Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure - Botswana

Management of the Botswana Stock Exchange ( BSE) this afternoon paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Hon. Noah Salakae to advance collaboration on financing infrastructure delivery.

During the meeting, BSE referenced the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) signed last year declaring cooperation in the establishment of an Infrastructure Fund for the Ministry.

The proposed Fund is designed to raise capital from the market to finance projects under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.

These include projects in buildings, roads, rail, aviation and facilities management that are critical to connectivity and growing the economy.

BSE together with its technical partner Africa Finance Corporation, has developed a detailed proposal.

The proposal articulates the necessary structures, governance and capacity required to set up and manage the Fund to international standards.

Following today’s presentation the Ministry will evaluate the proposal.

Subject to due diligence and necessary approvals, the Ministry would conduct the needful.

This morning at Ntlo ya Dikgosi, Kgosi Totang Dingalo of the Maun region requested an update from the Assistant Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Hon Keoagile Atamelang on two matters affecting Air Botswana.

Plans to reduce ticket prices, including differential fares for citizens and non-citizens and the main causes of ongoing flight delays and immediate steps to improve reliability.

Responding to Kgosi Dingalo, Hon Atamelang provided the following update:

Air Botswana fares are influenced by a combination of operating costs that the airline cannot control unilaterally.

These include aircraft availability, crew availability, route economics, passenger demand, airport and air navigation charges, fuel, maintenance and other fixed and variable costs.

Under the Air Botswana Act, the airline prescribes tariffs for air transport services subject to approval by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure.

Any fare adjustments must therefore balance commercial sustainability, affordability for Batswana, operating costs, market conditions.and regulatory requirements.

“At present there is no blanket fare reduction programme,” Hon Atamelang stated.

“However, Air Botswana periodically reviews its fares to ensure they remain commercially sustainable while also taking affordability into account.”

The main drivers of schedule delays are the same capacity constraints affecting fares: limited aircraft availability and crew regulatory currency.

These constraints reduce the number of flights that can be operated reliably each day.

The immediate priority for Air Botswana is to restore schedule reliability and increase available seat capacity.

The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure is proud to announce the appointment of Gorata Thandy Moleboge as Deputy Permanent Secretary responsible for Building Infrastructure.

She brings 28 years of experience in the construction industry, having worked across the private sector and Government of Botswana in various senior roles.

Her career reflects a steady commitment to building systems that deliver, empowering citizens and strengthening public infrastructure.

A civil Engineer under Engineers Registration Board Botswana , she set up the structures and processes for Procurement Adjudication and Procurement Process Management.

She also operationalised citizen empowerment policies that changed how Batswana benefit from public projects.

Notable among these are the Project Allocation Committee framework and youth reservations in maintenance contracts - initiatives that opened doors for local contractors and young entrepreneurs.

When the Department of Facilities Management was created, she became its first Director.

She built the department from the ground up, drafting the Facilities Management Framework and its Financing Model.

Under her leadership, 31 district offices were aligned to the Ministry’s vision, with finances and resources brought under disciplined management.

She also coordinated with Facilities Managers across Government, ensuring district assets under the Ministry’s purview were properly managed.

Her leadership extended to strategy and reform.

She led teams that summarised Developmental Manager task team findings for the Executive Arm of Government (Cabinet).

She was also instrumental in setting up the new Departments of Road Maintenance and Road Development aligning structure with service delivery needs.

Gorata holds a BSc Hons in Quantity Surveying from the University of Salford, UK and a Diploma in Building Construction and Civil Engineering from the University of Botswana.

She has furthered her expertise through advanced training in Procurement, Construction and Public Private Partnerships in the United States, South Korea and South Africa.

Until the end of the month in Ministry Headquaters - she is holding the fort for the Permanent Secretary (Ag) Pius Seone, who is away on official travel.

During a session at Ntlo ya Dikgosi yesterday, Kgosi Khama IV of Ga-Mmangwato requested an update from the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Hon. Noah Salakae on the status of Air Botswana and Botswana Railways operations.

The Minister provided the following update on both national entities:

Air Botswana is implementing a structured recovery programme focused on restoring operational capacity and regulatory compliance.

Key interventions include intensive crew training, restoration of crew regulatory currency, simulator and online training and the repatriation and registration of aircraft from Namibia into Botswana.

The first group of crew members is scheduled to begin training this week with further training for additional crews arranged for July 2026.

The aircraft repatriation and registration process is expected to be completed around mid-July 2026, subject to technical inspections and regulatory approvals.

“With crew capacity constraints being resolved and aircraft availability improving, Air Botswana expects operational stability and revenue generation to improve progressively as normal operations are restored,” said Hon. Minister Salakae.

Botswana Railways is rolling out immediate stabilisation and recovery interventions anchored on revenue growth, cost containment and strategic partnerships to unlock capacity.

Priority actions include focusing on high-impact freight commodities, exploring short-term locomotive leasing, securing wagon maintenance partnerships and enforcing tighter expenditure controls.

The entity is on a defined trajectory toward breakeven by December 2026.

This target is driven by volume-led revenue growth, sustained cost discipline and asset sustainability initiatives to ensure long-term reliability of rail services.

Both Air Botswana and Botswana Railways are critical national assets.

"The recovery plans underway are deliberate, measurable and focused on restoring public confidence while securing financial sustainability,” Hon. Minister Salakae stated.

Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure remains committed to oversight and support to ensure both entities deliver reliable services that connect people and move Botswana’s economy.

The Ministry continues to support and create an enabling environment for youth of Botswana to be positively and actively involved in the socio- economic development of the country.

Youth companies and additional youth been active with refurbishment and construction and reconstruction of Government infrastructure across the country.

On this day the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure joins the world in celebrating International Women in Engineering Day, a global campaign that highlights the achievements of women in engineering and inspires the next generation to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ( STEM)

2026 global theme, “Engineering Intelligence," celebrates the unique combination of technical knowledge, sound judgment.and leadership that women bring to solving complex challenges.

From designing artificial intelligence (AI) systems and advancing space sustainability, to building roads, bridges, rail lines.and water systems, women Engineers are shaping the infrastructure that moves nations forward.

In Mosetse along the Sua route is a rail bridge.

Right now it connects one bank to another. But its real job is much bigger.

One day , connecting near this bridge will carry trains all the way to Livingstone then west through Angola rolling until the tracks meet the Atlantic at Lobito Port.

Our copper, our beef, our goods and our bulk commodities will roll on these rails to the world.

No longer landlinked in spirit. Connected by steel.

Botswana and Zambia call it the Mosetse to Kazungula to Livingstone corridor.

Rail that will move trade through the Kazungula Bridge.

Good evening from the capital city!

The capital city is integrating trees with cooling infrastructure across key urban corridors.

The initiative combines new and existing tree canopies with walkways, stops and roads.

Greening to create infrastructure that works for a people and climate.

Men at work : A3 road reconstruction