Pula Institute of Town Planners-PITP

01/06/2026

On Saturday, 30 May 2026, University of Botswana students from
School of Design and Built Environment-Department of Urban and Regional Planning presented the PITP Code of Ethics. The session was held at the Main Mall Open Square in Gaborone and was attended by the PITP President, Mr. Nyaladzi Tema, members of the Executive Committee (EXCO), and other PITP members. The discussions were engaging and constructive, providing valuable insights and contributing to a successful and fruitful session.

About the meeting Venue …

The venue was chosen as a model for fellow students, town planners and urban stakeholders, showing how public spaces can be used interchangeably for learning, social interaction, arts & performance, and commerce while remaining environmentally conscious and people-centered.

01/06/2026

20/04/2026

The Botswana P**a Institute of Town Planners (PITP) Executive Committee convened its Quarter 1 meeting on 18 April 2026, in accordance with its constitutional obligation. The primary purpose of the meeting was to review progress made during the first quarter of the year, assess the implementation of the Institute’s annual strategy, and ensure alignment with its overarching objectives.

The meeting provided a structured platform for members to present and evaluate progress reports across key focus areas, enabling the Committee to identify achievements, address emerging challenges, and recalibrate priorities where necessary.Main highlights included; professional development , brand building, investment portfolio and general operations.

In addition, the Executive Committee deliberated on the Institute’s role in contributing to policy development and research formulation within the urban and regional planning sector (such as the Town and Country Planning Act especially the Professions Act .

The meeting also addressed matters relating to regional collaboration (SADC), recognizing the importance of strategic partnerships in advancing planning practice, knowledge exchange, and capacity building. Overall, the session reinforced the Institute’s commitment to good governance, accountability, and the continuous advancement of the planning profession.

15/04/2026

Planning Expert Calls for Legal and Institutional Alignment to Address Peri‑Urban Growth in Botswana

Kitwe, Zambia | 9 April 2026

Rapid peri‑urban growth in Botswana is exposing deep‑seated weaknesses in the country’s legal and institutional planning framework, according to Mr. Robert Maabong of the P**a Institute of Town Planners.

Mr. Maabong was presenting a paper titled “Interrogating the Legal and Institutional Framework for Effective Urban Management - by Robert Maabong and Nnyaladzi Tema” at the 11th National Planning Conference, held from 7–9 April 2026 at the Garden Court Hotel in Kitwe, under the theme “Transforming Development Planning: Aligning Laws, Systems, Spaces and People.”

He noted that while Botswana’s spatial planning system is grounded in the Town and Country Planning Act (Cap. 32:09), rapid urban expansion from cities such as Gaborone and Francistown has produced complex peri‑urban areas where statutory planning systems intersect with customary land administration. This interaction, he argued, has resulted in land disputes, informal land markets, fragmented development control and uneven settlement growth.

“Peri‑urban areas in Botswana exist within plural legal and governance orders. Customary and statutory systems often operate with overlapping or competing authority, creating governance challenges that current planning frameworks are not adequately equipped to resolve,” Mr. Maabong said.

Institutional Fragmentation a Key Constraint

The presentation highlighted institutional fragmentation as a major impediment to effective urban management. Planning and land management responsibilities are dispersed across multiple ministries, local authorities and semi‑autonomous bodies such as Land Boards, resulting in policy misalignment, blurred accountability and weak coordination.

Mr. Maabong pointed to Statutory Instrument No. 26 of 2024, which transferred selected planning functions to Land Boards, noting that while the reform aimed to improve efficiency, it has introduced procedural confusion (particularly in peri‑urban villages such as Mogoditshane, Tlokweng and Oodi) where subdivision and consolidation decisions are sometimes made without adequate reference to existing developments and local authority regulations.

He further noted that overlapping mandates involving institutions such as the Special Economic Zones Authority have created parallel and occasionally conflicting planning processes within the same administrative boundaries.

Limited Legal Recognition of Strategic Spatial Plans

Concerns were also raised regarding the weak legal status of key spatial policy instruments. Although the National Spatial Plan (NSP) 2036 provides a long‑term framework for balanced spatial development, it lacks explicit legal backing under the Town and Country Planning Act, reducing its effectiveness in guiding development and investment decisions.

Similarly, while the National Planning Commission, established under the National Planning Act No. 5 of 2024, has improved coordination in socio‑economic planning, spatial planning remains inadequately integrated within its core mandate.

Customary Land Governance and Inclusive Planning

Mr. Maabong underscored the continued influence of customary land administration in peri‑urban villages, noting that the coexistence of customary and statutory systems (often guided by different planning logics) has contributed to inconsistent development control and growing informality.

He further observed that existing planning legislation offers limited opportunities for meaningful public participation, undermining inclusive and people‑centred development. This gap, he noted, is increasingly significant as peri‑urban communities densify and diversify, and was evidenced by recent community resistance to proposals to upgrade Mogoditshane and Tlokweng to city status.

Pathways for Reform

Feedback from conference discussions emphasized the need for reforms that align laws, institutions, spaces and people. Proposed interventions included harmonising land and spatial planning legislation, strengthening inter‑ministerial coordination, integrating customary land governance into statutory planning, clarifying and gazetting settlement boundaries, and building planning capacity at the local level.

Concluding his presentation, Mr. Maabong stressed that sustainable and resilient peri‑urban development in Botswana will depend on deliberate legal, institutional and participatory reforms.

“Without stronger alignment between legal frameworks, institutional mandates and community needs, peri‑urban areas will continue to grow in ways that are uncoordinated, contested and socially unsustainable,” he said.

13/04/2026

Nyaladzi Tema - President of P**a Institute of Town Planners, Executive Committee and PITP membership is invited to Botswana Built Environment Conference and Expo with tickets available at a cost per person.

Please join the discussion
Botswana Women In Construction Organisation Botswana Climate Change Network 360 Events Affair Crystal Home Properties

11/04/2026

10/04/2026

PITP President Calls for Practical, Inclusive Urban Planning in SADC

The President of the P**a Institute of Town Planners (PITP) has urged planners across the SADC region to adopt more inclusive and practical approaches to urban development, particularly in dealing with informality, professional collaboration and the use of global frameworks.

Speaking at the 11th National Planning Conference in Kitwe, Zambia, he emphasised that informality is a permanent feature of African cities and should be integrated into planning systems rather than treated as a temporary problem.

He also proposed the development of a SADC-wide framework for recognising planning professionals, aimed at improving mobility, cooperation and standards across the region.

On global frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063, he noted that while they may seem distant, their success depends on how they are applied in everyday planning decisions.

He concluded by calling on planners to embrace their role as public servants, stressing that planning decisions have long-term impacts on livelihoods, inclusion and urban resilience.

https://guardiansun.co.bw/news/international/pitp-president-calls-for-practical-inclusive-urban-planning-in-sadc

09/02/2026

02/02/2026

Highlights of the WTPD symposium Dec- 2025 held under the theme “Planning for Resilient Futures: Advancing Economic Transformation, Sustainability and Inclusive Communities in Botswana.”

The discussions strongly align with AfDB’s strategic priorities on urban development and governance, climate adaptation, infrastructure resilience, decentralisation, private sector participation, and sustainable financing of cities and local governments.
Across all sessions, spatial planning emerged as a cross-cutting enabler for economic transformation, climate resilience, inclusive service delivery, and investment readiness.

In his speech, Hon. Minister Dr Edwin Dikoloti expressed his sincere gratitude to the P**a Institute of Town Planners for their commitment to advancing professional excellence and for bringing everyone together for such an important national dialogue. He stated that "Your dedication ensures that Botswana remains on a path toward sustainable, inclusive, and economically vibrant development. As the Minister currently responsible for Town and Country Planning, I commit my support for future efforts towards driving Planning forward.
With planning, we can achieve the Botswana we aspire to be, and with collaboration, we will build it".

Opening Remarks – Mr. Tema, President of PITP
Mr. Tema set the tone of the symposium by contextualising the theme within Botswana’s exposure to multiple systemic shocks, including rapid urbanisation, climate change impacts such as flooding, declining global diamond demand, and evolving political and economic conditions. He emphasised that these shocks have exposed vulnerabilities within Botswana’s planning systems, particularly their limited ability to anticipate, absorb, and respond to disruption.
He positioned spatial planning as a strategic investment tool rather than a narrow regulatory function, noting that the economy is fundamentally spatial and that decisions on where development occurs directly shape productivity, resilience, and inclusion. Mr. Tema underscored the importance of aligning planning with Government Transformation Goals, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Botswana Economic Transformation agenda. He called for planners to demonstrate tangible impact by guiding infrastructure investment, reducing vulnerability, and enabling inclusive growth, a message that directly resonates with AfDB’s emphasis on results-driven urban development and institutional strengthening.

Financing Cities and Local Governments – Ms. Victoria (AfDB)
Ms. Victoria outlined AfDB’s approach to financing urban development and strengthening local governments across Africa. She noted that AfDB prioritises cities and municipalities that demonstrate political commitment to transformation, clear leadership vision, and readiness to engage with international financing mechanisms, including creditworthiness and institutional capacity.
She identified key constraints limiting access to finance, including poor project preparation, weak spatial data, fragmented institutional arrangements, limited procurement capacity, and low levels of own-source revenue. Importantly, she emphasised that AfDB provides technical assistance and capacity-building support to help local authorities reach financing readiness, particularly in project preparation and institutional reform.
Her presentation reinforced AfDB’s commitment to urban infrastructure, municipal finance, governance reform, and catalytic investment, while underscoring the importance of spatial planning as a foundation for bankable urban projects.