sivioinstitute.org

The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) 100 Days in Office: Tracking Government Actions/Inactions Against Electoral Promises in Botswana

Mokaloba Mokaloba

The Umbrella for Democratic Change-led government celebrated 100 days in office on 12 February 2025. In the run-up to this anniversary, the Vice President and Minister of Finance Ndaba Gaolatlhe presented the country’s 2025/2026 budget proposals[1], which is also the first budget proposal by the new government. In this regard, this is a key policy pronouncement that speaks to the actions or inactions of the new government following their electoral promises. This article investigates the first 100 days of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) against 176 electoral promises drafted from their 2024 election manifesto. SIVIO Institute has developed the Botswana Citizens Watch Tracker to systematically track and provide evidence of actions of the UDC government under President Duma Gideon Boko to fulfil promises made during elections and other major policy pronouncements it will make during its term of office.

What is Botswana Citizens Watch?

To track the performance of the new government, SIVIO Institute has created an online platform (Botswana Citizens Watch) that tracks in real-time actions undertaken by UDC to fulfil its 176 promises from its 2024 election manifesto. The tracking will be done over five (5) years.

The Election Victory and Actions Undertaken to Meet Election Promises

The UDC government came into power following their October 30, 2024, General Elections win. The 13th parliament was sworn in on 7th November 2024, and President Duma Gideon Boko delivered the first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on the 19th of November 2024. The budget speech, which coincided with the UDC’s first 100 days in power, is the second major policy announcement following the SONA. In both these announcements, the two senior political leaders of the new government highlighted the challenging state of the country’s finances compounded by sluggish diamond sales and record-low government reserves account (Government Investment Account).

In the first 100 days, the UDC government has faced several challenges, including.

  • protests by warring citizens over the increasing corruption in one of the key financial institutions, the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA)[2]
  •  protest by unemployed graduates of the state-owned Botswana University of Agriculture (formerly Botswana College of Agriculture)[3]
  • protests by temporary teachers who had been instructed that their contracts were terminated or not renewed owing to the financial challenges facing the Ministry of Basic Education and Child Welfare.[4]
  • The government and the Botswana Nurses Union are also still at loggerheads due to working conditions and payment of overtime dues[5].
  • Retrenchment at the state-owned University of Botswana despite the promise by the UDC government of ensuring zero retrenchments[6]
  • Many actors, especially from the leading opposition party, pointed to the failure to deliver the P1,800.00 old age pension, minimum wage of P4,000.00, increment of Tertiary Students allowances, and creation of 100,000 jobs, which were all planned for the first 100 days as per the UDC manifesto[7].

In their first 100 days in office, the UDC has implemented the following actions in line with the promises it made:

Actions Implemented by the UDC Government

ClusterPromiseActionSource/linkStatusDate
EconomyPosition Botswana as one of the top 10 diamond trading centres globally and the top 3 in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) regionFinalized the De Beers diamond negotiations that were initiated by the previous government.ReutersIn progress03/02/2025
The agricultural import ban on vegetables was lifted which brought a sense of relief to consumers.Sunday StandardIn Progress16/12/2025
CorruptionMake the anti-corruption body directly answerable to parliamentPresident Boko administration has established the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) as an independent entity detaching it from the Office of the President (OP) where it has been housed previouslyMmegiIn Progress22/11/2024
Ensure genuine and fair trial of those caught in corrupt activitiesFormer President Carter Morupisi was found guilty of corruption and given a seven-year prison term. The Case continuous at the Court of AppealMmegiIn Progress9/12/2024
GovernancePromote fairness and empower disadvantaged members of our society  President Duma Boko and his Cabinet attended a State Burial in the Central Kalahari Game reserve for Mr Pitseng Gaborekwe where he made a promise that his government will ensure equal human rights for all citizens. Mr Gaborekwe’s body has been lying in the morgue in Ghanzi for 3 years following a Court of Appeal decision that barred his burial in his ancestral land of the CKGR. The burial of Mr Gaborekwe was held along the commemoration of the International Human Rights Day where the President assured the nation that this is the start of his government delivery on the respect of human rights especially for the disadvantaged.The Botswana Daily NewsIn Progress10/12/2024


The 2025/2026 Budget Speech and Proposed Actions

The report notes the following proposed actions by the government from the 2025/2026 budget speech whose progress we will be monitoring:

  • Increment of the Old age pension from P 830.00 to P 1 400.00 effective 1 April 2025. The UDC government had promised to increase the old age pension to P 1800.00 within a month after assuming state power.
  • Newborns/ Infant monthly allowance of P 300.00 effective 1 April 2025. The UDC had promised to ensure quality Ante and Post-natal care that will ensure that both the mother and childcare are provided for from the beginning
  • Provision of Free Sanitary Pads to female students. A promise was made to distribute free sanitary pads to female students in primary and secondary schools
  • Proposed increments to Technical and Vocational allowances and Infrastructure upgrading. The UDC had promised to review the current policy, programmes and facilities on Vocational Training and align them with the requirements of the 4th Industrial Revolution
  • Proposed creation of 2000 jobs through the Khoemacau Copper mine and 300 jobs through the Menzi Battery Metals Project. This is against the promise to create 450,000 to 500,000 decent, sustainable, and well-paying jobs within 5 years across new and existing sectors
  • Creation of a centralized Procurement Portal for government tenders to fight corruption and allow for fairness. In their manifesto, the UDC had promised to encourage transparency and accountability in fiscal management and close loops for corruption
  • Increment of Income Tax (for high earners) and corporate tax by 1.5%. This is against a promise to introduce progressive taxation through fewer or even no taxes for the very low-income groups, and gradually increasing taxes with the highest levels of taxes lower than regional taxes

This summary offers a glimpse into the first 100 days of President Duma Boko’s administration. Stay updated on his progress with the Botswana Citizens Watch Tracker as his term unfolds. After one year, we will deliver a comprehensive evaluation of the government’s achievements and present a detailed scorecard.

To view Botswana Citizens Watch, go to: https://www.africancitizenswatch.org/botswana

Footnotes