Real Estate Professionals Act undergoes review
Pauline Dikuelo | Wednesday September 2, 2026 06:00
As a result, Minister of Lands and Agriculture, Dr Edwin Dikoloti has urged practitioners to participate meaningfully in consultations on the proposed amendments and understand the importance of the reforms. “This is important because the integrity and credibility of the property market are closely linked to the quality of information maintained by professionals and the effectiveness of the systems through which property transactions are conducted,” he said. Speaking at a recent property industry engagement, Dikoloti added that the amendments would, amongst other objectives, strengthen alignment between regulation of the real estate profession and the requirements of the Financial Intelligence Act.
The review comes as Botswana prepares for the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) Mutual Evaluation scheduled for 2027. The exercise will assess the country’s compliance with revised Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards on Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Financing of Terrorism and Counter-Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF). Additionally, the Minister called on the practitioners to maintain adequate, accurate and up-to-date basic and beneficial ownership information relating to legal persons and legal arrangements, where applicable.
Dikoloti also stressed the need for accurate records of real estate transactions to be maintained in written or electronic form, describing proper record-keeping as more than an administrative obligation. “Proper record keeping is not merely an administrative requirement,” he said. “It is an important safeguard for the profession, its clients and the integrity of Botswana’s property market.” There have also been reports that some real estate professionals fail or refuse to attend disciplinary enquiries when summoned by their regulator, something that concerned the Minister. Hence he highlighted that compliance must begin with respect for institutions responsible for regulating the profession, stressing that practitioners summoned before the regulator should participate fully in the process. “Professional accountability is fundamental to maintaining confidence in the industry,” Dikoloti told the meeting.
The Minister said regulatory reform and professional standards should be viewed as complementary elements of the same transformation agenda. He identified the Real Estate Institute of Botswana (REIB), the Real Estate Advisory Council and the wider property industry as key partners in identifying bottlenecks, improving procedures and strengthening professional standards. Dikoloti noted that industry players were best placed to identify delays, unclear requirements and weaknesses in coordination between institutions because they interact with the property system daily. He further called for an end to institutional silos, noting that challenges in the property market often cut across several institutions. In this space, government agencies administer land-related processes, regulators uphold professional standards, financial institutions provide financing and meet compliance obligations, while legal practitioners facilitate property transfers. To supplement the supply chain, real estate professionals connect market participants, developers turn land and investment into projects, and academic and professional bodies contribute research, knowledge and skills.
“Each institution therefore sees a different part of the same system,” Dikoloti said, calling for collaboration that goes beyond simply bringing stakeholders together. He added that stakeholders should identify where responsibilities overlap, where bottlenecks occur, which institution is best placed to act and which challenges require administrative, policy, regulatory or coordinated solutions.
Dikoloti said the ultimate objective should be to translate professional excellence and institutional collaboration into a better experience for citizens and a more efficient property market. He urged stakeholders to use the conference to identify realistic areas for improvement and distinguish between policy, regulatory, implementation and coordination challenges. He further encouraged REIB to document key issues and recommendations emerging from the engagement and use them as a basis for structured follow-up with the Ministry of Land and Agriculture.