Government’s BETP review records policy activity across land, welfare, industry and finance, but offers limited evidence of completed reforms, savings, jobs or improved livelihoods.
GAZETTE REPORTER
The government’s mid-year review of the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP) lists reforms and administrative milestones but provides less evidence of what they have delivered in investment, jobs and improved livelihoods.
The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) government’s scorecard presents an upbeat account of initiatives since it took office in 2024, spanning land, social protection, industrialisation and financial services.
Several interventions remain at the stage of working groups, policy reviews and implementation structures rather than completed reforms with measurable economic outcomes.
The review records what government has started more clearly than what those interventions have delivered.
Land Delivery Test
The BETP established Land Labs with the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture to address access to land, a longstanding obstacle to investment.
According to the review, the platform is facilitating 18 projects across tourism, education, infrastructure, energy and agriculture.
It uses an escalation mechanism, weekly inter-ministerial meetings and a shared action plan to track land allocation and acquisition problems through to resolution.
The government presents this as a way to move projects from approval to delivery. The review, however, gives little detail on how many of the 18 projects have cleared their land bottlenecks, how long investors have waited or how many remain stuck.
P9bn Welfare Question
The review acknowledges weaknesses in a social protection system comprising more than 37 programmes across nine ministries, with annual expenditure of approximately P9 billion.
It identifies duplication and weak coordination, and proposes an integrated beneficiary registry, rationalisation of programmes and a Sustainable Livelihoods Approach intended to move beneficiaries towards self-reliance.
A Social Protection Reform Task Team has been established under high-level executive leadership, with a secretariat drawn from the BETP and National Planning Commission.
Yet the review provides limited information on how many beneficiaries have moved from assistance into sustainable livelihoods or what savings have resulted from eliminating duplication.
Industrial Policy Delays
The government acknowledges that the 2014 Industrial Development Policy is more than a decade old and no longer adequately reflects technological change, emerging value-addition opportunities or global industrial trends.
A working group has been established and terms of reference drafted. The substantive review, however, is yet to get fully underway, with technical partners still to be appointed.
The reported progress therefore amounts largely to preparations for reviewing a policy the government accepts is outdated.
Financial Services Progress
The financial-services section records more tangible movement.
The Bank of Botswana Regulatory Sandbox, launched in December 2025, attracted 50 applications during its first intake in March.
A 17:00 clearing window introduced in February 2026 allows payments to settle later in the working day, with banks required to credit beneficiaries within 60 minutes of settlement.
The Basic Bank Account, aimed at citizens earning P4,000 or less a month, had its proposed features and pricing submitted for review on 1 July 2026. The review put the expected rollout at the end of August.
Outcomes Still Unclear
The scorecard gives little emphasis to missed targets, delayed interventions, unsuccessful initiatives or reforms that have failed to deliver their intended results.
Without consistently measurable outcomes, it remains difficult to distinguish government activity from economic transformation already achieved.