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The report details a sensitisation project in Botswana led by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO). Key activities included a workshop for 20 civil society organisations (CSOs) on 10 March 2020, where participants discussed the APRM's potential to depoliticise socio-economic criticism and the risks of an 'implementation deficit' regarding National Programmes of Action (NPoA). The project identified a need for additional funding to ensure representation of CSOs outside the capital, Gaborone, to avoid the lack of national coverage experienced in a similar Namibian project. Meetings were held with the Botswana government, including the Director of Governance in the Office of the President, who admitted the country is "still far behind" in APRM implementation. Consultations with international partners like the European Union, the British High Commission, and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung focused on securing funding and aligning the project with donor objectives. The report also notes meetings with the University of Botswana and the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) to foster collaboration between academia, government, and civil society.

The document examines how digital technologies and social media influenced the 2019 elections in four SADC member states. While these tools have opened spaces for youth engagement and increased transparency, they have also been used for disinformation and surveillance. The author argues that the region's political culture remains unresponsive, co-opting new media into traditional elite-driven systems rather than reforming governance, which could lead to instability similar to the Arab Spring.

The project aims to support approximately 86,000 direct beneficiaries in Botswana's North-East and Central districts, where small-scale farmers are highly vulnerable to increasing drought frequency and intensity. The initiative focuses on three main outputs: improving national and local institutional capacity for climate-responsive planning, establishing and financing climate-resilient agricultural practices (such as drought-resistant seeds and livestock breeds), and strengthening climate information systems through the installation of five additional Automated Weather Stations. The project seeks USD 15 million in GCF grant funding, with a total indicative cost of USD 31.25 million, including co-financing from the Botswana government and state banks like the National Development Bank (NDB).

The document analyzes Botswana's strategy to move beyond diamond extraction by establishing a downstream industry for cutting, polishing, and trading. It highlights how the government used De Beers' declining market power and high reliance on Botswana's rough diamond supply to secure a deal in 2005. This agreement led to the creation of the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Botswana and the Diamond Technology Park, employing approximately 3,750 people by 2014. However, the study notes challenges from low-cost Asian competitors and the risk that the industry may leave once diamond reserves deplete in 30 to 40 years.

Botswana faces significant climate risks, primarily driven by water scarcity and rising temperatures, which threaten its water, health, agriculture, livestock, and forestry sectors. While the country possesses higher adaptive capacity than its neighbors due to its development status and governance, the government has not yet made climate change a national priority. Consequently, there is a lack of guiding legislation, strategy, and dedicated adaptation funding. Most current adaptation efforts are integrated into larger regional projects rather than national initiatives, and civil society engagement remains limited.

Botswana faces significant water scarcity and rising demand, yet its water governance remains centralised with slow institutional reform. While the government has adopted Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) principles and developed an IWRM-water efficiency (IWRM-WE) plan, implementation is hindered by outdated legislation, such as the 1968 Water Act, and a lack of a formal water pricing policy. The document highlights a critical need to shift from supply-side expansion—such as the construction of dams and north-south water carriers—toward water demand management (WDM) to ensure long-term sustainability and financial viability.

The Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) is a public-private partnership established in 2000 to increase cargo for the Port of Walvis Bay and improve linked transport corridors. It integrates public regulators and private operators to provide logistics services for landlocked SADC countries via the Trans-Kalahari, Trans-Caprivi, Trans-Cunene, and Trans-Oranje corridors. Key barriers identified include stakeholder fragmentation, high administrative costs, border corruption, and safety risks from roaming animals. To address these, the WBCG promotes 'Accredited Economic Operators' status to reduce border delays and is implementing a 'single window IT infra-structure' to lower trade costs.

The report identifies and quantifies non-tariff barriers (NTBs) along the Durban–Gaborone corridor, finding that these barriers account for 24.4% of round-trip heavy vehicle running costs. The most significant costs are attributed to South African toll roads, including direct fees and indirect costs from fuel consumption and downtime. Other identified NTBs include Botswana user charges, infrastructure deterioration, weighbridge delays, harbour permit costs, and border clearance procedures. The study suggests that these NTBs contribute approximately 1.83% to the final cost of sales, which, when modelled against South Africa's GDP, represents a potential national impact of R31.61 billion.

The document examines Lesotho's transition toward democratic stability, focusing on the 2007 general elections and the long-term effects of a mixed-member proportional representative electoral system introduced after the 1998 SADC military intervention. While the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) secured a resounding victory in 2007, the report argues that the shift from a 'first past the post' system to one including proportional representation has been critical in managing political conflict and ensuring minority representation, despite ongoing concerns regarding political culture and potential instability.

The report finds that while Botswana is a stable parliamentary democracy, its parliament is weak and dominated by a strong executive. It highlights deficiencies in parliamentary expertise, the lack of portfolio committees, and a fragmented opposition. The study also examines the role of the kgotla as a primary engagement tool and the emerging but still limited influence of civil society organisations on policy.

The document details a holistic framework for managing HIV/AIDS in the workplace, emphasizing a combination of prevention, treatment, and institutional mitigation strategies. It advocates for policies based on non-discrimination and human rights, the use of institutional audits to determine threat levels, and the implementation of knowledge management to preserve operational capacity despite personnel loss. Successful execution is tied to senior management leadership, dedicated resources, and continuous capacity building.

The report provides a baseline study of security sector governance (SSG) across six Southern African nations and the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation. It finds that while legal frameworks for civilian control often exist, implementation is hindered by political interference, corruption, and capacity shortages. Key issues include the politicisation of security forces in Zimbabwe and the DRC, poor prison conditions across the region, and weak parliamentary oversight. The document argues for a shift toward a human security paradigm and the strengthening of independent oversight mechanisms and civil society engagement to ensure accountable security provision.

The SADC Non-Tariff Barrier (NTB) Monitoring Mechanism allows private sector actors to report trade barriers via an online database, but the resolution of these barriers is often ineffective. NTBs affect products accounting for $3.3 billion, or 20%, of regional trade, with transport-related barriers being the most persistent. Resolution is hampered by inefficient National Monitoring Committees, a lack of technical expertise, and a political preference for cooperative rather than litigious dispute settlement. The document argues that resolution depends on political will, as some states maintain barriers to protect local industry or revenue. Proposed solutions include strengthening business membership organisations, capacitating national focal points, and creating forums for facilitated dialogue between the private sector and government.

This case study examines the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG), a hybrid public-private partnership established in 2000 to facilitate trade and infrastructure development in Namibia and neighboring SADC countries. The WBCG coordinates a network of roads and rail—including the Trans-Kalahari, Trans-Caprivi, Trans-Cunene, and Trans-Oranje corridors—to connect the Port of Walvis Bay and the Port of Lüderitz to landlocked markets.