Mmegi

Personalised plates inch closer

Personalised number plates
Personalised number plates

The introduction of personalised number plates for local vehicles seems to be approaching as draft budget estimates indicate that the Ministry of Transport and Public Works expects to earn P1 million from the facility in the 2024-25 financial year.

The draft budget estimates are figures released annually by the Finance Ministry as part of the budget documents post the budget speech. The estimates outline both expenditure and revenue across government for the upcoming financial year and include trend analysis for previous years.

The recently released documents indicate that the Transport ministry anticipates generating higher revenue in the financial year commencing on April 1. One of the new revenue items will be the personalised number plates, for which P1 million is expected to be earned. Government has been assessing the introduction of personalised plates since as far back as 2012, but the process has been slow-moving due to bureaucratic hurdles.

In 2012, then Transport and Communications minister, Nonofo Molefhi, informed BusinessWeek that while personalised plates were “a stylish trend that exists in other countries,” the idea was undergoing feasibility studies.
Editor's Comment
Botswana at a critical juncture

While the political shift brings hope for change, it also places immense pressure on the new administration to deliver on its election promises in the face of serious economic challenges.On another level, newly appointed Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe’s grim assessment of the country’s finances adds urgency to the moment. The budget deficit, expected to be P8.7 billion, is now anticipated to be even higher due to underperforming diamond...

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