Are you guys good, is everything okay?

This morning I was with a mate who decided to give some hitch hikers a ride because of the uselessness of the local transport.. the police stopped him and charged him because apparently only buses should be transporting people.. and bus operators are complaining...

Help me understand how entitled an idiot has to be To demand that people who have to get to work at 7am in Gabs from Kopong should not hitch a ride from the public and instead wait an hour for a slow, old useless bus ... A bus so old and dilapidated that you can see the road through the floor as it drives. The seats used to be blue but are brown, sticky and smelly..Then an idiot that probably didn't do much better than grade 7 says he is entitled to your money for such a service.. And the department of Transport takes their side...

A few months ago, the idea of mordern city wide subways was proposed by the ministry and all over social media these taxi and combi gremlins were in a rage about it talking about how their jobs are going to be taken...why the hell should we be forced to keep them employed.. we want efficiency and they fail... We want attention to detail...we want a bus that leaves at 0630 when it says it leaves at such a time.. not 0650 because it was waiting to load up standing commuters too...

Where does this entitlement come from.. In the hair business, local women are at odds with Zimbabwean hair dressers who often do a better job for less and have you wanting to go back.. why not just compete and improve the quality of your services... They have begun hostilities with Zimbabwean hair dressers... especially around areas like Mogoditshane..

Back to this morning...the dude I was with is going to get his unfairly written ticket and is charged P1500 initially but offered a way out for P200 on the spot.. that Is pay P200 and no charge... I don't think that's standard procedure in traffic fine law... And to make matters worse, the corrupt officer claimed there was some cars that were transporting people who should be using the buses and bus drivers had their license plate numbers taken... My mates car wasn't in there but he still got charged... If you live in Kopong you'd understand how much of an understatement "piece of crap" is in regards to transport there...what are members of the public expected to do.. stand in a slow bus everyday just to reach work late?

And lastly, can someone explain to me what kind of school teaches IT and expects students to bring their own mouse to class for tests..? Because that's exactly what happens at Gaborone technical College.. Nothing works... And the institution is expected to produce top talent.. can we really produce competent people from there? Just curious... If the school gets a budget but has run down EVERYTHING...

Where is this country really headed.. when you go to DRTS and their useless website it doesn't work.. the govt paid eye watering money for its development though..

Either that or the infamous " No network, try next week"... There has been no network since I was a kid .. Nothing ever works smoothly here when the govt is involved...very useless leadership frankly....

Hi there i’m 20F looking for friends in Gaborone I can’t really post more information about myself without getting flagged but please reach out! i’m also in 4th year uni. I love traveling to places around the country when i can afford to, particularly Maun

Hi guys. There's this guy on my friendlist on FB who keeps sharing this website where it makes incredible claims regarding Ai. I just wanted someone more versed on the language to look at it and confirm whether or not this is something special created by the author or if it is something that has been done by casual AI users before him. In other words, has anyone ever come across what is being addressed on the web page in the AI space.

The site is brute88.com

Please provide links if there are any relevant sources to look at.

Have a beautiful evening.

Please 🥹 … why a gay man specifically? Idk maybe its bcoz ive created an imaginary b-friend in my head and now i think i can have them in real life 💁‍♂️
I have “friends” but not ppl i can vent out to, they have their own bfs there.. Theyre just ppl i know and happen to have their mobile numbers.
Im looking for someone 19-25yo.. (im also in that age range)
About Me- motor enthusiast, i LOVE FOOD fr bruh, sarcastic, i love driving!,, open to anything that doesnt involve drugs and others dying..
Yeah hmu if youre interested.. genuinely need a best friend.

Title: Botswana is a young country running on an old system. Nobody’s the villain, but the numbers don’t add up.

For a long time, the rule has been simple: the older you are, the higher your seat. When a young person gets hired into a real position, the first reaction is “they’re still inexperienced.” We’d rather have someone older who’s been around. That habit has outlived the reasons for it.

Look at who actually lives here. In the 2022 census, the median age was 26 and people aged 18 to 35 made up 30% of the population. Only 5.7% were 65 or older. Yet in a lot of offices and institutions, the people making final calls are still in their 60s, 70s and 80s. The decision-making layer doesn’t look like the country it decides for. statsbotsstatsbots

I’m not saying older people need to retire, and I’m not blaming them. The same system boxed them in. They waited decades for their turn, and every professional is chasing the same two things: a better position, then a good retirement. When your next step and your retirement terms depend on holding your seat, you hold it. That’s an incentive problem, not a character flaw. But the result is a blockage with nowhere for anyone to move up.

It also shows in how we design things for young people. A lot of youth programs reflect an older picture of success: farming tools, livestock, the traditional route. But young people are moving toward towns, cities and corporate life. About 67% of Botswana’s population now lives in urban areas, up from 64%. We also send people abroad on scholarships to study fields with no matching jobs back home, so they build careers in other countries. We end up training talent for someone else’s economy. statsbots

The job numbers show the strain. Youth unemployment (ages 15 to 35) rose from 25.1% in 2015/16 to 28.9% in 2024/25, and the youth labour force grew 8.3%, from 427,089 to 467,267. Young women were at 30.7% and young men at 27.2%. More young people are looking for work, and a bigger share can’t find it. statsbotsstatsbots

I don’t think the fix is pushing someone out of their seat so someone else can have it. That keeps us fighting over the same old jobs. The fix is creating new seats: roles that fit today’s economy, investors who build here, and a real place for the people studying abroad to come back to. If we treat opportunity as something we can create instead of something we ration, the skills this country already has would carry it a long way.

Where are you seeing this? Is it shifting where you work, or is it the same story?

Sources: Statistics Botswana, 2022 Population and Housing Census; Statistics Botswana, Botswana Multi-Topic Household Survey 2024/25 Labour Force brief.

I’ve always been fascinated by the strange things that sit at the edges of our understanding: the possibility of lives beyond the one we know, the mysteries of consciousness, the thin line between the seen and unseen, and the ways our ancestors understood a universe that still refuses to give up all its secrets.

These questions found their way into my 4th book and new collection of stories, The Moon Knows All the Secrets of the World Rooted in magical realism and African cosmology, the book explores strange encounters, memory, grief, love, identity, and the possibility that reality is far more mysterious than our ordinary lives allow us to believe.

I’m drawn to the thought that we might be connected to one another, and to the universe itself, in ways we haven’t yet learned to understand. We arrive in this world with so many questions, inherit stories from those who came before us, and leave with mysteries still unresolved. Perhaps some stories help us sit a little longer with those questions instead of rushing to answer them.

The book is free on Amazon for the next 24 hours

Read/download it here: https://www.amazon.com/Moon-Knows-all-Secrets-World-ebook/dp/B0HCFJ5J76/ref

If you decide to read it, I’d love to hear what you think. An honest review would also mean a great deal to me as an independent author.

For all the football fans out there, FIFA has instituted a unique aproach to U15 tournament, prioritizing exposure rather than finding the best team. Teams play 8 V 8 with 20 minutes per half. No team is truly knocked out, but the best performing teams will rise in rankings and move up the groups until the best team is crowned after the week, being the team with the most points.

By no team is truly knocked out, the idea is to guarantee some minimum number of games, as well as being open to all FIFA member states. Botswana is in team O and will face Belarus in the first encounter this month.

Click link for more info

https://www.fifa.com/en/articles/dates-venues-teams-format

Hey guys, do i need a permit to teach my sister how to drive without registering for a driving school? I plan on getting L stickers that ill put on all sides of the car we’ll be using. I have a class B (0 restrictions) drivers license.
So do i need to register with the DRTS or just get the stickers and im good to go?
The “buka ya matshwao” says that a learner driver must be accompanied by a licensed driver and the car must have the L stickers on all sides, or maybe i misunderstood… 💁‍♂️
Eish ha re na madi a go duela di driving school. Ba tura batho bale, gape re bata license ya auto, ke chaa chaa hela bo re hetsa..

Good day my fellow Batswana, what would you say is the best sector to invest under? Say maybe you have 25-30k. Where would you pour all this money? And please, let’s not say Betway and Forex😂

One thing I have noticed in the current day discourse and debates. We have been made to think that just cause something is "bad" or made in bad faith, it necessarily makes it false.

The most racist person alive can say a statement like "Africans In general have achieved less in scientific discoveries and in technology, and education, than Europeans and East Asians, across back in the day and now"

YES, he may be racist, YES racism is WRONG. YES, it was done in bad faith. But are they lying?

The most xenophobic person alive can say, "The long-term effects of illegal immigration, and uncontrolled borders, can be detrimental to the nation and it's a sovereign threat."

YES, they may be Xenophobic, YES Xenophobic is WRONG. YES, it was done in bad faith. But the central question is, are they lying?

I'm not saying you should listen to these people all the time. Most racists and Xenophobes say completely inaccurate things and are too extreme. But are we gonna pretend that everything they say is a 100% wrong. Cause of their stances.

But the thing is, bad faith doesn't equal false. What motivates you to do something does not correlate to how true or false you might be.

I would argue it's more dangerous and harmful to call someone racist or Xenophobic without engaging with their points. If they point out data or something that is factually true. And many people shout "RACIST, XENOPHOBE". Any outsider who knows the truth will now start believing the racist in many other things, too, cause it seems people are scared of engaging with the truth. They see it as a 'forbidden fruit'.

So I would say if someone's LYING call them a liar, if someone's racist/Xenophobic/bigoted and they Lie call them out on their ideology and their lies. But if the same person is all that and mention a VERY TRUE statement, it's best to point out their bigotry AND be intellectually honest by engaging with the true statement.

This is exactly what happens in comment sections in Botswana, South Africa, and Southern Africa. I have noticed this.

Hello everyone 👋🏿,

I have recently been told that there are about 36 students studying online through BYU Pathway (the LDS distance learning program).

I'd very like to network with such. If you're a student in the program and in Gabs, please drop me a message. The idea is to create a student community for study sessions, tuition, and eventually, graduation events.

I recently went around asking girls what they prefer or want in a man, and 90% of them said money.

My question is: What led women to become this desperate for money?

Just the other day, I met this one hun who saw me carrying a plastic bag. She was like, “Hey, can you buy me one too? I’ll thank you.”

I was like, “Thank you how?”

She replied, “Don’t act like you don’t know what I mean.”

It was clear that she had done this plenty of times before. In my innocence, I actually went to the shops with her and bought her a plastic bag full of the goods she wanted or claimed she needed.

To my surprise, she then asked, “Okay, where do you stay, or should we do it in the car?”

Mind you, this was a UB first-year student!

Honestly, I was disappointed. I asked her why she was doing that and told her she should respect herself. Her response was “This is Gaborone ,am just a girl "

A few minutes later, a call came in from her boyfriend, and she answered it like it was nothing.

I tried to save her, but you know what they say: When she's gone, she's gone forever.

Another thing that didn't sit well with me was how little it seemed to take for her to agree to sleep with someone. I mean, if she saw me a man who, I would say, looks like he's doing well for himself and all she asked for was, say, some sitshebo, then it makes you wonder whether she's used to doing this for even less, or sometimes for free. I Obviously didn't sleep with her cause I knew her body count is double digits and I would be disrespecting myself...The way she looked at me like I was crazy or something 😭😭

My question is: What went wrong?

I genuinely want to understand.

I then went on to conduct my survey, and oh Lord, the things I found out! Gaborone is indeed dirty. I won't mention some of the things I discovered here, but all I can say is that most of the girls I asked said they wanted money from a man.

And these were women from different walks of life: clubbing girls, church girls, insurance girls, and others.

So, what exactly is happening in our society?

Currently doing road trip in Southern Africa am just realised I lost my yellow fever certificate in my previous country, despite I have my pdf scan copy of the yellow book with showing my all information, vaccination date and clinic stamp. I know Botswana requires traveller to present yellow book if they were in yellow zone countries previously and right a month ago I was in Kenya for 4 days. Now I am planning to enter Botswana Kasane from Zambia Livingstone, will the Botswana officials accept my digital pdf copy?

​

Many years ago, I can't remember how many (I'm terrible at keeping score of time), I registered for the then President's Day competition under the drawing category. Before I transitioned into 3D modeling I was a fine artist and oil painter. I say that but it never earned me a single thebe, so it was just a skill I picked up and cultivated.

Anyway, I made two drawings using white charcoal (or chalk), using a fancy Faber-Castell pencil on black paper. One was a zebra and the other a cheetah. The drawings were stunning because they came out like photography film negatives if you've ever seen them. I framed them and submitted.

Per the rules, i understood that there would be local, regional and national segments. If your work passed local it went forward and so on. Everyone who lost would have to go collect their work after each segment. But the final winner at the national level would have their work displayed at the national museum.

I never expected anything. A lot of time passed until the competitions ended. People had collected their work but no one ever called me. I assumed i had lost because of i had won they would have called right?? So i go to the office of the ministry of youth in my village. The lady tells me she doesn't know anything, yet she's the one who was facilitating the whole exchange and registration process with her colleagues. They all just collectively basically shrug me off like gtf outta here kid we don't know anything. If your stuff is not back it's probably been lost or damaged, and you signed the papers that said we're not liable, now gtf outta my aircon.

I leave and forget about the whole thing, i accept that I've lost and forget about the whole thing. A while later that same year i was in Gaborone, and i decided to go check my stuff at the national museum. Guess what i find displayed there? What else if not my very own drawings. Per the rules, if my work is displayed it means I'd won. But no, of course such a thing couldn't happen to someone like me. I talk to the security lady and some office lady and get my stuff.

When i looked at the drawings later at home i felt so sickened by the sight of them that i almost destroyed them right then. But the amount of effort i put in stayed my hand. My friend's sister had just gotten married, and i decided to gift them to her as a wedding present. I don't know if they still have them to this day but i hope so. And i never knew who actually won, if anyone, they didn't even bother to announce any winners for any segment.

And that is how i met your mother. I mean that's how i put my pencil and brush down and started 3D. I realized that it was a joke being an artist in this country, no matter how good you are, even if your work is at international standards levels, even the government will toy with it. I never drew or painted anything for many years since then. But the other day i picked up a pencil and made a little gorilla outline. I think i might still have it, after all art is in the mind not the hand, it's not like i don't practice in my head.

As for my 3D work, well I'm also at international standards levels with it, and I'm eking out meager earnings online with my work, the advent of AI is messing everything up but it's much much better than anything i could ever do with art in Botswana. I have attached a picture of my little gorilla outline and my 3D models.

I've been following the Dawn Bell Academy vs COSBOTS case, and I think it raises some interesting questions about copyright licensing in Botswana.

As I understand it, COSBOTS is claiming P38,276.64 in licensing fees from Dawn Bell, while the academy has challenged the basis of that claim, including the failure to identify the specific materials and authors involved.

What I'm curious about is this: How does this licensing system actually work, and is it fair in the way it is applied to institutions in Botswana? If a school purchases textbooks and uses them for educational purposes, under what circumstances should it have to pay additional licensing fees to a separate organisation?

Hi all, I replaced my current car and I'm trying to sell my old one .

Won't post here due to irrelevance, but I wanted to know: what's the best place to sell one ?

dealerships told me the car is too old (year 2005) for them, so I need to sell it privately.

Hi guys, i 24M Zimbabwean based in Maun. As the title says ' how do you find a friend'. This question has been popping in my mind lately, not that i feel lonely or i dont have people to interact with. In recent years, i have been having these so called friends who have 1 thing or a few things in common and that's sad, be it brother in Christ or a mediocre someone who only talks about girls which is cool sometimes or someone who i only play FIFA with and that's it. But i believe as a guy at some point you should have that one buddy who motivates you in almost everything you're interested in, be it career-wise, business, relationships etc, like that one friend who has a lot of things in common with you, sculpting your bodies together, making that bag, learning same or almost same stuff, having same relationship goals etc. Btw, i love tech, anime, sports, i hit the gym consistently, do cali and always tryna learn new things esp in tech. I go to church, making sure im always seeking the kingdom of God. I drink wine sometimes (yeah still not perfect). Never had the privilege to go to Uni but im not as dump as they think. Oh and this post isnt about scouting for a friend or whatever that. Just suggestions

Am I the only one not interested in the marriage ritual? Like I have nothing for marriage. I don't see mosola wa teng. I'm not saying I can't love someone and commit to them but I just don't see the appeal of marriage. It's like someone said that if a man doesn't marry you he doesn't love you. And in my opinion most marriages are performative. People want other people to see and know that they're married hence divorce rate is sooo high. It was built on the foundation of validation and attention not love. I'm not saying people who marry are not in love. I'm saying....argh you get it. Your thoughts? Btw I come in peace 🕊️

Hey hey, anyone using standard chartered's easy banking account? I would like to ask you a couple of questions. I want to create one and would like to get some things sorted out first

I've been looking for a reasonable priced house for rent in Gaborone for the last 3 months. I have to say this experience has highlighted the greed and total lack of awareness of people here.

They don't repair damages and wear and tear in the houses yet they jacked up the prices for the next tenant without even though the houses are now worse than when the current/previous tenants went in. They seem to expect the new tenants to update their houses for them. They advertise dirty houses that is not fit for pigs to be in. There's no gap (for cleaning and repairs) between tenants. It's on in one out. When I first came here the previous tenants was still in the house (not packed). I never got in until 8pm. I had to spend and extra night on a guest house because of paint smell, at my own expense.

The estate agent seem more pissed off with me for complaining than he was at the tenants for still being in the house. Am guessing that the foreigner treatment. He also wanted me to overlooked obvious damages that need repairing.

When you identify a house on Facebook and message on messenger. They asked for your private number. Why I don't know. They turn up late for viewings. And in some cases they make you feel like you're about to sell drugs or contraband because they will tell you "meet me at this crossing or sefalana I will be in this colour car and you can follow me. Instead of getting there before the time and sending you the pin. Of why are you advising without having the pin? I will argue that if you send the pin first the customers can go and see if they like the area then ask for a viewing and save the estate agent time and petrol cost. Most of the houses are over priced, dirt and in disrepair. These are house between P5k-P8K.

In the last 26 years I've move 9 time and in different countries. This is my first African country and as a black man I am so disappointed and frustrated.

I know someone will come and say "why are you here" or "you can leave" but just know that the way the world economy is going this will come to add problems if this carry on.

I've never really thought much of Facebook for most of my life, but as of the last couple of months I've seen Americans on TikTok utilizing Facebook Marketplace as a cheaper, democratized, channel of trade, essentially digital thrifting. The response to the products they acquire seems to be overwhelmingly positive and I've subsequently been influenced into considering joining Facebook Marketplace, but to do that I would have to make a Facebook account, which I don't want to do for my own vain reasons, but I would be completely willing to compromise on said reasons if you guys consider Facebook Marketplace worth it.

What experiences do you guys have with it? How frequently do you use it? Would you recommend it?