Chobe Guest Houses Association has called on the government to review the local perdiem guidelines, lamenting a decrease in revenue in most of the guest house in Chobe since its implementation.
In an interview, Chobe Guest Houses Association Chairman Vincent Mufwanzala revealed under the current local perdiem guidelines, most of the civil servants are able to negotiate reduced room rates and share accommodation.
“We are not saying the local perdiem is not good, but we are appealing to the government to come up with new guidelines that would enable us to benefit,” he said.
He is of the view that civil servants should be required to submit invoices to their employers, who should then make direct payments for accommodation bookings to the guest house operators.
“Our business has gone down since the introduction of local perdiem, civil servants are negotiating for lower prices from as low as P350 when they should be negotiating to at least P500,” he said.
Mufwanzala stated that due to decrease in revenue generation some guest houses in Chobe have even retrenched their employees. He revealed that the decrease in revenue generation has also led to lower standard business service as they try to reduce or limit some costs, highlighting that some end up cutting television subscription services.
‘‘Before the introduction of local perdiem, imprest used to work for us because civil servants were required to provide quotations, though others were opting to go to bigger facilities or hotels after receiving the money from their employers,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Environment and Tourism Wynter Mmolotsi has revealed during the 2025 Annual HATAB Conference recently that the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and that of State President are engaging with a view to finding a long-term solution to the local per diem that will be beneficial to the industry.
He said the introduction of local per diem rates in Botswana has sparked debates about their effects on the tourism industry, particularly accommodation. Mmolotsi stated that they undertook a snapshot survey last year, which revealed revenue declines and operational challenges, such as civil servants negotiating reduced room rates and sharing accommodations.
Director of Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) Gaone Macholo has previously expressed that through the local perdiem they intend to encourage public servants to not only use big hotels for accommodation but to also opt for guest houses in order to improve the local hospitality industry. She said that the local perdiem was also intended to help reduce the inefficiency that was associated with having to bring so many receipts which required manpower. According to Macholo, the local perdiem was also meant to promote flexibility as beneficiaries will not be required to account for the money. Macholo had encouraged the public servants to use the local perdiem responsibility. She had noted that they will be working together with the Ministry of Finance to ensure that all the guidelines of the perdiem are adhered to.
