Botswana Oil Empowers Citizen Truckers as Revenue Soars to P2.6 Billion
Botswana Oil Limited (BOL) has reaffirmed its commitment to citizen economic empowerment through its Citizen Economic Empowerment Programme (CEEP), investing P110 million in citizen trucking companies and driving sector growth.
BOL’s General Manager of Supply, Onkutule Masima, emphasized that CEEP remains at the heart of the company’s mission to increase citizen participation in the oil and gas industry. “Our goal is to create an inclusive industry and ensure fair competition, particularly for citizen-owned businesses,” he said.
Through CEEP, BOL has focused on road transportation, depot maintenance, and engineering projects. The company has engaged citizen-owned firms to construct and expand strategic fuel depots, including facilities in Ghanzi and Francistown.
Over the last four years, BOL has spent P541.7 million on transportation. Remarkably, by the end of the 2023/24 financial year, P480.5 million had already been spent, nearly matching the previous four-year total.
Masima noted a significant increase in citizen-owned trucks, from 30 to 130, due to BOL’s partnerships with local banks, which have disbursed over P100 million in funding for citizen trucking businesses.
BOL has also strengthened strategic collaborations with Debswana, shifting transportation contracts from foreign firms to citizen-owned companies. This shift has resulted in a surge in spending on citizen transporters from P3.2 million in 2022 to P46.6 million by Q3 of the current financial year.
This initiative, coupled with BOL’s 90 percent fuel import mandate, has transformed the company’s financial outlook. Revenue skyrocketed to P2.6 billion in 2022/23, up from P570 million the previous year, with net profits of P99 million, reversing a P17.3 million loss in 2021/22.
Masima credited Debswana’s fuel supply contract and new agreements with International Oil Companies (IOCs) as key drivers of this financial turnaround.
BOL remains committed to ensuring citizen participation in the fuel value chain, reinforcing its role in economic empowerment and national energy security.
Source: The Business Weekly and Review
