SPEDU bows to OP pressure over Mathathane-Platjan road project
SPEDU has alleged bowed to pressure from the Office of the President to cancel the controversial multimillion Pula Mathathane–Platjan Border Post Road tender, which is financed by the European Union (EU).
The construction of the road has, over a long period of time, been marred by controversy with accusations that there could be political interference from the Office of the President, pressuring for the cancellation of the tender.
There have been back-to-back engagements on the issue between SPEDU and its parent ministry - the Ministry of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Office of the President and the EU as the financier.
Further delays were caused by disagreements between SPEDU and the Trade Ministry, where SPEDU was asked to award the tender to a contractor/entity which was not part of the 13 bidders who participated. SPEDU has argued that this will contravene the set laws.
According to sources at SPEDU, the cancellation was reached early this week following a meeting between OP, SPEDU and Trade Ministry officials. The validity period of this tender was extended on December 16 2025.
The tender, floated in August 2024 and closed in September of the same year, attracted 13 citizen-owned bidders. Evaluation was completed in November 2024, but adjudication was yet to be finalised more than a year later.
The Tender encompasses the construction of a 30KM double seal Bituminous single carriageway road, including associated infrastructure such as footpaths, sidewalks and fencing.
In a Tender Cancellation Notice issued this week, ‘A works Contract for the Construction of Mathathane-Platjan Border Post Road (30KM), Ref: Tender NO 003/2024-2025’, the public has been informed of the cancellation of the tender in terms of regulation 66 (4) and (c) of the Public Procurement Regulations 2023.
According to SPEDU, the scope and procurement need has changed significantly, and there has been a material change to the scope of the tender.
“Therefore, the proposed construction of the road can no longer be undertaken under the same conditions initially proposed.”
The assertion by SPEDU contradicts the parent ministry’s statement made to Parliament late last year by Minister Tiroeaone Ntsima.
“There is a procurement process underway, and the contractors have already bid. The process is at the final adjudication stage and will soon be concluded,' Ntsima told Parliament.
SPEDU and the Office of the President, through the Minister for State President, Defence and Security, Moeti Mohwasa, have denied any political influence on the planned cancellation of the project.
Mohwasa denied having interfered in any way with the adjudication of the Mathathane–Platjan Border Post Road tender.
“The issue was handled administratively at the level of the Office of the President, as part of a broader government effort to re-evaluate all major infrastructure projects in light of our current financial situation.
My responsibility is to provide policy guidance, not to participate in operational decisions. It would be completely improper for me, or any political office-bearer, to direct or interfere with procurement processes that are governed by the Public Procurement Act,” Mohwasa said late last year when responding to enquiries from Botswana Guardian.
He trashed the allegations as baseless and unfortunate, arguing that they distort a legitimate administrative process that is meant to ensure responsible use of public funds.
The Presidency was said to have proposed the cancellation of the tender and proposed to insource the project to the Department of Road Transport and Safety with assistance from the Botswana Defence Force, instead of proceeding with the original tender.
This proposal, Mohwasa said, was purely a strategic decision based on fiscal realities and efficiency, not a matter of political preference.
He argued that the government currently faces budget constraints, and it must ensure that both public and donor funds are used as effectively as possible.
The BDF, he said, with the assistance of other government departments, has the necessary road construction equipment and technical capability.
“By using existing government resources, we can reduce costs significantly and extend infrastructure development to more communities within the same budget envelope.
The aim is to ensure that EU funding covers more kilometres of road, benefiting more citizens rather than being concentrated on a single section.
We also intend to use the funds to cover the Platjaan–Essack Farm junction, Sherwood Talana, Mothababeng Road, and Semolale/Zimbabwe border.'
In addition, he contended that some farmers have come forward and offered to contribute gravel to the project if undertaken by the government, which will drastically reduce the actual costs.
According to a confidential letter from Othata Batsetswe, Acting Chief Executive Officer of SPEDU, dated August 29, 2025 to Joel Ramaphoi Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Entrepreneurship, as per Section 63 (2) of the Act, the Accounting Officer can only award the Tender to a substantially compliant bidder.
Further, the evaluation procedure explicitly stated in the bidding package, shall form the basis of such an award in terms of Section 64 (1) of the Act.
Batsetswe stated that therefore, it follows that a bidder or any other entity cannot be considered for award of the tender.
He said to award the tender to a contractor/entity that had not responded to the Tender would be a total disregard of the evaluation process and a clear contravention of the Act.
“The repercussion of such a contravention exposes the Accounting Officer and the company to legal, financial and reputational risk.
Over and above the provisions stated above, the critical questions unanswered are on job creation, should the tender/award go in the direction being proposed, he stated in the confidential letter.
He indicated that as SPEDU, they wanted to finalise everything and be ready for ground-breaking on any day before the end of September 2025.
The question of the cost savings and capability to construct a commercial trade route has not been addressed, considering that the proposed agent does not have any known capacity, nor does it fit within the confines of the procurement criteria.
SPEDU Acting CEO also the Accounting Officer, Othata Batsetswe, could not be reached for comment at press time as his mobile was not reachable. The CEO was said to be having an engagement in the SPEDU area with Ministers Ntsima and Mohwasa.