Boko’s third State of the Nation Address reports progress on flagship pledges but leaves major commitments, including student allowances and health insurance, incomplete.
BONGANI MALUNGA
President Duma Boko’s third State of the Nation Address (SONA) has provided the clearest evidence yet that several flagship government promises have moved beyond political pronouncements but a comparison with his 2024 and 2025 addresses shows that some of the administration’s biggest undertakings remain unfinished.
Economic diversification, employment creation, healthcare reform, constitutional reform, digitalisation and youth empowerment have emerged as recurring themes across Boko’s three SONAs, with the latest address increasingly placing measurable outputs against promises first articulated when his government took office.
Boko acknowledged the continuity himself on Monday, stating that the “common thread” running through his addresses since his maiden 2024 SONA has been the transformation of Botswana’s economy and upliftment of its people.
Unfinished Pledges
However, while the 2026 address records significant movement from policy formulation to implementation, several programmes have yet to reach their final promised outcomes.
Among them is the P2500 tertiary student allowance pledge. Government increased the allowance from P1900 to P2200 in April this year, while Technical and Vocational Education and Training students moved from P300 to P1900 and subsequently P2200. Boko nevertheless acknowledged that the final target remains outstanding, telling Parliament that the government still “aims to deliver on its promise to pay a P2500 student allowance.”
Health Insurance
National Health Insurance presents a similar trajectory. Health insurance and Universal Health Coverage formed part of the administration’s reform agenda from its early period in office and remained under development in the 2025 SONA. The latest address confirmed that the National Health Insurance Policy was approved by Parliament in August 2026.
However, the scheme itself is not yet operational, with government now developing the National Health Insurance Bill and accompanying legislative framework.
Constitutional reform has also advanced without reaching completion. The government has secured passage of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which provides for the establishment of a Constitutional Court but the amendment must still be subjected to a national referendum.
Referendum Delay
This has drawn a sharp rebuke from Leader of the Opposition Dumelang Saleshando, who criticised the delay during his post-SONA address to the media on Monday. Saleshando noted that seven months after the Bill was passed by Parliament, there is still no clear timeline for a national referendum, despite earlier assurances that the process would swiftly follow the Bill’s passage.
“The President promised that the Constitutional Review would be in effect six months into his tenure but he has sidelined it for now in favour of his personal favourite, the Constitutional Court,” Saleshando remarked.
Diversification Drive
Diversification Test
This time, however, the government pointed to tangible projects, including the transfer of all 82 serviced plots at the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport Special Economic Zone to SEZA, the signing of the first investor lease and construction of the P25.5 billion New Airport City.
The Exploration Investment Company Botswana (EICB) has also become operational, while the government has established an export support fund. Yet the latest SONA does not provide a consolidated figure showing how many permanent jobs the broader diversification drive has created against the government’s ambitious employment targets.
Digital Services
Digital Services
Other commitments have registered clearer delivery. The national forensic audit, promised as part of the government’s governance and accountability agenda, has been completed. According to the President, it identified suspected corruption, fraud, embezzlement, waste and financial mismanagement estimated at P33 billion across 30 institutions between 2014 and 2024.
However, the accountability phase continues as the government says implementation of the audit recommendations will take another two to three years, while a Special Investigations and Asset Recovery Task Force is being established.
Industrial hemp represents one of the clearest examples of a promise progressing from announcement to implementation. After legalisation was announced in the previous SONA, government enacted the Cannabis Act, 2025 and Cannabis Regulations, 2026, established the National Cannabis Control Authority and completed cultivation pilots. By September, four provisional licences representing P290 million in investment had been issued.
Delivery Figures
Housing and agriculture have also moved into measurable implementation, under the Bonno National Housing Programme, construction of 1366 housing units commenced in September, while 567 previously started units have been completed and handed over.
Housing Progress
The 2024 address largely established the new administration’s ambition while the 2025 SONA built programmes and policy structures around that vision. The 2026 address has presented the strongest attempt yet to demonstrate results.
However, three SONAs into Boko’s presidency, several of the government’s most politically significant undertakings remain somewhere between policy approval, institutional establishment and full delivery