Africa-Press – Botswana. The government has standardised the lease period of tourism concessions to 15 years in line with the provisions of the Botswana Land Policy.
Updating at the just ended Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) conference on the key provisions of the new tourism concession lease template, deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Lands and Water Affairs Mr Odirile Mabaila said the renewal period would be at the discretion of the land authorities and would be done after they had satisfied themselves with the conditions of renewal.
The provision for the first right of refusal, he said was not present in the revised lease template.
He also noted that sub-lease arrangements must be approved by the lessor adding that the authority of the lessor being land boards in dealing with matters under the lease was subject to the authority vested by law in the minister responsible for land management.
Mr Mabaila said the minister remained an interested party in both leases and sub-leases. Lessee, was also expected to undertake the corporate social responsibility (CSR) in accordance with the technical proposal subject to the approved village/ settlement development plan.
The gathering was also informed that the rental shall escalate on each anniversary of the lease by 10 per cent and it was subject to review every five years.
They also learnt that the annual Resource Utilization Royalty shall be calculated at six per cent of the annual gross income of the lessee in respect of tourism-related activities carried out in the lease area.
The conference was also appraised on the phased approach to the resumption of transactions in the tourism land sector which was said to be in three phases.
Mr Mabaila reiterated that each phase had its own unique issues to be followed citing that some of the operators had already been engaged under phase one and it was expected to be completed end of May 2023.
Operators, he said were given an opportunity to provide compliance plans where they are in arrears or have not met the requirements of the lease and related instruments.
Furthermore, he said the lessor retains the right to advertise sites where leases have expired adding that the sitting tenants would be engaged accordingly.
The overall goal of the government, he said was to ensure that operations in the tourism industry were compliant with the provisions of the lease and other statutes. Mr Mabaila said the government wanted to see citizen economic empowerment and citizen participation as a key feature in the industry.
Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB) director of airport services, Mr Isaac Mabote appraised the gathering that the authority was doing its best to ensure future connectivity through sufficient, quality and cost-effective infrastructure.
He also informed them that the authority was working towards certifying Maun International Airport by mid-2023. The airport, he said would this year go through a feasibility study as the initial development plan was done in 2000 and its lifespan was 20 years.
Mr Mabote assured the gathering that an extensive consultation would be carried out with the industry and other relevant stakeholders.
The conference also learnt that CEMAIR, domiciled in South Africa was to commence operations in Maun beginning of May this year with a plan to also operate at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport later in the year.
He also pointed out that CAAB under its airline attraction strategies targets to have one long-haul flight into the skies by end of this financial year noting that the courting of both Emirates and Qatar Airlines was fully active.
Emirates, he said was supposed to start flights to Gaborone beginning of June 2020 and the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted the development, on the other hand, Qatar indefinitely suspended its operations due to the pandemic.
Mr Mabote noted that Botswana has signed Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) with 34 states which allowed for implementation of 5th freedom rights.
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