The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) has accused the government of what it describes as entrenched corruption and waste and governance failures as it warns that Botswana is losing billions of Pula through a system that appears incapable of correcting itself.
The BCP says revelations emerging from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearings have exposed the depth of maladministration within government and should trigger urgent investigations, asset recovery and sweeping institutional reforms.
The BCP claims Botswana has been haemorrhaging public money for years, citing official reports which it says indicate that between 30 and 37 percent of public infrastructure expenditure is lost through inefficiencies.
The party has also turned its guns on the newly elected UDC administration as it accusses it of failing to deliver the governance overhaul promised to voters after taking power from the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).
Even more damning, the party points to the National Forensic Audit by Alvarez and Marsal Middle East Limited, which it says quantified Botswana’s losses at approximately P33 billion as a result of systemic weaknesses and institutional failures that create fertile ground for corruption.
“This is not a mere statistic. It is a national crisis that imperils the future of generations yet unborn,” the BCP said.
The party has also turned its guns on the newly elected UDC administration as it accusses it of failing to deliver the governance overhaul promised to voters after taking power from the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).
According to the BCP, while the BDP may have presided over the deterioration of public institutions, the UDC government has allegedly shown little appetite for dismantling the system it inherited.
The party’s most explosive accusation is directed at President Duma Boko over the continued withholding of the forensic audit report.
The BCP argues that keeping the report from the public amounts to protecting a system already identified as deeply compromised.
The party invokes remarks attributed to Director of Public Prosecutions Kgosietsile Ngakaagae, who has described Government Enclave as an “active crime scene.”
“By withholding the forensic audit report for political expediency, the President is complicit in preserving the very ‘active crime scene’ that the Director of Public Prosecution, Kgosietsile Ngakaagae himself has identified at Government Enclave,” the party charged.
“By withholding the forensic audit report for political expediency, the President is complicit in preserving the very ‘active crime scene’ that the Director of Public Prosecution, Kgosietsile Ngakaagae himself has identified at Government Enclave,” the party charged.
The BCP said the PAC hearings, while important, cannot by themselves resolve the country’s governance crisis because Parliament and its committees face institutional limitations.
It warns that Batswana should not be expected to continue paying taxes while billions are allegedly lost through waste, weak controls and corruption.
The party highlighted a stark warning contained in the forensic audit: “The findings will not correct themselves.”
It says the warning should now become a rallying point for government action, including criminal investigations, recovery of stolen assets, implementation of audit recommendations and structural reforms.
Without such action, the BCP warns, the same patterns of waste and alleged corruption will continue.
“The BCP will not stand by while that warning goes unheeded,” the party declared.
The party says it is preparing a dedicated programme of action aimed at forcing meaningful intervention against what it describes as a destructive governance trajectory.
