Pele Moleta, CEO, BotswanaPost
The Department of Tourism and BotswanaPost have announced an agreement to make it easier for the tourism and hospitality industry to pay training levy and other license fees using the postal network across the country.
The Memorandum of Agreement will help the department, which has less presence as it only has 7 offices in Gaborone, Selebi Phikwe, Francistown, Maun, Gantsi, Tsabong and a satellite office in Serowe.
Director of Department of Tourism, Kelebaone Maselesele said these offices cannot service the entire tourism industry across the country hence the partnership with BotswanaPost as it has 125 branches including in the remotest areas.
“Licensed tourism facilities are on the other hand located at some of the remotest areas creating a gap in demand and supply of tourist related services. Clients have to travel long distances to access services in certain areas,” revealed Maselesele.
“It is on this premise that the Department of Tourism and the BotswanaPost have entered into an agreement to facilitate payment of Tourism Training Levy, License Fees and penalties at all its post offices across the country”.
Tourism facilities in Botswana pay a levy of P10 per paying guest per night into the Tourism Training Fund. The proceeds are used to finance skills training programmes for employees in the tourism, hospitality industry, entities and departments that provide complimentary support
to the industry while also pay allowances to youths and interns.
The Licence Fee is paid on fist license issue and annually by the stipulated due date failing which a penalty fee of P200 per day is charged and the Training Levy collected from guests must be paid into Tourism Training Fund by the 15th of every month failing which a penalty fee of P200 per day is charged.
There are 10 Tourism Licence categories namely the A Licence for operations that offer facilities on a fixed site such as hotels, motels, guesthouses including corporate guesthouse; B Licence for facilities that offer accommodation facilities on a fixed site such as photographic/ hunting camps; C Licence for those that offer off-site facilities such as mobile safari operators that receive and transport travelers and gusts within protected areas.
D Licence on the other hand is for those operations that make, plan or reserve travel arrangements for clients, but do not offer accommodation, while E Licence is for those that recieve and transport guests to tourist attractions; F Licence for the ones that offer motor boating activities and other within their leased land. The G Licence is for other enterprises (excluding air charter companies and car rentals) that conduct tourism related activities, for example, hot air ballooning, cycling or bungee jumping.
The other category, the G Licence are for operations that offer mekoro activities, while I Licencec is for foreign companies that offer tourism related activities in Botswana like transferring tourists along the main roads and utilise public facilities and J Licence is for houseboats operations- a mobile self contained accommodation facility that operates in water bodies.
BotswanaPost Chief Executive, Pele Moleta said the tourism operators will no longer travel long distances Department of Tourism offices, which are located in fewer towns. “For example, someone having to leave Shakawe to go and pay in Maun which is approximately 800 km
return trip,” he noted.
