• Key economic institutions remain under caretaker leadership • Executive shake-ups cost country millions • Political interests overshadow principles of good governance
Across Botswana’s public institutions, a quiet but increasingly important governance question is beginning to emerge: what happens when organisations established to drive national priorities spend extended periods under caretaker leadership?
The Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Tiroeaone Ntsima, finds himself between a rock and a hard place as he races against time to appoint substantive Chief Executive Officers of some of his critical parastatals.
The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) has, since attaining power, been accused of having adopted a similar script of the past regime of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) of failing to appoint substantive
Accounting Officers for crucial ministries and departments.
Ntsima currently has five parastatals that are key in driving the country’s economic development and growth, which are operating without substantive CEOs but with caretaker CEOs.
These are the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), Botswana Gambling Authority, Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA), SPEDU and Local Enterprise Agency (LEA).
Sources within the government enclave have revealed that Ntsima is caught between pushing a political agenda, adhering to corporate governance and dealing with the recommendations from the affected boards.
It has also emerged that most of the boards are compromised in making a fair judgment due to their political alignment with the current administration. The non-existence of boards of Directors or lack of quorate/constituted boards is said to have also fuelled the political manipulation and disregard for corporate governance in these institutions.
While the UDC has long sung a song of subscribing to good corporate governance and respect for the rule of law, information gathered by this publication reveals a contradictory reality.
It is alleged that most of the board members of the aforementioned institutions have been reluctant to furnish the minister with the recommendation letters for appointment, while others have subjected their caretaker CEOs to at least two (2) vetting processes by the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) in an effort to have them disqualified.
From enterprise development to regulation and business facilitation, several strategic institutions have at various times operated under interim or caretaker chief executives, including CEDA, LEA, CIPA SPEDU, and the Gambling Authority.
On paper, caretaker appointments are a normal part of institutional life. Boards use them to maintain continuity, preserve stability and avoid operational disruption while recruitment processes are completed or strategic decisions are made.
But when interim leadership stretches from months into years, some governance observers argue that the conversation changes. The question stops being whether institutions remain operational. The question becomes whether they remain ambitious.
Caretaker executives occupy a difficult space. They carry full responsibility for outcomes but may not always carry the same perceived permanence of mandate. They must manage staff, stakeholders, budgets and public expectations while leading institutions whose long-term direction may still be under consideration.
That dynamic can create an understandable tendency toward caution. Major restructures are delayed. Long-horizon investments become harder to champion. Talent decisions become more conservative. Execution remains active, but transformation becomes less certain.
One governance observer described it as “caretaker leadership often protects institutions from disruption. But institutions are not created to be protected indefinitely. They are created to move.”
This, they say, matters particularly for economic institutions. CEDA and LEA do not merely process applications or administer programmes. Their mandate is economic activation.
They exist to stimulate entrepreneurship, unlock citizen participation, strengthen SMEs and influence investment outcomes. Those goals require more than administration.
Similarly, institutions such as CIPA and the Gambling Authority sit at important points in Botswana’s investment and business environment. Their effectiveness shapes how quickly businesses register, how regulations evolve,
and how market participants interpret policy certainty.
Permanent appointments can communicate confidence, mandate clarity and strategic continuity. Extended interim arrangements can create questions about who owns long-term decisions and where accountability ultimately
sits.
“That does not mean caretaker leadership equals underperformance. There are examples across government where acting executives have delivered strong results and later secured substantive appointments. In some cases, boards deliberately use caretaker periods as real-world leadership assessments rather than relying solely on interviews.
But there is another risk that receives less attention. When temporary arrangements become routine, institutions may slowly adapt to operating without long-term leadership certainty,” a governance director in one of the ministries said.
It has been argued that over time, caretakers stop feeling temporary. It becomes the system. Botswana’s ambitions around economic growth, enterprise development and institutional reform depend heavily on agencies that can act with speed, confidence and strategic consistency.
The Boards, allegedly with the influence of politically connected individuals within the UDC, are also using old information, some of which is of maladministration or abuse of office, some unsubstantiated allegations to push for the current caretaker CEOs not to be appointed.
The contracts of most of the caretaker CEOs are coming to an end this year. Ntsima is said to be under pressure to decide who remains and who leaves, using what observers argue is an already tainted process/polluted process that will undermine governance issues.
It is alleged that some of the board members are working with the executive management to sabotage the CEOs.
CEDA Chief Executive Officer
Khalala Mokefane was appointed Caretaker Chief Executive Officer of CEDA in August 2025 following leadership changes and the suspension of former CEO Thabo Thamane by the Ministry of Trade and Entrepreneurship.
The ministry once came under fire for paying the two CEOs while the other was on suspension, and no progress was reported on the investigation against Thamane.
Ever since assuming office, Mokefane has faced resistance from his EXCO. This resulted in a complaint that was raised by some employees of CEDA, where several allegations were raised against him.
Insiders have revealed that Mokefane’s reluctance to approve a controversial P9 million loan could cost him his job. This publication can reveal that he was subjected to two (2) vetting processes.
SPEDU Chief Executive Officer
While Othata Batsetswe, the Acting CEO, has been described as a transformational leader with extensive experience in economic and financial development, he has been at loggerheads with his political leadership.
SPEDU focuses on investment attraction, industrialisation, and diversifying the economy of the region beyond mining. Batsetswe was removed from his office a fortnight ago and ordered to prepare a handover report within minutes of his departure.
Batsetswe was deployed from the ministry to act as chief executive officer at SPEDU. His removal came a few days after he placed the SPEDU Finance Manager on Administrative Leave.
Batsetswe punched holes in his redeployment letter from Ntsima, arguing that the process was contradicting the very same governance that the Minister and the ministry were trying to preach. This was not the first time Batsetswe clashed with the Ministry.
He once refused to award a tender to a contractor who did not bid for such a tender. In a letter he wrote to the Permanent Secretary Joel Ramaphoi in August 2025 in relation to the 30KM Mathathane-Platjan Border Post Road, Batsetswe argued that in the spirit of promoting integrity in the public procurement process and fairness, the Tender could only be awarded to one of the bidders who participated in the tender process. Last week the minister appointed Ronnie Phuthego as another caretaker CEO for SPEDU.
CIPA Chief Executive Officer
The Acting Chief Executive Officer and Caretaker Registrar General of the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) in Botswana, Godfrey Molefe, was also appointed in August 2025.
His appointment was to lead institutional reform under the Botswana Entrepreneurship Transformation Programme (BETP) to digitise and diversify the citizen-driven enterprise landscape.
While the Board, which was introduced in April this year, has shown support for Molefe, insiders say there are elements within his EXCO team with close ties to the Minister and the Board who could turn his luck into his downfall.
Gambling Authority Chief Executive Officer
Moruntshi Kemorwale is a man sitting on a fence, as his appointment has also drawn controversy. Kemorwale, who has been with the Authority since its birth, rose through the ranks to become the Acting CEO. However,
Botswana Guardian understands that two (2) senior officials are being prepared to take over the reins from him. The duo with close ties to the top leadership of the country is allegedly serving the interests of the political elites.
Kemorwale’s strategy, projection and ambitions for the gambling sector might be thwarted as a new face within his executive will become the CEO. Kemorwale has championed responsible gambling in the country with the responsible gambling committee sensitising the public as more people, especially the youth, go into gambling.
Also, his fall has been associated with the 2025 recruitment drive, which was outsourced. Another contention was his plans to sponsor Miss Universe as one of the big platforms by which the Gambling Authority would reach a much bigger audience.
This was to be done together with Botswana Development Corporation (BDC). The clash occurred between the Gambling Authority and BDC. Botswana is bidding to host Miss Universe 2027.
Gambling Authority and BDC have also at some point had differences over the handling of the National Lottery. The National Lottery has become a political hot potato as influential figures within the UDC have set their eyes on the lucrative scheme.
LEA Chief Executive Officer
As months pass with no announcement of the permanent leadership of LEA, questions are beginning to emerge as to what the delay signals for one of Botswana’s key enterprise development institutions.
At the centre of the conversation is Thato Jansen, who continues to serve as Caretaker CEO.
While speculation has circulated that the process surrounding the substantive appointment may have progressed through multiple stages of assessment, no official confirmation has been provided to support such claims.
LEA has also not publicly communicated reasons for the timing of a permanent appointment. The absence of an announcement has fuelled debate among stakeholders, with attention increasingly shifting from whether the
current caretaker leadership is capable to whether broader institutional considerations are influencing the process.
Governance experts note that leadership appointments in public institutions often extend beyond individual performance.
Board processes, government approvals, organisational restructuring, strategic alignment, and long-term institutional positioning can all affect timelines.
In that context, some observers suggest that continued stewardship in a caretaker capacity should not necessarily be interpreted as a lack of confidence.
“Institutions do not always rush permanent appointments, particularly where there is a desire to align leadership with a wider organisational agenda,” a governance commentator familiar with public sector transitions opined.
Others argue that prolonged interim arrangements can create uncertainty internally and externally, especially for organisations expected to drive national priorities around entrepreneurship, SME growth and economic diversification.
For now, Jansen remains in the seat, continuing to lead the organisation while stakeholders await clarity on whether temporary stewardship will eventually become a permanent mandate.
Until an official position is communicated, the unanswered question remains not whether LEA has leadership today, but whether it is ready to define its leadership for the future.
Efforts to speak to Minister Ntsima, who was in South Africa on official duty attending the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Summit, were futile.
The Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Tiroeaone Ntsima, finds himself between a rock and a hard place as he races against time to appoint substantive Chief Executive Officers of some of his critical parastatals.
The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) has, since attaining power, been accused of having adopted a similar script of the past regime of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) of failing to appoint substantive
Accounting Officers for crucial ministries and departments.
Ntsima currently has five parastatals that are key in driving the country’s economic development and growth, which are operating without substantive CEOs but with caretaker CEOs.
These are the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), Botswana Gambling Authority, Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA), SPEDU and Local Enterprise Agency (LEA).
Sources within the government enclave have revealed that Ntsima is caught between pushing a political agenda, adhering to corporate governance and dealing with the recommendations from the affected boards.
It has also emerged that most of the boards are compromised in making a fair judgment due to their political alignment with the current administration. The non-existence of boards of Directors or lack of quorate/constituted boards is said to have also fuelled the political manipulation and disregard for corporate governance in these institutions.
While the UDC has long sung a song of subscribing to good corporate governance and respect for the rule of law, information gathered by this publication reveals a contradictory reality.
It is alleged that most of the board members of the aforementioned institutions have been reluctant to furnish the minister with the recommendation letters for appointment, while others have subjected their caretaker CEOs to at least two (2) vetting processes by the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) in an effort to have them disqualified.
From enterprise development to regulation and business facilitation, several strategic institutions have at various times operated under interim or caretaker chief executives, including CEDA, LEA, CIPA SPEDU, and the Gambling Authority.
On paper, caretaker appointments are a normal part of institutional life. Boards use them to maintain continuity, preserve stability and avoid operational disruption while recruitment processes are completed or strategic decisions are made.
But when interim leadership stretches from months into years, some governance observers argue that the conversation changes. The question stops being whether institutions remain operational. The question becomes whether they remain ambitious.
Caretaker executives occupy a difficult space. They carry full responsibility for outcomes but may not always carry the same perceived permanence of mandate. They must manage staff, stakeholders, budgets and public expectations while leading institutions whose long-term direction may still be under consideration.
That dynamic can create an understandable tendency toward caution. Major restructures are delayed. Long-horizon investments become harder to champion. Talent decisions become more conservative. Execution remains active, but transformation becomes less certain.
One governance observer described it as “caretaker leadership often protects institutions from disruption. But institutions are not created to be protected indefinitely. They are created to move.”
This, they say, matters particularly for economic institutions. CEDA and LEA do not merely process applications or administer programmes. Their mandate is economic activation.
They exist to stimulate entrepreneurship, unlock citizen participation, strengthen SMEs and influence investment outcomes. Those goals require more than administration.
Similarly, institutions such as CIPA and the Gambling Authority sit at important points in Botswana’s investment and business environment. Their effectiveness shapes how quickly businesses register, how regulations evolve,
and how market participants interpret policy certainty.
Permanent appointments can communicate confidence, mandate clarity and strategic continuity. Extended interim arrangements can create questions about who owns long-term decisions and where accountability ultimately
sits.
“That does not mean caretaker leadership equals underperformance. There are examples across government where acting executives have delivered strong results and later secured substantive appointments. In some cases, boards deliberately use caretaker periods as real-world leadership assessments rather than relying solely on interviews.
But there is another risk that receives less attention. When temporary arrangements become routine, institutions may slowly adapt to operating without long-term leadership certainty,” a governance director in one of the ministries said.
It has been argued that over time, caretakers stop feeling temporary. It becomes the system. Botswana’s ambitions around economic growth, enterprise development and institutional reform depend heavily on agencies that can act with speed, confidence and strategic consistency.
The Boards, allegedly with the influence of politically connected individuals within the UDC, are also using old information, some of which is of maladministration or abuse of office, some unsubstantiated allegations to push for the current caretaker CEOs not to be appointed.
The contracts of most of the caretaker CEOs are coming to an end this year. Ntsima is said to be under pressure to decide who remains and who leaves, using what observers argue is an already tainted process/polluted process that will undermine governance issues.
It is alleged that some of the board members are working with the executive management to sabotage the CEOs.
CEDA Chief Executive Officer
Khalala Mokefane was appointed Caretaker Chief Executive Officer of CEDA in August 2025 following leadership changes and the suspension of former CEO Thabo Thamane by the Ministry of Trade and Entrepreneurship.
The ministry once came under fire for paying the two CEOs while the other was on suspension, and no progress was reported on the investigation against Thamane.
Ever since assuming office, Mokefane has faced resistance from his EXCO. This resulted in a complaint that was raised by some employees of CEDA, where several allegations were raised against him.
Insiders have revealed that Mokefane’s reluctance to approve a controversial P9 million loan could cost him his job. This publication can reveal that he was subjected to two (2) vetting processes.
SPEDU Chief Executive Officer
While Othata Batsetswe, the Acting CEO, has been described as a transformational leader with extensive experience in economic and financial development, he has been at loggerheads with his political leadership.
SPEDU focuses on investment attraction, industrialisation, and diversifying the economy of the region beyond mining. Batsetswe was removed from his office a fortnight ago and ordered to prepare a handover report within minutes of his departure.
Batsetswe was deployed from the ministry to act as chief executive officer at SPEDU. His removal came a few days after he placed the SPEDU Finance Manager on Administrative Leave.
Batsetswe punched holes in his redeployment letter from Ntsima, arguing that the process was contradicting the very same governance that the Minister and the ministry were trying to preach. This was not the first time Batsetswe clashed with the Ministry.
He once refused to award a tender to a contractor who did not bid for such a tender. In a letter he wrote to the Permanent Secretary Joel Ramaphoi in August 2025 in relation to the 30KM Mathathane-Platjan Border Post Road, Batsetswe argued that in the spirit of promoting integrity in the public procurement process and fairness, the Tender could only be awarded to one of the bidders who participated in the tender process. Last week the minister appointed Ronnie Phuthego as another caretaker CEO for SPEDU.
CIPA Chief Executive Officer
The Acting Chief Executive Officer and Caretaker Registrar General of the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) in Botswana, Godfrey Molefe, was also appointed in August 2025.
His appointment was to lead institutional reform under the Botswana Entrepreneurship Transformation Programme (BETP) to digitise and diversify the citizen-driven enterprise landscape.
While the Board, which was introduced in April this year, has shown support for Molefe, insiders say there are elements within his EXCO team with close ties to the Minister and the Board who could turn his luck into his downfall.
Gambling Authority Chief Executive Officer
Moruntshi Kemorwale is a man sitting on a fence, as his appointment has also drawn controversy. Kemorwale, who has been with the Authority since its birth, rose through the ranks to become the Acting CEO. However,
Botswana Guardian understands that two (2) senior officials are being prepared to take over the reins from him. The duo with close ties to the top leadership of the country is allegedly serving the interests of the political elites.
Kemorwale’s strategy, projection and ambitions for the gambling sector might be thwarted as a new face within his executive will become the CEO. Kemorwale has championed responsible gambling in the country with the responsible gambling committee sensitising the public as more people, especially the youth, go into gambling.
Also, his fall has been associated with the 2025 recruitment drive, which was outsourced. Another contention was his plans to sponsor Miss Universe as one of the big platforms by which the Gambling Authority would reach a much bigger audience.
This was to be done together with Botswana Development Corporation (BDC). The clash occurred between the Gambling Authority and BDC. Botswana is bidding to host Miss Universe 2027.
Gambling Authority and BDC have also at some point had differences over the handling of the National Lottery. The National Lottery has become a political hot potato as influential figures within the UDC have set their eyes on the lucrative scheme.
LEA Chief Executive Officer
As months pass with no announcement of the permanent leadership of LEA, questions are beginning to emerge as to what the delay signals for one of Botswana’s key enterprise development institutions.
At the centre of the conversation is Thato Jansen, who continues to serve as Caretaker CEO.
While speculation has circulated that the process surrounding the substantive appointment may have progressed through multiple stages of assessment, no official confirmation has been provided to support such claims.
LEA has also not publicly communicated reasons for the timing of a permanent appointment. The absence of an announcement has fuelled debate among stakeholders, with attention increasingly shifting from whether the
current caretaker leadership is capable to whether broader institutional considerations are influencing the process.
Governance experts note that leadership appointments in public institutions often extend beyond individual performance.
Board processes, government approvals, organisational restructuring, strategic alignment, and long-term institutional positioning can all affect timelines.
In that context, some observers suggest that continued stewardship in a caretaker capacity should not necessarily be interpreted as a lack of confidence.
“Institutions do not always rush permanent appointments, particularly where there is a desire to align leadership with a wider organisational agenda,” a governance commentator familiar with public sector transitions opined.
Others argue that prolonged interim arrangements can create uncertainty internally and externally, especially for organisations expected to drive national priorities around entrepreneurship, SME growth and economic diversification.
For now, Jansen remains in the seat, continuing to lead the organisation while stakeholders await clarity on whether temporary stewardship will eventually become a permanent mandate.
Until an official position is communicated, the unanswered question remains not whether LEA has leadership today, but whether it is ready to define its leadership for the future.
Efforts to speak to Minister Ntsima, who was in South Africa on official duty attending the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Summit, were futile.
