The recent changes in employment law are significant. They have consolidated all the labour laws into one piece of legislation and codified some of the common law and International Labour Organization principles. The new law also increased the statutory leave days, adding 3 days of family responsibility leave, union leave and paternity leave. Maternity leave has also been increased from 12 to 14 weeks, with confinement increased from 6 to 8 weeks. An adoption leave has also been introduced. All these will have a strain on business expenditure and therefore must be provisioned for in the financials of a business. / Read more

OLEBILE MUZILA
PARTNER | DRD
E: olebile@bookbinderlaw.co.bw

TEFO GAONGALELWE
PARTNER | DRD
E: tefo@bookbinderlaw.co.bw

The BERA Regulations – Balancing the Economy

The Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA) Regulations of 2024 effectively shut the door on non-citizen entities importing 90% of petroleum, to reserve it for Botswana Oil Limited, for national security.

The effect of this move was that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the energy sector declined. The sector experienced market shrinkage with UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and IMF data recording inflows of US$ 361m as at the end of Q3 of 2025 compared to US$ 708m that was invested in 2022. This has the effect of deterring renewable energy investors, who had reportedly been eyeing investments in solar and green hydrogen. / Read more