The P3 billion CBD plot heist

A storm is brewing over a controversial tender issued by the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture for leasing commercial plots in the Gaborone’s CBD, the Botswana Guardian has established.The tender, DOL/002/2025-2026, has been slammed as a blatant exercise in economic exclusion, marred by opaque requirements, legal oversights, and what critics call an agenda to benefit a privileged and well-connected few.At the heart of the uproar is an outrageous P40 million net asset requirement, a figure that instantly disqualifies the overwhelming majority of citizen-owned businesses and individuals.“This isn’t a tender. It’s a corporate land grab dressed in legal language,” a local entrepreneur said. “They might as well have put ‘citizens not welcome’ in the advert.”The tender's demand that bidders prove net assets of P40 million has raised suspicions about who this tender was really intended for.“No justification has been offered. No market study has been cited. No explanation on how such an elitist barrier aligns with the government’s own Citizen Economic Empowerment Policy.The numbers don’t lie: Less than 0.1 percent of citizen-owned companies in Botswana meet such a high threshold. The Ministry must tell us who they are empowering here? Foreign corporations? Politically connected cartels?” another citizen entrepreneur asked.The plots up for lease in this tender are not just any parcels of land; they are among the most strategically located and commercially valuable properties in Botswana.Situated in the heart of Gaborone’s Central Business District (CBD), this land represents the epicentre of future growth, high-end development, and political visibility.From luxury hotels and corporate headquarters to government complexes and international retail chains, the CBD is the crown jewel of Botswana’s urban economy. To control land here is to control the future of Gaborone.Yet shockingly, while the Ministry imposes a P40 million entry barrier on local bidders, the chosen few will pay a mere P27,500.00 per annum for Plot 54364 Portion A, P27,500.00 per annum for Plot 54364 Portion B, P27,500.00 per annum for Plot 54364 Portion C, P27,500.00 per annum for Plot 54364 Portion D, P50,000.00 per annum for Plot 54360 Portion A measuring 5000 square meters, P50,000.00 per annum for Plot 54360 Portion B measuring 5000 square meters, P52,500.00 per annum for Plot 54370 Portion A measuring 5250 square meters, P52,500.00 per annum for Plot 54370 Portion B measuring 5250 square meters, P52,500.00 per annum for Plot 54369 Portion A measuring 5250 square meters and P52,500.00 per annum for Plot 54369 Portion B measuring 5250 squaremeters in rent to the Gaborone City Council, a negligible sum considering the commercial potential, sources have said.Total revenue the government is expected to collect is P420,000.00 per annum for the 10 plots collectively, and with a 50-year lease, it sums up to P21 million.Industry insiders estimate that with just a fraction of development or resale, each plot could fetch over P300 million, meaning the entire 10-plot tender could unlock well over P3 billion in private profit.They argue that this is not a routine lease but one of the largest and most impactful property allocations in Botswana’s history. Its questionable design, therefore, raises an alarm that a select few may walk away with a generational fortune at the public’s expense.As if the asset barrier wasn’t enough, the Ministry is now being accused of violating procurement laws. In the Invitation to Tenderers (ITT), the Ministry includes a clause stating that attending a site visit is mandatory.However, this critical requirement was nowhere to be found in the gazetted tender advertisement, leaving many potential bidders completely unaware.As per the Public Procurement Act, all mandatory requirements must be clearly disclosed in the Gazette to ensure fairness, transparency, and equal access to opportunities.By hiding the condition deep in the ITT, the Ministry has opened itself to accusations of procedural ambush and premeditated exclusion.“This is a legal landmine. You cannot impose mandatory conditions not disclosed in the gazetted invitation. That’s a clear violation and can invalidate the tender entirely,” a senior legal officer at the Government enclave familiar with procurement law said. Sources close to the matter suggest that the tender criteria were deliberately engineered to filter out genuine citizen participation.The timing of the publication, the lack of transparency, and the procedural missteps all paint a picture of a systemic attempt to restrict access to Botswana’s most valuable urban land.A citizen contractor in the construction industry asked, “Why P40 million? Why wasn’t the mandatory site visit mentioned in the Gazette? Who stands to benefit? Was this a tender made for a pre-selected winner?” Batswana have long demanded a governance model that prioritises inclusion, fairness, and national upliftment, not one that recycles privilege among a connected few.A senior officer in the ministry has echoed that land is a national asset, not a private gift, and decisions on its allocation must reflect the values of equity, transparency, and empowerment for all citizens, especially youth and small businesses that form the backbone of the economy.This tender represents a critical litmus test for the government’s sincerity in its reform agenda. Will it allow a potentially rigged process to proceed, locking billions in value behind a velvet rope?Or will it act decisively to pause, investigate, and reissue the tender with inclusive criteria that give ordinary Batswana a fair shot?The Ministry of Lands and Agriculture has not responded to a questionnaire sent to them last week.

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The P3 billion CBD plot heist