FRANCISTOWN: If it wasn’t for the stringent COVID-19 regulations, the controversial legislator and maverick Moswaane, promises that he and masses of defectors from the BDP, were going to literally set Francistown-West constituency alight. The...
No matter how hard they tried, tourism players in Kasane, from the bed and breakfasts, to the four-star luxury hotels lining the banks of the Chobe River, were forced at one point or another to abandon their properties this year. Tourism was not...
I feel compelled to write some comments in response to an article, which appeared in the Mmegi newspaper of November 27, 2020 on the above subject. What government is proposing to do through measures like import substitution to solve the problems of...
FRANCISTOWN: At the Department of Environmental Affairs in Francistown, District environment coordinator, Phillip Sandawana and his team are working overtime in an endeavour to come up with an effective solution to a plethora of troubles bedevilling...
The minister of agriculture, his assistant and the numerous technocrats at their disposal have lately been using the same buzzword to pinpoint what government believes is the solution to the underperformance of the agricultural sector: ‘value...
FRANCISTOWN: Dr. Veronica Makwinja becomes nostalgic when she reminisces about the river that was once a source of her livelihood, solace and entertainment many years ago. Makwinja, 59, and her peers played house or mmantwane in the river that now...
By late September in some parts of the country, farmers had already started clearing their fields in anticipation of the cropping season, which traditionally runs from around November to April. Earlier in September, the Department of Meteorological...
“Owaii! Mbiroba bae nyombile!” This was the response we got from a friend in Seronga when we were looking for a place to stay in the area recently. The saying is Ngamiland’s equivalent of “they have totally looted the...
Betty Mbaembae, a 42-year-old mother and wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 and was told that the disease had advanced to Stage Three. Mbaembae said her problems started when she realised that had a stain on her bra while she was...
Imagine a place where people do not wear facemasks. Not at Donald Trump rallies - right here in Botswana. A place where there are no gun thermometers aimed at your body. No sanitisers constantly sprayed onto your hands to kill the near-invincible...
On Tuesday, authoritative sources in Kasane reported that top Botswana Defence Force (BDF) officials were in the border town leading an investigation into the recent deaths of four men at the hands of local anti-poaching forces. Namibian mainstream...
It provides a clear shadow of the once scenic space as the river continues to sorrowfully die. Legend has it that there is a mysterious snake that used to drag school children into a pool of water that never dries in what used to be a foot bridge...
The hope that coronavirus will one day just vanish and leave humans alone is all, but gone here. It has been nine months since makgoa (name used by tourism workers to mean guests or tourists) checked out from the many luxurious camps around the...
Following months of signals from authorities such as the Bank of Botswana (BoB) and the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS), the Finance and Economic Development ministry has confirmed that the dreaded increases in certain types of tax will take...
It has been about eight months since Botswana closed down its borders in a desperate attempt to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. And after a few lockdowns and travel bans, the people of Ngamiland, who have been making a living mainly through...
Many residents believe the thunderbolt that hit the kgotla was “sent as ammunition to eliminate the incumbent” in the raging Bogosi feud – the bolt struck right at the spot where the Kgosi normally sits. But soon the village...
FRANCISTOWN: Who really holds the National Assembly accountable, as an institution that provides checks and balances on the government? This question is being asked for the umpteenth time, but it doesn’t seem there is a quick answer to it. It...
In years gone by, the garden variety con artist would pounce on their victim in the streets, convince them of some ‘miracle’ or magical financial solution and make off with their hard earned cash. From those claiming to double your money,...
Visiting the Three Dikgosi Monument in Gaborone, which has been positioned as the country’s main Nation Monument, is very disappointing and shameful, especially for students of history of Botswana. “Historical resistance figures who...
Whenever I watched news on television, my focus would be on that interpreter in the corner of the screen. I always wondered myself how they do it. So last year, I was thrown into the deep end when the executive director of Botswana Association of...