentation. This lack of system integration and verification introduces a high risk of revenue loss, duplicate payments, or non-payment, undermining the effective administration of the Fund,” the report bluntly stated.
In one of the most damning findings, the Department of Veterinary Services was unable to match cattle slaughter numbers with levy collections. “There were significant weaknesses in the reconciliation and data management processes of the Cattle Export and Slaughter Levy Fund. The Department of Veterinary Services was unable to reconcile the number of cattle slaughtered annually with the total levy collected during the same period. Most levy-related data is retained at the district level and does not reach Headquarters, resulting in fragmented and incomplete records. Both cattle export and slaughter levies were recorded under a single account code (72701) and charged at the same rate of P30 per head, making it impossible to distinguish between the two revenue streams. In view of the status of the records, I was not able to verify the accuracy and completeness of the information provided for the audit. In effect, the government is operating a revenue system it cannot audit,” the Auditor General reported.
At the operational level, the situation is equally troubling with record-keeping breakdown at the source. At Bobirwa District Abattoir, auditors found no reliable records of cattle slaughtered or levies paid.
The Meat Inspector stationed at the abattoir was unable to provide accurate data on the number of cattle slaughtered at any given time. Furthermore, no records were available at the abattoir to confirm payment of slaughter levies, and there was no evidence of compliance with levy payment requirements. Confirmation of slaughter numbers and levy payments had to be obtained from the District Council Headquarters, indicating a breakdown in local record-keeping and reporting. This lack of documentation and data integrity at the point of slaughter significantly undermines the effectiveness of levy administration and increases the risk of revenue loss or misstatement.
The chaos extends beyond revenue collection, with P836,800 handed to the Botswana National Beef Producers Union (BNBPU) to support operations, but no documentation was provided to show how the money was used. “A sum of P836 800 was disbursed to the (BNBPU) to support critical operations aimed at facilitating beef production and strengthening organisational management activities. However, no supporting documents such as invoices, receipts or expenditure reports were provided to account for the use of these funds. This is contrary to standing communication from the Ministry, which requires BNBPU to submit supporting documentation for all transactions funded under the program,” the Auditor General further stated.
The Auditor General noted that the absence of documentation violates the rules governing the Fund and undermines financial oversight, as well as accountability for disbursed resources.
At the same time, funds meant to support farmers are being misused, with the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme, designed to help farmers with inputs, equipment, and development, being found to be financing items outside its mandate. Auditors identified loans used for farm vehicles and irrigation equipment outside the scope, combined purchases unrelated to approved categories, all totalling over P11.5 million, which violated the scheme’s rules.
“The audit review, however, revealed that some loans guaranteed under the Scheme were used for purposes outside the approved scope of coverage, contrary to the prescribed guideline. Non-compliance with the Fund Order may result in depletion of Scheme funds,” the report noted.
Moreover, the report disclosed that, under the Livestock Support Scheme, unauthorised parties received an undue benefit. “A moderate drought year was declared by the President in 2021/2022 following the recommendation by the Botswana Vulnerability Assessment Committee (BVAC). Consequently, the Ministry of Agriculture was expected to implement a 15% feed subsidy for extensive grazing livestock, effective 1 August 2022 to 31 January 2023, as part of interventions to mitigate the effects and overall impact of the drought. Audit examination revealed that non-citizens and companies unduly benefited from the scheme by purchasing livestock feed from participating suppliers, contrary to the Guidelines which stipulated that the subsidy was to benefit only individual farmers with national identity cards (Omang),” the Auditor General report further revealed.
The report indicated that the payment of the subsidy to unauthorised entities constituted a departure from the approved scheme Guidelines and undermined the objective of targeting drought relief assistance to eligible citizen farmers. The Auditor General noted that in the absence of effective controls to prevent access by ineligible beneficiaries, there is a risk that resources intended for the targeted group were diverted, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the intervention.
Together, these findings from the Auditor General’s report paint a picture of a sector under strain not from drought or market forces, but from weak governance and failing systems.