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$Unique_ID{COW00464}
$Pretitle{404}
$Title{Botswana
Chapter 7. General Information}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Cecilia Gautier}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Botswana, Washington DC}
$Subject{gaborone
box
phone
botswana
income
embassy
service
employers
national
republic}
$Date{1988}
$Log{Table 1.*0046401.tab
Table 2.*0046402.tab
Table 3.*0046403.tab
}
Country: Botswana
Book: Botswana Review of Commerce and Industry 1988
Author: Cecilia Gautier
Affiliation: Embassy of Botswana, Washington DC
Date: 1988
Chapter 7. General Information
Botswana became an independent republic on 30 September 1966. It has
remained a member of the Commonwealth. The legislative power of the republic
is vested in the Parliament of Botswana, or National Assembly as it is
called. The National Assembly is a multi-party body modelled on the
Westminster pattern and incorporates both Government and Opposition. It is
responsible for the fiscal policy of the nation and all laws for the
governing of the country. To streamline policy-making procedure, there is a
Cabinet which consists of a chairman (The President), Vice-President, ten
Ministers and four Assistant Ministers. There is no Prime Minister as such
and in the President's absence the Leader of the House is the
Vice-President. Although there is a House of Chiefs built into the
Parliamentary system in Botswana, its function is now largely that of a
consultative body to be considered when proposed legislation deals with
chieftainship and tribal matters. The President, who is at present His
Excellency Dr. Q.K.J. Masire, is elected for the life of the National
Assembly, which is five years. The Attorney-General is a non-voting member of
Parliament.
LANGUAGE
Setswana and English. The official language is English, which is the
language used in Parliament.
CURRENCY
Since August 1976 the official monetary unit of Botswana has been the
Pula. It is divided into 100 units called Thebes.
CUSTOMS
Botswana is a signatory to the revised Customs Agreement of 1969, and
import permits are not needed for goods transferred from Lesotho, South
Africa and Swaziland or for goods manufactured in Malawi or Zimbabwe.
HEALTH
If world-wide clearance has been given for yellow fever and smallpox, no
certificate of vaccination is necessary, although a yellow fever inoculation
certificate may be required from any traveller who has passed through an
area deemed to be an area of endemic yellow fever. Cholera inoculation and
malaria tablets for visitors to the swamps are advised.
IMMIGRATION
Visas are not required by citizens of the Republic of South Africa or any
of the Commonwealth countries. Passports issued by South African independent
National States are not acceptable. Application for residence permits or visas
should be made to the Immigration Department, P.O. Box 942, Gaborone. All
persons wishing to visit or stay in Botswana must be in possession of valid
passports which should be ready for presentation to the Immigration Officer
at the point of entry into Botswana. Normally, visitors to Botswana are
allowed seven days' residence in the country. No advance application is
necessary provided the basic requirements mentioned above are met. At the
discretion of the Immigration and Passport Control Officer, extensions may
be granted, but these do not normally exceed 90 cumulative days. For people
wishing to stay in Botswana for six months or more, application for a
residence permit is necessary. These, if approved, may be issued for a
period of up to three years and are renewable.
BANKING
The Bank of Botswana, a wholly-owned Government subsidiary, permits
generous foreign currency allowances for travel and transfer of limited
capital or savings out of the country. Enquiries to the Bank of Botswana, P.O.
Box 712, Gaborone. Three commercial banks, Barclays Bank of Botswana,
Standard Bank of Botswana and The Bank of Credit and Commerce have their head
offices in Gaborone. The Post Office Savings Banks can be found throughout
the country at many centres. Banking hours are: Mondays to Fridays, 08h15 to
12h45; Saturdays, 08h15 to 10h45.
CAR HIRE
Cars can be booked from anywhere in the world to be available for you
when you arrive at Gaborone airport. Avis offers a range of Toyota and Mazda
cars and Avis credit card saves you the problem of a deposit and also earns
you a discount. Cars, trucks, minibuses and four-wheel-drive vehicles are also
available, some with professional guides and drivers.
DRIVERS' LICENCES
Visitors are allowed to drive using their national licences for a period
of six months. After this, an application for a Botswana licence must be made.
All drivers must be over 18 years of age.
CLOTHING
The season or time of year when the visitor comes to Botswana will
determine the kind of clothing he should bring. The summers (October to
February) can be fiercely hot and the habit or wearing a hat outdoors is
strongly recommended. In the winter it is noticeably cold in the early morning
and evening, with the temperatures rising sharply towards midday. The rainy
season in Botswana is between October and April. To sum up, light clothes will
be found suitable all the year round, but a warm garment or two packed away
will be a useful standby on the cooler winter days. Comfortable shoes are
essential.
CLIMATE
The tenor of the climate is modified by the seasonal rainfall pattern.
The rainy season usually begins in October, reaches its peak in December and
January and ends around May. The annual rainfall can in some years reach 750
mm but a more realistic averages is 475 mm. In the south-east desert areas the
average annual rainfall is as low as 250 mm, but overall, there is very little
variation in the rainfall pattern from one year to the next.
TAXATION
The principal law on income taxation in Botswana is the Income Tax Act
which incorporates taxation of capital gains from sales and an additional
charge on branches of external companies. The income tax year is from 1st July
to 30th June.
Other than for certain payments to non-residents, which are subject to
tax by deduction, tax is calculated on the taxable income of an individual or
company.
Taxable income is gross income less exempt income and allowable
deductions (chargeable income) less allowances.
For resident individuals the only allowance is in respect of mortgage
interest on private residences. (It is to be noted that approved pension
contributions are allowable deductions). For resident companies the only
allowance is for dividends paid to resident shareholders.
Major changes in taxation of individuals are that from 1st July 1987
personal and other allowances, except mortgage interest, have fallen away and
that each individual (married or unmarried) is separately taxed.
For each resident individual the first P5 000 of taxable income is
tax-free (Table I).
Married individuals who are widowed, divorced or separated and maintain
a dependent child of the marriage may be charged at special rates (Table II).
Where one spouse to a marriage has little or no income, the other spouse
may be charged on their joint income on Table II.
Non-residents are taxed according to the non-resident tables.
[See Table 1.: Rates of Tax from 1 July 1987 are as follows]
[See Table 2.: Renumeration]
[See Table 3.: Tax Deduction Tables for Non-Resident Employees (For annual Pay
Period)]
PRIVATE SECTOR ORGANISATIONS
Basic conditions of employment governing leave and minimum periods of
notice are laid down in the Employment Act. Other pertinent conditions are
regulated by the Government's incomes policy. It is the official policy of the
Government to encourage the formation of trade unions under the Trades Union
Act. An official co-ordinating body of trade union activities is the Botswana
Federation of Trade Unions (B.F.T.U.). Many major employers have privately
negotiated agreement