Boga Thura Manatsha

University of Botswana | UB · Department of History

There is increasing research interest on effective approaches to talent development and ways to establish a superior environment that facilitates the growth of junior athletes into senior and elite levels. There has been little research and funding dedicated to talent development programmes in Botswana. The primary purpose of this paper is to provi...

On 25 April 2013, President Ian Khama (2008–2018) announced a controversial quota system for tribal land allocation in the peri-urban villages in Botswana at a kgotla (village) meeting in Bokaa in the Kgatleng District. Khama informed the villagers that under the land quota system, ‘preferential treatment’ would be given to the ‘locals’ when alloca...

There are rising public concerns about the acquisition of prime land by non-citizens/foreigners in Botswana, especially in the sprawling urban and peri-urban areas. Indians, Nigerians and Chinese, among others, are allegedly involved in such land transactions. There is a salient local resentment towards them and/or such transactions. Sensational me...

The North East District has the most contentious land question in post-colonial Botswana. Most of its land was expropriated by a colonial syndicate called the Tati Concessions (Tati Company) in the 1880s. Chunks of said land are still held under freehold titles resulting in the district experiencing severe land scarcity, especially for communal use...

Francistown is located in the North East district (part of the former Tati district) in Botswana. It was "founded" in 1897 by Daniel Francis, an English prospector and the first director of the Tati Concessions (today called the Tati Company). The Tati Concessions administered the Tati district like a colony within a protectorate after annexing and...

I examine the politics surrounding the creation of Tachila Nature Reserve (TNR) in the North East District (NED) in Botswana from a historical perspective. I situate the discussion within the politics of land and nature conservation in a postcolonial setting. TNR was conceived in 2005, but launched in 2007. It sits on 8000 hectares of freehold land...

Decades after the end of colonialism, the politics of land question has intensified and become more complex, particularly in southern Africa. This has renewed academic interest on the subject. Surprisingly, Botswana, a former British Protectorate, is one of those countries which are rarely mentioned in the ensuing literature. This gives the impress...

The land question in north-eastern Botswana has been, over a century now, a controversial political issue in the country. The article argues that this region faces an inevitable land crisis; which can be politically volatile, if not addressed urgently, but cautiously. It also contends that the concessions signed by European concessionaires in the 1...

Botswana is arguably one of the most "successful" and "stable" countries in Africa and beyond; politically and economically. It attained independence from Britain in 1966, and was the second poorest country in the world, next to Bangladesh. Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita was a paltry US$80. Today, Botswana is classified as an Upper Mid...