BOL’s import ‘monopoly’ set to be eased
Mbongeni Mguni | Wednesday May 13, 2026 06:00
BOL has enjoyed the oil import mandate since April 2024, but recent revelations indicate that the oil parastatal has only imported an average of 60% of the country’s fuel supplies. The balance has been brought in by majority citizen-owned oil companies, as provided for by the law.
The Ministry of Minerals and Energy recently confirmed that a review of the import mandate was underway, amidst calls for drastic cuts from the multinational oil companies, who have been most affected by the quota.
Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, BERA CEO, Never Tshabang, said momentum was gathering on the review.
“When I came in, my mandate was to review the BERA Act so that we see whether this mandate is still relevant, feasible, or needs to be changed,” he said.
“We studied and submitted to the ministry, and the Cabinet accepted that the mandate should be changed, but it has to go through Parliament. “I'm not going to speak about the numbers now, but it is going to come down to some point, in order to accommodate more players in the industry, because as it is, 90% is more or less monopolistic in nature.”
Industry players, particularly the multinationals, have pushed against the 90% import mandate, saying it introduces pricing and security of supply risk into the market, whilst undercutting the business investment case built by these companies over the decades.
Calls for the revision of the import mandate have grown even sharper in the wake of the Middle East conflict, with analysts pointing out that having one player exclusively enjoy a 90% monopoly was a risk.
Engen Botswana, which, as the sole listed oil company in the country, statutorily has to report its results, has attributed its weakening financial performance in recent years to the import mandate.
The company recently announced a 55% drop in pretax profits, which directors said was linked to the “commencement of the petroleum products importation quota”.
“This has resulted in the group being a price taker due to the single source of supply regulation, whereas competitors that are not subject to this regulation are able to determine their source(s) of supply and benefit from the prices of procurement,” directors stated.
BERA director of Economic Regulations, Batsumi Rankokwane, said BOL had never been able to reach the 90% provided for in the import quota.
“What’s interesting is the reality that since April 1, 2024, we have seen that BOL has never reached that 90%. “Majority citizen owned companies have gone from 33% to about 40% by the end of the first quarter. “That’s why we are seized with reviewing the import mandate, and that’s one of the realities we will take into consideration,” he said.
The country consumes approximately 1.3 billion litres of fuel annually, with supplies coming through South Africa, Namibia, and Mozambique.