The government has identified a familiar problem in public-sector administration. Too many institutions pursuing similar goals without sufficient coordination. Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship Tiroeaone Ntsima has said this arrangement is no longer acceptable.
Addressing chief executives of state-owned enterprises under his ministry, Ntsima argued that agencies such as CEDA, LEA, BDC, BITC, BOBS, BOTC, CIPA, SEZA and SPEDU have spent too long operating independently. The issue, he suggested, is not inactivity but fragmentation. Separate databases, overlapping programmes and disconnected processes risk limiting their collective contribution to economic transformation.
The minister’s proposed remedy is ambitious. He wants to transform a collection of institutions into what he calls a single economic machinery. The emphasis would shift from institution-centred delivery to economy-centred outcomes.
The criticism touches on a longstanding debate. State-owned enterprises have often been questioned over their effectiveness, overlapping mandates and contribution to diversification.
Despite substantial public funding, concerns persist that activity is sometimes mistaken for impact. Ntsima’s intervention suggests the government increasingly shares that view.
Data integration forms another pillar of the strategy. A proposed Botswana Enterprise ID would allow businesses to be tracked across government systems, reducing administrative friction and improving policy coordination.
Central to the reform agenda is the creation of an integrated enterprise-support pipeline. Rather than navigating a maze of agencies, entrepreneurs would move through a connected system covering registration, development, financing, production, certification and export growth. The objective is continuity rather than repetition.
The minister also wants agencies to confront duplication directly. Functions that overlap—whether advisory services, research programmes, databases or regional offices—will be scrutinised to determine whether they represent value for taxpayers. Savings, he argues, should be redirected towards business support and job creation.
Data integration forms another pillar of the strategy. A proposed Botswana Enterprise ID would allow businesses to be tracked across government systems, reducing administrative friction and improving policy coordination.
Perhaps the most significant change concerns accountability. Chief executives will increasingly be judged not by the volume of training sessions conducted or funds disbursed, but by tangible economic outcomes: investment attracted, factories established, exports generated, jobs created and citizen-owned firms scaled up.
The reforms are to be formalised through the Ministry’s SOE Integration and Economic Delivery Framework for 2026–2029.
By the end of this year, the government plans to map mandates, identify duplication and establish joint projects. The success of the initiative will ultimately depend on whether coordination produces measurable economic gains.
As Ntsima himself suggested, the real test is not how many meetings are held or structures are created. It is whether Botswana ends up with more competitive firms, stronger exports, greater local value addition and more sustainable jobs.
