ABSTRACT
The Republic of Botswana was the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland until September 1966, having been under the control of Britain since 1885. There can be few countries whose road development has been so dominated by its political and physical environment as has Botswana. Botswana had next to no modern communications at Independence: even the railway was designed mainly for transit traffic. The inaugural development plan of the Roads Branch proposed several objectives, which comprise a mixture of strategic, economic and welfare considerations. Given the economic and social situation in Botswana there must be some doubt as to whether investment in roads could by itself have a significant impact on poverty. Most of the earth/sand roads in Botswana are quite adequate over most of their length to carry traffic demand in all weathers and we deplore the excessive sums of money spent on gravelling roads with little traffic demand and on sub-grades with sound earth/sand.
