Mogae’s civil service reforms
Ryder Gabathuse | Friday May 15, 2026 10:20
Botswana effected the changes at a time when the neighbouring South Africa and other Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries had switched to the revenue authorities from the previous customs and excise.
The switch to the revenue authorities has given birth to a parastatal called BURS, which handles primarily issues of income tax, PAYE, and other withholding taxes, Value Added Tax (VAT), customs and excise duty, and others.
Ever since its birth, BURS has become very proactive to the extent that businesspeople evading tax continue to appear before the courts of law to answer for their misdeeds. The quasi-government department has now grown 'sharp teeth' than ever before in its lifetime.
Another government department that seems to have transformed into an effective body under Mogae's government is the Directorate on Public Prosecutions (DPP). Previously, when it was the prosecutions division under the Attorney General's Chambers, it was more obscure.
The DPP has apparently shed off its 'lackadaisical' image and 'lacklustre' approach to issues. It has become robust and proactive in the execution of its duties. There could be isolated cases of officers of the DPP sleeping on the job, but the majority of the time they handle cases professionally. Probably, removing a good number of police officers from prosecution has given the DPP enough opportunity to run their department effectively and professionally.
In an endeavour to run some top government offices effectively, from the Office of the President to the Assistant Minister's office, private secretaries have been employed to beef up for the effective running of these offices.
This comes at a time when the majority of the government offices have public relations officers to communicate with both internal and external customers. This has helped reform some government offices, which were almost inaccessible before.
The private secretaries have helped enrich the abilities of the Cabinet members to effectively respond to questions in Parliament and in Kgotla meetings, rather than having to wait for a long time as the relevant officer struggled to find the right answers. Mogae introduced the post of Legal Advisor to the President when he appointed Sidney Pilane to the newly created job.
This came at a time when Mogae and his then Attorney General Phandu Skelemani (now Minister of Justice, Defence and Security) were at loggerheads over Magee's accusation that the AG had failed to advise him accordingly on matters relating to the issuance of the writ of the national elections previously, which nearly disenfranchised a lot of registered voters.
Mogae later settled the case out of court after Skelemani had challenged the Justice Mdabula Khumalo Commission's findings of 2001.
The Attorney General had always been the chief government advisor until things changed with the creation of the other post at the OP. Another interesting development was the creation of the post of a Parliamentary Counsel to the National Assembly, shifting from the reliance on the AG.
This is seen by some people as a step towards enhancing the independence of the Legislature from the Executive branch.
It was also under Mogae that the Botswana Economic Advisory Council (BEAC) was set up to duly advise the government on pertinent economic issues. BEAC was, amongst others, set to help the government with the challenges facing Botswana's economy.
It, however, had a fair share of its problems, as in particular, there were some occasional rifts between BEAC and officers at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning who felt 'excluded' from some important processes.
Around 2006, the government allowed the public sector worker organisations to unionise, which has transformed them from passive associations with limited bargaining powers to powerful unions. The voice of the public sector unions has become so powerful that it can be heard reverberating within the Government Enclave and outside as they continue articulating pertinent issues.
Mogae's legacy on education
President Festus Mogae took over the reins in 1998, four years after Parliament had approved the Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE).
The RNPE recommendations looked at the entire educational needs and how best the ministry could be improved. He, therefore, assumed the presidency at a time when there was a good foundation for him to turn the fortunes of the education system around.
Amongst others, the seven key points mandating the 1993 National Commission on Education included: to re-examine the structure of the education system that will guarantee universal access to basic education, whilst consolidating and vocationalising the curriculum content at this level.
It was during Mogae's tenure of office that his government reintroduced school fees in 2006, and this immediately set tongues wagging across the nation.
The issue became fodder for opposition parties and civic groups as they argued that the reintroduction of the school fees was likely to defeat one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of achieving universal primary education. It was also argued that the move would work against the country's Vision 2016 of education for all. Mogae took a stand and defended his government's stance.
In the quest to fulfil the demands of the RNPE, Mogae's government introduced the double shift system in some chosen secondary schools in 2006. This was received with mixed feelings. The results from the double shift schools have also been a mixed bag.
It is apparent that, with the exception of a few cases, the majority of the double shift schools are not performing satisfactorily. Whilst it is appreciated that the government is battling hard to give young Batswana access to education, the worry is squarely on the quality of the education provided through the double shift system. Though the exercise is saving the government much money that could have otherwise been used on constructing more schools, it denies students the quality education that they deserve.
Botswana has apparently increased both internal and external placement of students to higher institutions of learning in the quest to educate young Batswana. The Ministry of Education has also reduced the placement of students to the first world, as the majority are now being sent to neighbouring South Africa, which is much cheaper.
From 2007, the majority of the students were sent to locally accredited institutions. In her words, then MoE public relations officer (PRO) Nomsa Zuze said the main reason for placing some of the students locally 'is to cut some of the costs associated with placing students at universities and colleges in Europe, USA, Australia, and other places'.
The opening of Malaysia's Linkomkwing University of Technology in Gaborone provided some form of relief to the government, as a good number of Batswana students were previously sent to Malaysia, which was proving expensive. The acceptance by the Mogae government for the university to set up base in Botswana is viewed as a positive move.
In an endeavour to keep tabs on the quality of institutions operating in the country, Mogae's administration set up accreditation bodies of the Botswana Training Authority (BOTA) and Tertiary Education Council (TEC) at lower and higher levels, respectively.
The two bodies came at a time when some bogus institutions were ripping locals off their hard-earned money. It was common for some institutions to open, and after collecting school fees, the owners/managers would simply disappear into thin air.
The establishment of the many technical colleges in the country is another attempt geared at vocationalising the country's education in line with the RNPE recommendations. Zuze was right to point out that once vocationalised, Botswana's education system would produce graduates who would create jobs for themselves and others, as they would be armed with pertinent skills.
After repeated calls for 'home brewed' medical doctors, Mogae left as Chancellor after fulfilling his dream, and few years later University of Botswana (UB) had its first batch of medical students to be trained locally .
This was expected to ease the shortage of doctors in a country that after 42 years of independence, was yet to produce its own medical doctors. Botswana has for a long time been depending on the services of foreign doctors, with unpleasant consequences as some of them terminated their contracts leaving the country and patients' lives seriously compromised.
One of Mogae's dream-come-true is the establishment of the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST), commonly known as the Second University. Mogae had wished to see the second university in full swing before his departure. Although the university was previously recommended for Selebi-Phikwe, Mogae's government disregarded the recommendations and preferred Palapye.
(Republished: First published Tuesday, April 01, 2008 )