Sunday Standard Unions show scant interest in job creation The labour union is locked in a tussle with the government of Botswana over two issues. The first one, and not in any order, is the Directorate of Public Service Management’s (DPSM) decision to review local travel allowances, popularly known as per diem, for public servants.  Previously, public officers were expected to account for their expenses when on mission. However, to reduce paperwork, the government decided to provide per diem to cover accommodation and meals for government employees’ travel expenses.  .ihc-locker-wrap{} There’s more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it’s also expensive to produce. We are reliant on subscriptions to fund our work, and while you can enjoy most of our stories for free, a small number of premium features are reserved for subscribers....

Sunday Standard When the Board Marks Its Own Homework: Rethinking Board Performance Evaluations Botswana’s State-Owned Enterprise landscape has undergone significant changes in recent months, with several SOE boards being overhauled and new directors appointed to entities that had previously operated without fully constituted boards. The changes have been viewed as necessary to strengthen oversight and address governance concerns within institutions that carry significant public mandates. This comes against a backdrop of corporate governance concerns that have previously been raised in relation to some public interest entities by the Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority (BAOA), placing renewed attention on the effectiveness of boards and the quality of oversight being exercised within Botswana’s public enterprises. .ihc-locker-wrap{} There’s more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it’s also expensive to produce. We are reliant on subscriptions to fund...

Sunday Standard Mental-health crisis could cost Botswana P26 billion by 2050 Botswana could face an estimated P26 billion in economic losses from depression between 2025 and 2050, highlighting the growing economic cost of mental health problems. A new global study published in Nature Medicine titled: Global economic burden of depression in 154 countries from 2025 to 2050 estimates the country’s cumulative economic burden from depression at US$1.944 billion, equivalent to about P26.2 billion. .ihc-locker-wrap{} There’s more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it’s also expensive to produce. We are reliant on subscriptions to fund our work, and while you can enjoy most of our stories for free, a small number of premium features are reserved for subscribers. You can subscribe for one week, a month or a full year – the choice is yours. Save...

Sunday Standard PwC ordered to pay costs in Choppies court battle PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Botswana and its former audit partner, Rudi Binedell, have been ordered to pay legal costs arising from three court defeats suffered during their long-running battle with Choppies shareholders Ramachandran Ottapathu and Farouk Ismail. The order brings to a close one of the longest running corporate lawsuits. .ihc-locker-wrap{} There’s more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it’s also expensive to produce. We are reliant on subscriptions to fund our work, and while you can enjoy most of our stories for free, a small number of premium features are reserved for subscribers. You can subscribe for one week, a month or a full year – the choice is yours. Save 77% on an annual subscription. Click here to find out how. Existing...

There’s more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it’s also expensive to produce. We are reliant on subscriptions to fund our work, and while you can enjoy most of our stories for free, a small number of premium features are reserved for subscribers. You can subscribe for one week, a month or a full year – the choice is yours. Save 77% on an annual subscription. Click here to find out how. Existing subscribers can log in to keep reading here. Source link

Sunday Standard Poachers shift focus to bushmeat species Botswana’s poaching threat is shifting from the high-profile species that dominate international conservation campaigns toward animals hunted for bushmeat, with kudu and gemsbok emerging as the country’s most frequently targeted species, according to a government report. Botswana recorded 824 poaching incidents between 2020 and 2024, with 130 involving kudu, 90 gemsbok and 79 impala, according to data from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) contained in the Botswana Selected Environmental Indicators 2024 report. .ihc-locker-wrap{} There’s more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it’s also expensive to produce. We are reliant on subscriptions to fund our work, and while you can enjoy most of our stories for free, a small number of premium features are reserved for subscribers. You can subscribe for one week,...

Sunday Standard Cattle herd shrinks as livestock deaths surge The cattle industry is facing a worrying squeeze, with the national cattle herd shrinking by more than 100,000 animals over a decade while cattle deaths have surged, according to the newly released 2025 Agricultural Census by Statistics Botswana. The census, conducted by Statistics Botswana in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture, shows that Botswana had 1,638,543 cattle in 2025, down from 1,744,166 recorded in 2015. That represents a 6.1 percent decline in the national cattle herd over ten years — a contraction of 105,623 cattle. The figures raise fresh questions about the resilience of Botswana’s livestock sector at a time when Government has identified agriculture as one of the priority sectors under the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP). .ihc-locker-wrap{} There’s more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part...

There’s more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it’s also expensive to produce. We are reliant on subscriptions to fund our work, and while you can enjoy most of our stories for free, a small number of premium features are reserved for subscribers. You can subscribe for one week, a month or a full year – the choice is yours. Save 77% on an annual subscription. Click here to find out how. Existing subscribers can log in to keep reading here. Source link

Sunday Standard Govt shifts jobs target from 100,000 to 512,000 Nine months after government missed its much-hyped promise to create 100,000 jobs in its first 12 months in office, it has come back with an even bigger number – 512,000 jobs by 2036. The original 100,000 jobs pledge expired in November 2025, but the promised jobs have failed to materialize. Now, nine moths after the deadline, government has dramatically raised the stakes, unveiling the new target in the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP) Mid-Year Review which says Botswana is aiming to create 512,000 jobs by 2036 while simultaneously transforming the country into a high-income economy. .ihc-locker-wrap{} There’s more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it’s also expensive to produce. We are reliant on subscriptions to fund our work, and while you can enjoy most of...

Sunday Standard Botswana’s cattle herd falls further Botswana’s cattle industry is getting smaller, even as commercial farmers expand their share of the national herd. The country’s cattle population fell to 1.64 million in 2025, from 1.74 million a decade earlier, representing a 6.1 percent decline, according to Statistics Botswana’s 2025 Agricultural Census. The latest figures underline the pressure on a sector that remains important to Botswana’s agricultural economy. .ihc-locker-wrap{} There’s more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it’s also expensive to produce. We are reliant on subscriptions to fund our work, and while you can enjoy most of our stories for free, a small number of premium features are reserved for subscribers. You can subscribe for one week, a month or a full year – the choice is yours. Save 77% on an...