Botswana’s president praises Traoré’s speed – and says his own system wastes years

Botswana’s president praises Traoré’s speed – and says his own system wastes years

Botswana President Duma Boko has praised Burkina Faso’s Captain Ibrahim Traoré for how fast a decision becomes law. In the same breath, he said Botswana can lose two to four years on tenders, evaluations and complaints before anything gets done.

The comments first surfaced after Boko took office. He repeated them in an SABC interview with Sophie Mokoena around the August 2026 SADC summit in Durban. They’ve been circulating ever since.

What he actually said

Boko called Traoré “my good friend,” then put it plainly:

“When he wakes up with an idea, he dreams it up. By the next morning he makes a pronouncement: it becomes law, it becomes policy, and action follows immediately. His words are obeyed instantly, without question.”

Then he turned it on himself:

“When I wake up and say something, people look at me and ask, ‘What is this man talking about?’ My words must go through multiple stages — put out to tender. That alone takes two years. Then evaluation, complaints, an interdict. Suddenly we need another four years. By then I have to go back to the people and account for my term, and they remove me.”

The short version people are quoting: when Traoré speaks, “it is law, it is policy, and actions follow.”

Boko said earlier Botswana leaders didn’t fail because they had no ideas. They had them. The system just wasn’t built for speed. He said some of those rules need to be pushed aside “unapologetically” but still “within the confines of the law.” “If there’s one thing I know,” he added, “it’s the law.”

What he’s comparing

Botswana has run multiparty elections since 1965. Tenders, court challenges and a five-year clock are part of that. Boko, who won in 2024, is arguing those same checks now slow the country down.

Burkina Faso is under military rule. Traoré took power in a 2022 coup. A decision can go from announcement to action without a tender board. That’s the pace Boko is pointing at — not the junta itself.

He was clear in the interview: Botswana cannot copy Burkina Faso. He wants faster trade, more local processing of minerals, and regional industry. He does not want to throw out the constitution.

Why it stuck

The clip hits a raw nerve: is process protecting people, or just eating time? Boko isn’t calling for soldiers in Gaborone. He’s saying an idea that spends four years in procurement dies at the next election.

That’s the story. He wants Traoré’s tempo. He says he’ll still stay inside the law.