BUS RANK EXPLODES

 

Tensions at the Gaborone Bus Rank are steadily escalating, with transport operators, informal traders and service providers increasingly feeling sidelined, and threatened by developments imposed on them without proper consultation.

As the matter plays out before the courts, it is becoming clear that the real problem is not the developments themselves but a breakdown in communication between Gaborone City Council (GCC) and those whose livelihoods depend on the bus rank.

At the centre of the dispute is Silver Pack Investments, a private developer that has been granted a 30-year lease by GCC to revamp and modernise the Bus Rank.

Council and the developer insist that the project will enhance infrastructure and improve order, but those operating at the rank find the process unsettling and hostile.

In-fact they describe it as a handover that has left them dealing with a “stranger” who now holds power over land they have worked on for years.

Transport operators recently sought court intervention to halt all developments at the bus rank until Council clearly outlines how their businesses and services will be accommodated during renovations, a request they were granted.

Their fear is that construction will severely disrupt operations, force temporary shutdowns and potentially push them out altogether.

Operators also argue that GCC, an institution they have long regarded as their custodian and regulator, has withdrawn without adequately defending or guiding them through the transition.

In their view, Council left them in the lurch and stepped aside, leaving them to negotiate with a developer armed with a lease and asserting full rights over the land.

What appears to have shocked many operators is the revelation in court that possession of the land was already handed over to Silver Pack Investments in August 2025, months before the dispute reached the courts.

By the time operators sought judicial intervention, the process they hoped to stop had long been completed.

Court heard that the developer plans to build a double-storey structure, introduce upper and lower parking levels, revamp market stalls and upgrade facilities to improve the appearance and functionality of the bus rank.

On paper, the project is framed as a long-overdue facelift for an area that has over the past years drawn criticism for congestion, disorder and deteriorating infrastructure.

However, the aggrieved feel such transformation will not be without disruption, they say reconstruction will require temporary suspension of business activities, evacuation of certain areas and the presence of heavy earth-moving machinery.

Transport operators fear this will cripple their ability to pick up and drop off passengers, the very core of their business.

Operators argue that even without construction, congestion at the bus rank is already severe. They told the court that the facility operates with one narrow entrance that also serves as an exit, and that it can take up to 30 minutes to leave the bus rank during peak hours.

Introducing construction, they argued, would turn an already strained system into chaos.

So concerned are the applicants that they urged Lobatse High Court Judge, Jennifer Dube to personally visit the bus rank before delivering judgment, insisting that only a physical inspection would reveal the reality on the ground.

Judge Dube has since issued a Rule Nisi, preserving the status quo for now, and is expected to deliver her ruling on the 6th of March 2026.

Meanwhile, Council and Silver Pack Investments strongly dispute claims that the project will cause major disruption.

They argue that any inconvenience will be minimal and manageable, insisting that redevelopment is necessary and long overdue.

They argue that the operators have prematurely rushed to court, since the developers have not even begun ‘real works’ at the bus rank, but are still at pre-construction stage.

Nonetheless the operators are not convinced, they argue that they acted after learning that ‘works’ would commence on the 1st of January 2026.

Further, they said it is more frightening to learn in court that the developer, if able, could have long begun construction works in August 2025, as there was nothing stopping them from doing so.

The operators are disappointed that Council failed to communicate this openly with them.

In their defence, Council argued that transport operators have no ownership, leasehold or statutory entitlement to the portions of land earmarked for development.

It further claims that congestion at the bus rank is not accidental but self-inflicted, alleging that operators have violated long-standing agreements by parking vehicles instead of operating on a drop-

and-pick basis.

Council also alleges that operators illegally installed a boom gate at the rank.

According to GCC, the applicants’ long-standing use of the bus rank does not grant them superior rights over the Council’s mandate to manage, regulate and develop municipal infrastructure.

It is on this basis that the affected feel uncertain about their future.

Following Judge Dube’s decision, traders operating inside market stalls received letters instructing them to vacate or face rental increases of P2 500 per month.

Traders told this publication this week, that they have been paying P700 per month to Council. They are shocked that a different person is demanding hiked rentals when they have not been informed about him.

This development has deepened fear and resentment at the bus rank. Tempers nearly flared into violence when the letters were delivered by messengers and not the developer.

The bus rank is currently brewing with unease, hostility and a looming conflict.

Many operators feel eviction could happen at any moment, without warning or alternatives. They say Council’s silence and reliance on legal authority, rather than engagement, has left them exposed and anxious.