Supporting The Public Sector of Botswana

public-sector

Education

Public spending on education was 7.8 per cent of GDP in 2009. There are ten years of compulsory education starting at the age of six. Some 93 per cent of pupils complete primary school (2008).

There are about 30 vocational and technical training centres, four teacher-training colleges, two colleges of education and one university, the University of Botswana. A second new public university, the Botswana International University of Science and Technology, is under construction through a public–private partnership, at Palapye. It was designated to bridge the gap between Botswana’s low transition rate from senior secondary to tertiary level education (12 per cent) and the 20–30 per cent rate of other middle-income countries, central to Botswana’s Vision 2016. The Institute of Development Management was established in 1974 as a regional institution, with campuses in Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. Other tertiary institutions include Botswana College of Agriculture, Botswana Institute of Administration and Commerce, and Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning. Until recently, a lot of students had been forced to attend external institutions in neighbouring South Africa for tertiary training, devaluing Botswana’s own economy.

 

Health

Botswana’s health sector is well developed for Sub-Saharan Africa. Public spending on health was three per cent of GDP in 2011. There are some 30 hospitals and more than 500 clinics and health centres, roughly two thirds of which are in the public sector. Malaria is endemic in northern regions and in 2013 22 per cent of people aged 15–49 were HIV positive. Full AIDS control and prevention programmes are in place. A public–private partnership – the Botswana Antiretroviral (ARV) programme, which sees the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation partnering with the government, assisted by the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP) – was launched in 2001 to support this work.

Private practice is an important part of the health system in Botswana. The Bokamoso Private Hospital, opened in 2010, was constructed through a public–private partnership to provide referral and specialist care. It is hoped that the facility will ease overcrowding in public health facilities and reduce patient traffic to neighbouring countries, such as South Africa.

 

Transport

There are 25,800 km of roads, 33 per cent paved. The north–south highway links South Africa with Zambia. The Trans-Kalahari Corridor, completed in 1998, is a highway linking Botswana to Walvis Bay on the Namibian coast, shortening the route between Johannesburg and the Namibian capital, Windhoek, and opening up the hitherto inaccessible western regions of the country.

Rail: The 888 km railway line runs north–south along the eastern side of the country from Plumtree in Zimbabwe to the border with South Africa. Exports from Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Southern Africa use this line to reach the South African ports of Durban and Richards Bay. Local railway lines service Botswana’s mining industries. Botswana Railways is a state-owned subsidiary. The Government of Botswana has stated its intention to transform to a rail-based public transport network in the future, however the Botswana Federation of Trade Unions remains critical of private investment, predicting job losses and declining employee welfare.

Airports: Air services operate to several regional destinations and regular domestic flights operate between Gaborone and Francistown, Maun, Selebi-Phikwe, Ghanzi, Pont Drift and Kasane. Air Botswana is owned by the state. Limited timetables and the high costs of Air Botswana are blamed for the stalled development of the tourism industry in the country. Plans to privatise the domestic national airline in 2008, however, proved unsuccessful.