Sector In Botswana Research Articles

Nature and Effects of Low-Volume Roads in Botswana

The road sector in Botswana continues to develop its road network throughout the country at a tremendous rate. When Botswana gained independence in 1966, it had only 10 km (16 mi) of bitumen road. By 1992 the total length of bituminous surfaced road reached 3500 km (2,175 mi) out of a total road network of 18 000 km (11,285 mi). These statistics clearly show that the majority of roads are not yet surfaced; these are low-volume roads that provide access to the rural areas where most of the country’s population is found, though in low density. In spite of the rapid improvement in the quality of the national road network in recent years, much remains to be done. In the early 1970s and early 1980s the rural roads unit was introduced in the Ministry of Works Transport and Communications, which was charged with the responsibility of design and construction of low-volume roads around the country in a bid to integrate the country’s road network. This unit was later disbanded in the 1990s, and all roads are improved through the conventional procurement system using private contractors. For these roads the justification of a surfacing project based on conventional economic return methods does not apply, and worse still, the road improvements have to compete with other amenities for the same limited resources. Three ministries in Botswana are responsible for roads: Ministry of Works Transport and Communications, Ministry of Local Government, and Ministry of Trade, Industry, Wildlife and Tourism. These ministries have different responsibilities for different roads within the country, and earth, sand, and gravel roads are found under the jurisdiction of each of the ministries. The major drawbacks concerning low-volume roads in Botswana are inadequate maintenance, poor road construction materials, and the environmental impacts of the roads. Since the budget and resources are inadequate to keep these roads in good condition, it would be prudent to find technological means that would improve the locally available road construction materials so as to minimize their effects on the environment and vehicle operating costs.

Human resource management in Botswana: approaches to enhancing productivity in the public sector

Public-sector productivity is an issue that is now squarely on the agenda in the global arena. In recent times it has also emerged in the research and literature on human resource management and development as a significant aspect of the advocacy for re-engineering or re-inventing government, entrepreneurial government, quality management in the public sector, public sector efficiency and so on. This paper discusses and analyses productivity in the public sector in Botswana, the current approaches being employed to enhance it, and advocates, from a human resource management perspective, policy areas which can be beneficial for the sustainable enhancement of that productivity in the country.

Managing the public sector in Botswana

In contrast to the past record, there are now significant indications and evidence which suggest that public sector management in Botswana is being constrained by a number of factors. Examines and analyses the primary factors contributing to those constraints and also discusses the administrative reform responses which have been embarked on by the Government of Botswana in its effort to realign the public sector in the national interest.

Drought, Dutch disease and controlled transition in Botswana agriculture

The rapid expansion in diamond production in Botswana during the 1980s places the country into that category of economies where the growth of other sectors can be examined only with reference to the direct and indirect impact of the ‘booming sector’. Parallels with the impact of North Sea gas exploitation on non‐gas sectors of the Dutch economy in the 1970s, which came to be known as ‘Dutch disease’, are evident. It is shown that, principally through exchange rate movements, the exceptional growth of the mineral sector in Botswana created relative price disadvantages in the agricultural sector and that these were positively correlated to output. To focus on the irregularity of rainfall patterns alone is thus to relegate the importance of economic and political factors in accounting for low agricultural productivity in Botswana. In its role as beneficiary of most of the domestic revenues from mineral exploitation the government has, however, adopted a discriminatory expenditure pattern, favouring livestock...